Redefining Traditional and Non-Traditional Advertising

• Posted by Helen Bereschinova February 22 - Filed in Sales Management - #sales  #ads  #non-traditional  #traditional  #on-line  #internet  - 207 views
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  The Internet has brought a change in what business people think about advertising. Many small businesses that I interact with see two fundamental types of advertising. There is classic advertising: ads promoting products on television, on radio, on billboards, in magazines, in newspapers, etc. And then there’s the new advertising: advertising on the Internet. Online ads are often considered non-traditional advertising and everything else is traditional advertising.
  
  I don’t think this distinction is entirely accurate. I think that perhaps it’s giving the Internet too much credit. The Internet is just another channel–it in itself isn’t a new way of advertising. A banner ad on the Internet is no different than a billboard on the side of the road. Some people notice it and some people drive on by. A video ad online interrupts the viewer just like a commercial does on TV. Ads are ads, regardless of where and how they are placed.

  So what is this “new advertising” that there is so much buzz about if it isn’t the Internet. Well, it kind of is the Internet in that the Internet has brought it to the forefront of our minds. The web has made this new advertising less costly for business people and more beneficial for consumers. What’s changed? It isn’t the medium; it’s the method.
  What is Content Marketing?
  
  Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “content marketing” or perhaps “inbound marketing.” These terms, though there is some debate, speak primarily of the the same thing–a new way of reaching customers. Content marketing is providing potential (or current) customers with valuable information for the purpose of creating engagement with them. Content marketing isn’t selling; it’s giving. And, as the marketer is seen as a trusted and valuable resource, the law of reciprocity will quite possibly lead the customer to an eventual purchase.
  
  Content marketing doesn’t have to be on the Internet. It can be in the form of a list of tips on _______ that you hand out to your customers or a company newsletter. Content marketing has existed as long as marketing has, but the Internet has made it incredibly cost-effective. A blog is free to start and seemless to distribute. A trade magazine or even an information brochure has steep printing and promotional costs.
  
  Content marketing is non-traditional advertising. It is providing valuable information instead of (traditional advertising) telling people to buy your stuff. That being said, traditional advertising can be done on the Internet. PPC campaigns, banner ads, pop-ups, online commercials–these are all the old style of advertising on a new platform. It’s the same old method on a newer medium.
  What Good is Non-Traditional Advertising?
  
  In case you didn’t catch it, I’ll define (crudely, I know) traditional and non-traditional advertising again:
  
  

  •     Traditional advertising: telling people to buy from you.

  •     Non-traditional advertising: providing information to people.

  
  At first glance for a business person, non-traditional advertising seems silly. You don’t want people to learn from you; you want them to buy from you. What good is teaching people? Why would you advertise anything but what you are selling? How would sharing content lead to a sale?
  
  The answer is simple and you probably already know it: because people pay attention to things they care about. That’s it in a nutshell. People ignore blatant advertisments. If they think you’re selling something, their natural inclination is to stop listening. If they think you are providing something of interest to them, though, you can capture their attention. And, as business people, isn’t that really what we’re after–our customers’ attention? Without that, we have no hopes of getting their money.
  
  That’s the business case for non-traditional advertising–people will actually listen to you. So, as you enter this new world of advertising, remember that it doesn’t matter where you’re advertising–it matters how you’re advertising. Are your customers even listening to you or are you just throwing your pitch up against the wall? Perhaps it’s time for you to break tradition and embrace the new advertising.
  
  by Doug Rice