Traditional advertising and social media marketing are two completely separate entities, right? Traditional advertising is one-way communication comprised of marketing collateral, print, and broadcast materials, while social media is a two-way communication where you go where they are and interact. In social media marketing, we’re taught to tread lightly, listen first before we speak, and get to know people first – in other words, you need to shake the consumer’s hand before you reach for their wallet. But at what point is it ok to blatantly and directly sell people?
Let’s explore social media marketing a fit further, specifically blogs. Isn’t a blog an indirect sales pitch? Bloggers write with the ultimate goal of establishing themselves or their brand as a leader. That, arguably, is advertising, as the article is being placed and promoted on the various platforms for readers to find, notice, and read. This seems all too similar to creating a print ad and placing it in various publications for buyers to find, notice and react. Blogs, we know, are only one part of social media marketing but this is not where the similarities end.
Traditional advertising invites and welcomes people to their brick and mortar or online store to buy what is advertised, in addition to encouraging the consumer to see what else they have to offer. Social Media Marketing is about creating profiles on the various platforms to also invite and welcome people to learn about who you are and what you have to offer.
There is a difference, though. Social media provides an opportunity to interact, where that opportunity does not typically exist with traditional advertising.
So can the two media peacefully co-exist? Absolutely, provided both are done strategically and with the understanding that they are two very different tools that work beautifully in tandem, but not in place of each other.
Tags: social media