Online vs. Traditional Marketing

Online marketing is a rapidly expanding trend that ecompasses any type of advertising or brand building exercise done through the internet. It has a number of advantages over traditional media, as well as a few setbacks. The biggest advantage of online marketing is the ability of a company or advertising firm to specifically target a very narrow audience, allowing their message to only reach those who are most likely to be in their target market. In traditional media marketing, advertisers often find themselves wasting money on large audience numbers that include huge sections that will be very unlikely to respond to their advertisements. Another positive element of online marketing is the ability to create interactive campaigns that allow users to feel more involved with the company or product, and thus increase interest as well as time spent with the marketing element. The main downside to this kind of marketing is the expansive nature of the online environment. Although it is easy to pick out several websites that may fit well with a product's target market, there are always new websites being made and hundreds of better opportunities that a marketer simply cannot be aware of. Television, cable, and radio have the advantage of only having relatively few choices for advertising efforts. This means that a marketer can always be able to predict with relative accuracy the reach and effect of the ad. Still, advertising online continues to grow due to the rapid growth in number of websites as well as the growth of individual sites or networks. It is a good way to reach a targeted audience and will likely take over nearly all advertising revenues within the next 15 years.