Traditional Marketing vs. Online Marketing: What is the Difference?

As recently as the end of the 20th century, businesses and law practice used traditional marketing methods that in essence, involved prospecting in every possible way. Traditional prospecting forced companies to look for customers, to convert those customers to their brand, and to make sure that they stayed loyal to the company brand.

The two main methods of old-world marketing were direct mail and cold calling.

How Online Marketing Has Turned Traditional Marketing World Upside Down

Phillip Kotler, the man who introduced the world to the concept of marketing almost 50 years ago, was a genius whose approach to marketing was way ahead of the time. He wasn’t afraid to look to other fields for insights and inspiration, something his predecessors would never have considered.

Today, technology is constantly transforming marketing methodologies. So far, online marketing has taken a tactical approach, but as social media becomes more popular and more important to the success and survival of businesses, that approach will have to change. The future of marketing will force companies to adopt a more strategic approach.

Don’t Just Grab Your Consumers’ Attention – Aim to Keep It!

As a law practice you need to realize that successful marketing now and will continue to involve much more than simply sharing something that grabs consumers’ attention. Firms that want to grow and thrive in the constantly changing world of digital and mobile technology will have to develop a presence on social media platforms.

With traditional marketing, if a brand was visible and easily recognizable, that was enough. Online marketing changed all that. Once a brand establishes a visible presence on all social media platforms, they have to stay connected with the consumers who buy or user their product or service.

The way businesses connect with consumers is now the force driving the value of a company’s brand.

The famous 20th century German Philosopher Martin Heidegger, was way ahead of his time. In his essay The Question Concerning Technology, he realizes that what technology builds isn’t as important as the information it uncovers. Apply that to marketing and the idea of digital marketing makes a lot more sense.

Jeff Dachis is considered one of the pioneers of digital marketing. In 1994, he and Craig Kanarick founded the company Razorfish. Fast forward about 20 years, skimming over the bursted bubble that was once the dot.com industry, Razorfish getting new owners and Dachis forming the Dachis Group, a company he describes as a firm that gives its customers social marketing solutions.

For the past 15 years of online marketing, companies have not embraced the Internet for all of its possibilities. Many companies just look at the Internet in general, and social media platforms as nothing more than another advertising channel.

The assumption was that all a business had to do was buy advertising on different platforms and leave it at that. That strategy hasn’t worked in the past, it isn’t working now, and it won’t work in the future.

Different platforms serve different purposes. Blogs let anyone generate content that can engage other people online. Social media networks are all about interacting. The popularity of social media gives law firms the chance to redefine their brand.

Forbes magazine writer, Jennifer Rooney explains, “the way that we believe that brands will get built in the future is going to be off the back of meaningful, trusted, authentic and transparent engagement with a set of constituents, and then the amplification of those interactions by those advocates on behalf of those brands in a trusted, authentic and transparent way.”

In the future, firms will have to engage with their clients, not just in their marketing, but in creating their brand. Traditional marketing is long gone, but as technology continues to drive marketing strategies, the way people used to approach online marketing will become the traditional marketing.

If you’re searching for the Holy Grail of New Online Marketing, think of social media. Businesses that want to embrace the new world of online marketing will have to engage with their consumers. Use Facebook, your blog, Pinterest, Twitter and other platforms to share worthwhile information, interesting content, and compelling content that makes them want to stay connected with your practice.

The driving force behind successful online marketing today, and for the foreseeable future is the Power of Engagement. To Engage properly you need to make sure you are on the right online channels.  What channels are you using to reach your audience? Share below in the comments. As the New year approaches I want to learn more about how I can help you and grow your practice. I look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time…. stay enchanting.