Pro's & Con's of Major Media Marketing Methods

title=”Pro’s & Con’s of Major Media Marketing Methods”>Pro’s & Con’s of Major Media Marketing Methods

 

Thanks to Maximize social media for this article.

As a social media management firm we obviously believe social media is superior to most other available forms of marketing and advertising but the very best course of action is a fully integrated approach able to maximize the benefits of each while minimizing risk. Today we are going to cover the pros and cons of both social media and other major media marketing methods as well as how each works together with the other. You see, in modern marketing it isn’t a one size fits all approach but rather the synergistic effect of integrated marketing which makes all the difference. Be sure to share this article with others because it’s a “must read” for entrepreneurs and small business owners interested in getting the biggest bang for their marketing buck.

Major Media Marketing Forms

Before we get started, it is instructive to cover the three major media marketing forms including:

1. Paid – Methods such as television, radio, print, search/SEO, direct mail, sponsorships, affiliate marketing, billboards, classified advertising, etc…
2. Earned -Media relations, word of mouth, organic search, trade organizations.
3. Owned -Social media, blog, original content, Internet, email, mobile, video, podcast, etc…

Major Media Marketing Methods

It is beyond the scope of this article to mention every available media marketing method so our attention will simply focus upon the most common ones. In order to integrate social media with other major forms of marketing, it is important to truly understand how they work together in the first place. While it might seem obvious, as a social media management firm we can assure you that it isn’t always that simple. What worked in the past has now changed dramatically thanks to new choices and emerging options. In general, there is a method to the (seeming) madness…for example, when in doubt, use these general rules:

1.Use paid media to “jump-start” owned media. This makes sense! If you are a new company or service provider that needs to get the word out, paid media is able to generate traffic faster. Once people are aware of your presence, it is then possible to hit a level of critical density required to make owned media work. Compare it to a party…without any visitors, it’s a lame party that nobody else wants to attend. Once sufficient number of people decide to attend the level of “critical mass” has been reached in order to assure sufficient interest. The same applies to marketing in general. By using paid media to jump-start the party, it assure that what you own will be seen, read and distributed in the future.

2. Use owned media to sustain earned media. Once again, this makes a lot of sense. Once you own it, tools like social media, blogs and original content can generate immense amounts of interest over and over and over again. This in turn, is what sustains earned media like word-of-mouth marketing, increased organic search ratings and so forth.

3. Use earned media to reduce overall cost and sustain long-term interest. When properly implemented, earned media tends to actually decrease cost over time. That is because the content not only belongs to you but it is sustainable in the most accurate sense of the word. Think of it this way; what is the lifespan of an original article? How long does it remain viable? Well many remain viable for years after their original creation. Not only do they generate increased interest over time but collectively add to the lifecycle of earned media as it increases over time.

Pros & Cons

No discussion about major media marketing methods would be complete without discussing the pros  and cons of each. As a social media management firm, we obviously utilize many different methods but social media holds a special position due to its flexibility, cost effectiveness and sustainable nature. However, even that isn’t without a few negatives that must be carefully considered. So, to provide the most balanced and objective information possible, here are the pros and cons which should be weighed prior to committing to any course of action:

• Television Pros: very large reach, high retention value if repeated enough.
• Television Cons: expensive to produce, expensive to distribute, generally disliked by viewers, repetitious and most concerning of all…new technology allows viewers to skip advertising altogether.
• Radio Pros: less expensive than television, targets local specific market
• Radio Cons: listeners change channels rather than listen to advertising, split attention spans
• Print Pros: a lot of information in a small space
• Print Cons: readers skip ads, high cost, limited/reduced distribution, difficult to change, high investment
• Internet Pros: now the FIRST place people search for information, easy, effective, customizable
• Internet Cons: highly competitive SEO prices, mobile making major inroads, requires high customization
• Social Media Pros: super inexpensive, word of mouth marketing taken to the highest level, builds relationships, interactive, instant/time sensitive, highly targeted
• Social Media Cons: time consuming
• Direct Mail Pros: highly specific lists possible, personalization possible,
• Direct Mail Cons: cost of printing and distributing, people toss “junk mail” without reading, little/no method of tracking, environmental impact and negative feedback from consumers
• SEO/Paid Search Pros: Fast, easy to measure, easy to budget
• SEO/Paid Search Cons: Highly competitive, costly, reduced long term effectiveness
• Word of Mouth Pros: free, builds great long term reputation, relationships, sustainable
• Word of Mouth Cons: hard to get started in early stages, must be diligently managed, time consuming especially for small business owners

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