Will Internet Marketing Overtake Television Advertising?

Internet marketing continues to be a powerful means for small and big businesses alike to promote their products and services. Businesses around the world are able to reach their ideal prospects and target local and global regions at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. This is why many economists, business analysts and marketing advisers have been debating the possibility of Web marketing overtaking television advertising at some time in the future, if it hasn't happened already.

To answer this question, we first need to understand what Internet marketing is all about. Then, we will compare its significant effects to the bottom-line results of a commercial establishment or public organization, over the benefits that television advertising can provide them at the moment. Afterwards, we can draw conclusions based on our discussions regarding these things. So, let's start!

What is Internet Marketing & How Is It Used Today?

Web marketing is the process where a professional or an organization makes use of the Internet to reach their target audiences. For example, a commercial establishment can publish a helpful guide that offers information on how their target readers can improve certain aspects of their lives by using products and services that the commercial establishment sells. They then share this guide across relevant Facebook groups among other online social communities where their ideal customers hang out. They can also optimize this guide for Google and Bing, in order for users of these search engines with similar interests to find their guide after entering relevant search terms.

Generally, the main objective of an Internet marketing campaign is for its authors to clearly and quickly communicate certain messages to their target viewers. They might want to promote their newly launched products. Others might want to inform their prospects about certain discounted services that they're currently offering. Some might just want to promote top-of-mind recall of their brand, products and services. A few might just want to inform their existing users about certain things that they're currently doing, which might impact the experience of their customers in using their products.

Individual service providers, commercial groups and public organizations can opt to pay for Web advertising campaigns in certain online platforms like Google, Bing, Facebook, Youtube and the like. Or, they can implement organic campaigns where they hire content writers to publish content across several relevant Web platforms. They can also hire marketing agents to hang out and mingle with their target prospects at certain online communities.

Because not too many businesses, licensed professionals and public institutions are experts in Internet marketing, most of them opt to hire a Web marketing agency. These service providers create relevant Internet advertising and marketing campaigns for their clients. They then execute these campaigns through their trained staff of marketing agents, content writers and social media managers.

Now, let's discuss the differences between Internet marketing and television advertising. After this, we'll be able to better answer if Web marketing will soon overtake (or has already overtaken) television advertising as the generally preferred promotional medium of most commercial groups, individual service providers and public organizations around the world.

Advantages of Web Marketing Over Television Advertising

A significant advantage of Internet marketing over television advertising is its cost-effectiveness, especially for start-up businesses, small companies and individual service providers. With Web advertising and marketing, they can reach their target prospects while spending considerably smaller amounts of money for their campaigns, compared to television advertising.

Another advantage of promoting products and services on the Internet is the market reach and traction that it offers, as opposed to television advertising. With an online advertising and marketing campaign, you'll be able to reach wider audiences anywhere in the world, and still at a fraction of the cost of launching a television advertising campaign that targets multiple regions of the world.

To wrap things up, another advantage of Internet marketing over television advertising is the granular data that advertisers can gain from such campaigns. For example, you can track down the results of your Web advertising and marketing campaigns down to the age, gender, domestic location and other relevant information about your prospects, at the time that they engaged with your marketing and advertising materials. This is unlike television advertising that provides more limited data of your campaign results. This is a huge advantage of Internet marketing over traditional forms of advertising, especially for small businesses.