While writing a lot on social media marketing and reading a very interesting case study on traditional marketing versus social media, I understood one common debate marketing experts and social media experts have constantly- do traditional marketing and social media contradict each other or compliment?

Think of the evolution of marketing from radio to television ads, from newspapers ads to billboards and print media; these newer techniques may have evolved but that does not mean we are done away with older methods, they still coexist and need an integrated approach by any smart marketer.

Social media, in my view, is a new way of marketing that allows a company to communicate their campaigns across multiple platforms consecutively. At the same time it is important to point out that campaigning through all the marketing channels should be similar and complement your online & off-line strategy.

The PUSH v/s PULL Strategy…..

Traditional marketing methods have been essentially stressing on the “push” method, where brand managers and advertisers are pushing their products on the consumers. Here the marketers had the power to create a need for a consumer and convince them to buy their products; Social media on the other hand is more like a “pull” technique, where the power is bestowed in the hands of the consumer who will dictate what they want and how the company serves their wants and needs. A sensible marketer would continue his traditional marketing ways while attracting potential consumer through the pull strategy of social media.

Brainstorming in traditional marketing can be combined with social media monitoring to know what exactly your stakeholders are talking about you. Visuals and audios created as a part of traditional marketing can also be aired on the internet that has a wider consumer reach. In my understanding, traditional and social media work harmoniously with wider and stronger customer coverage. For example, I have seen many companies’ online communities and website traffic swelling 10x times during the time they were present in an industry trade show, or when they sponsor a public event, or when their key thought-leaders increase their social presence through awards, interviews etc…This is the time a complete alignment of online v/s offline marketing is needed.

To simply summarize, different audience respond to different methods. Start developing parallel online & offline strategies.

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