Strike a balance between traditional and digital marketing
This may surprise you, but according to eMarketer and BtoB Magazine, North Americans rely equally on traditional and digital media when researching information and making purchasing decisions.
Canadians prefer print, Americans prefer online… but only slightly.
According to a February eMarketer article, Traditional Trumps Social Media Influence in Canada, a study conducted by the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms (CCPRF) showed that internet users in Canada preferred product information from traditional media like newspapers (86%), TV (83%) and radio (78%) over digital media sources like blogs (29%), Facebook (21%) and Twitter (15%).
Americans tend to rely on internet sources more but only by a 9% margin, according to a recent BtoB Magazine post, Using Digital Media: Marketers need to re-examine the marketing/media mix. The article sources a recent Harris Poll that shows Americans trust online news sources as much as local papers, and that Internet news and information sites received a higher “trust” rating (69%) than national newspapers (60%).
Don’t throw out that baby!
The two studies mentioned above illustrate an important point: traffic, likes, followers, friends, comments, etc. do not guarantee sales. In fact, many businesses lose sleep over the fact that they have thousands of friends and followers, yet little to show for it.
The thing is, marketing will always be about people, even in the B2B space. There is no silver bullet; you have to nurture leads with the appropriate digital and traditional mediums. When you balance traditional marketing with digital marketing, you not only engage your customers, you also give them reasons to want to do business with you.
What are your thoughts around balancing traditional and digital marketing?
