Marketing, at its core, is a psychological concept. Because of this fact, a lot of parallels can be drawn between digital marketing and traditional marketing that we’ve all been raised with and experienced firsthand, as the resulting human emotions are the same despite the methods differing somewhat between the two options. Digital marketing is making its way into the world as a necessity due to the growing impact of the internet and the prevalence of social media in our daily lives, so naturally, the industry has produced quite a few agencies like Avramify that specialize in social media marketing campaigns meant to have the same (or greater) impact on a brand’s success.
Avramify’s expertise was originally rooted in Instagram since it has one of the more easily understood algorithms to gather data from about the digital marketing industry. The findings were basically that, from a psychological standpoint, marketing online is immensely similar to marketing in the physical world, and often more effective by multitudes due to how reliant we are on social media as a society. Even so, the methods can differ a little bit to the point that it may be harder for some brand owners to wrap their minds around taking that step from traditional to digital, especially if they’re more experienced in the former.
Let’s dive into some comparisons between Avramify’s digital methods and traditional marketing methods in order to better understand the benefits of both!
Social Proof and Credibility
Social proof is a psychological concept that implies people are more likely to follow the actions of others when they are uncertain about how to behave or what to believe, and thus, they’ll fall in line with the biggest crowd. Although some of us may find that line of behavior curious, it’s a fact: people automatically trust ideas that are already widespread and accepted. In the digital marketing world, this translates to numbers. Avramify’s philosophy for social proof and credibility is based in the understanding that when people see big numbers on accounts, this creates a perception of popularity and trustworthiness that attracts more people to the brand just based on this idea.
Of course, traditional marketing has been working with this concept for a long time. Perhaps one of the best examples of social proof and credibility in traditional marketing is the usage of billboards; anyone with a storefront knows the value of having a billboard about their business in the eyes of the public. When people see this massive sign, without any further proof, they tend to believe in the image they’re seeing simply because of the way it’s presented. It seems like a big deal, so the business being advertised on the billboard must be pretty legit and trustworthy, right? It’s this mental habit that makes these marketing methods so effective!
Influencer Marketing
This concept ties in closely with social proof in certain ways, namely because it capitalizes on society’s do-as-I-see functions. Influencer marketing is simply a collaboration between a brand/business and an individual with power in the situation. In Avramify’s case, the direct approach with this aspect of marketing is centered around publishing articles in trusted literature, like reputable magazines centered around a certain industry. There’s something to be said for having someone big and important giving your brand the stamp approval in your field! The notoriety that comes with this kind of public approval is an enormous boost to anyone’s success.
Traditionally, similar concepts have been used by any brand you can think of off the top of your head. As children, we saw it all over television, magazines, and even local businesses in our hometowns—a celebrity uses a skincare item, the mayor takes a photo in a local spa, a football player endorses some pre-workout, and suddenly everyone in that area or eyeing that field is ten times more likely to believe in that brand and turn to it when they need what they’re offering, simply because someone that they recognize gave the green light to believe in it. This benefits everyone involved in the exchange (the brand and the influencer they chose to represent their product tot he public), and there are clear benefits to both the traditional form as well as Avramify’s digital approach to accomplishing this same effect.
Direct Advertising
Direct advertising is a pretty simple concept to understand, since it’s the oldest form of marketing there is. Think of handing out paper flyers for a concert, or even a food stand worker yelling in the street about their specialty! This is a brand directly putting information from their hands right into yours. In the digital space, this could only really take one form—direct messages to social media users online. For the time being, this is something that Avramify covers on Instagram through what are called Instagram Flyers. After asking the client some questions, a specialist comes up with a flyer for their business and then sends it out to however many users was agreed upon.
The comparison is pretty obvious! This is exactly like traditional marketing methods of mail advertisements, being handed paper flyers in the mall, sometimes even brochures that come with other purchases. Someone is putting the information directly into the audience’s hands to look over and take action on. This type of advertisement is like exposure conditioning; our first response to having something advertised to us this way can be annoyance, but in reality, having felt something about it at all means we are far more likely to remember it later, and that’s the important part in marketing. If you can make someone
remember you (in a positive, or at the very least, useful light), you can turn them into a future customer.
Targeted Marketing
While targeted marketing has been around for a long while, it’s never been as prevalent or as accessible as it is in today’s digital world. The meaning of “targeted marketing” is simple—you know your demographic, and you put the ad in front of their eyes specifically as much as possible. With the kinds of data-tracking that exist now, targeting an audience for digital marketing purposes has never been easier, which means that digital targeting is undoubtedly multitudes more effective than the alternative. Avramify offers services currently for Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, all of which have algorithms already doing much of the targeting without any brand or agency’s intervention, since offering useful and likable content for each user’s needs works in the platform’s own favor. Because of this, pursuing marketing in the online space is the best way to accurately target your desired audience as a brand.
Even so, traditional targeting still exists in our everyday lives. This can take the form of, say, a trendy downtown café putting a billboard near a college campus, or a mold cleanup service staking signs in areas with flooding problems; they’re using what they know about their customers and increasing the chances of being noticed in their time of need by utilizing that information. Similar scenarios can be applied to demographic targeting, from age and gender to location and race. This angle of marketing is well-known and understood far more now because of the digital era, but it also happens to be one of the most useful options we have for creating success either in the physical or the digital space. When you know who and where your desired audience is, it becomes a lot easier to introduce yourself to the people who truly want what you have
for them!
Social proof is a psychological concept that implies people are more likely to follow the actions of others when they are uncertain about how to behave or what to believe, and thus, they’ll fall in line with the biggest crowd. Although some of us may find that line of behavior curious, it’s a fact: people automatically trust ideas that are already widespread and accepted. In the digital marketing world, this translates to numbers. Avramify’s philosophy for social proof and credibility is based in the understanding that when people see big numbers on accounts, this creates a perception of popularity and trustworthiness that attracts more people to the brand just based on this idea.
Of course, traditional marketing has been working with this concept for a long time. Perhaps one of the best examples of social proof and credibility in traditional marketing is the usage of billboards; anyone with a storefront knows the value of having a billboard about their business in the eyes of the public. When people see this massive sign, without any further proof, they tend to believe in the image they’re seeing simply because of the way it’s presented. It seems like a big deal, so the business being advertised on the billboard must be pretty legit and trustworthy, right? It’s this mental habit that makes these marketing methods so effective!
Influencer Marketing
This concept ties in closely with social proof in certain ways, namely because it capitalizes on society’s do-as-I-see functions. Influencer marketing is simply a collaboration between a brand/business and an individual with power in the situation. In Avramify’s case, the direct approach with this aspect of marketing is centered around publishing articles in trusted literature, like reputable magazines centered around a certain industry. There’s something to be said for having someone big and important giving your brand the stamp approval in your field! The notoriety that comes with this kind of public approval is an enormous boost to anyone’s success.
Traditionally, similar concepts have been used by any brand you can think of off the top of your head. As children, we saw it all over television, magazines, and even local businesses in our hometowns—a celebrity uses a skincare item, the mayor takes a photo in a local spa, a football player endorses some pre-workout, and suddenly everyone in that area or eyeing that field is ten times more likely to believe in that brand and turn to it when they need what they’re offering, simply because someone that they recognize gave the green light to believe in it. This benefits everyone involved in the exchange (the brand and the influencer they chose to represent their product tot he public), and there are clear benefits to both the traditional form as well as Avramify’s digital approach to accomplishing this same effect.
Direct Advertising
Direct advertising is a pretty simple concept to understand, since it’s the oldest form of marketing there is. Think of handing out paper flyers for a concert, or even a food stand worker yelling in the street about their specialty! This is a brand directly putting information from their hands right into yours. In the digital space, this could only really take one form—direct messages to social media users online. For the time being, this is something that Avramify covers on Instagram through what are called Instagram Flyers. After asking the client some questions, a specialist comes up with a flyer for their business and then sends it out to however many users was agreed upon.
The comparison is pretty obvious! This is exactly like traditional marketing methods of mail advertisements, being handed paper flyers in the mall, sometimes even brochures that come with other purchases. Someone is putting the information directly into the audience’s hands to look over and take action on. This type of advertisement is like exposure conditioning; our first response to having something advertised to us this way can be annoyance, but in reality, having felt something about it at all means we are far more likely to remember it later, and that’s the important part in marketing. If you can make someone
remember you (in a positive, or at the very least, useful light), you can turn them into a future customer.
Targeted Marketing
While targeted marketing has been around for a long while, it’s never been as prevalent or as accessible as it is in today’s digital world. The meaning of “targeted marketing” is simple—you know your demographic, and you put the ad in front of their eyes specifically as much as possible. With the kinds of data-tracking that exist now, targeting an audience for digital marketing purposes has never been easier, which means that digital targeting is undoubtedly multitudes more effective than the alternative. Avramify offers services currently for Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, all of which have algorithms already doing much of the targeting without any brand or agency’s intervention, since offering useful and likable content for each user’s needs works in the platform’s own favor. Because of this, pursuing marketing in the online space is the best way to accurately target your desired audience as a brand.
Even so, traditional targeting still exists in our everyday lives. This can take the form of, say, a trendy downtown café putting a billboard near a college campus, or a mold cleanup service staking signs in areas with flooding problems; they’re using what they know about their customers and increasing the chances of being noticed in their time of need by utilizing that information. Similar scenarios can be applied to demographic targeting, from age and gender to location and race. This angle of marketing is well-known and understood far more now because of the digital era, but it also happens to be one of the most useful options we have for creating success either in the physical or the digital space. When you know who and where your desired audience is, it becomes a lot easier to introduce yourself to the people who truly want what you have
for them!
Measuring Success
The equations and scales by which a brand measures the success of their marketing endeavors does not differ much from digital to traditional marketing. The overall success of a marketing investment is determined by things like customer engagement, sales, and return on investment (ROI). Again, with data-tracking being so easy online, it’s simpler now more than ever to consider these sorts of metrics and determine the success of a campaign or strategy.
On the surface level, Avramify uses the obvious numbers to determine the success of their services. Once a purchase is made, a screenshot is taken of the customer’s social media page, and over time as the results flow in, that information is recorded similarly so that everyone involved can keep track of the impact that Avramify is having on their business. That being said, the customer can take this a step further by checking their own analytics in their entirety with one of numerous available websites designed just for this purpose! Doing this helps brands identify correlations and causations between their marketing investments and the results that they’re seeing from their audience after it’s in effect.
That’s what all forms of “measuring success” are truly about—what number went in, and what number came out? A marketing campaign is an investment, no matter how you look at it, so it can be treated like research. Keeping track of the numbers is a vital way of knowing which strategies are working and which ones are a waste of time.
With that being said, this is another way that digital marketing ends up being a lot easier to participate in and understand compared to traditional marketing. For example, a small-town wellness shop with an already-steady clientele puts up a billboard. After that, they need to record how much business they were receiving before and after the billboard and how long it takes to see a profit from the ad investment, but since other factors are playing into the overall success of the business, how can they tell for certain what had the boosting effect? Right—by asking their audience. Except this is usually done through some kind of voluntary process, like a survey or a trade (i.e. “Tell us how you heard about us in a Google review and you’ll receive 5% off your next purchase!”), and thus, harder to accomplish as it involves an additional investment of time and sacrifice.
It’s All About Human Connection
As stated, marketing is a psychological concept that’s been integrated into society for as long as man has had something to sell or trade with one another; as such, it’s important to understand it both as business owners and consumers alike. At the most basic level, it’s based on feelings of human connection and the desire to trust who and what we’re dealing with. Many brands find the most success by cultivating a social environment with their audience, and that success is maintained simply because the audience feels connected and loyal. That being said, there are layers beyond this as well that target more complex emotions, depending on the industry and the types of people they need to appeal to.
The type of marketing strategies that you choose will depend entirely on how you best feel connected to society. Digital marketing is objectively a growing necessity in society, however, there are yet those who would argue that their old-fashioned approach to marketing is what actually maintains the community that they’ve cultivated in their desired demographic and have still found the level of success they looked for. Even so, the trajectory of society into further digital integrations calls for a dedicated understanding of how we can adapt and utilize technology to our benefit. There is concern for many that a lack of knowledge about the new era will cause some to simply be buried by it.
That being said, the knowledge is readily available! The greatest benefit of the internet is that it’s a vast archive of information at our fingertips. If you find yourself in need of more information about topics like these, you can take a look at more of our blogs or follow our YouTube channel to get comfortable with the digital society.