Traditional and Digital Marketing

In the ever-growing digital marketing space, businesses must be aware of the various digital marketing channels that are best for them. When marketing for healthcare, there are 3 platforms that would work best.  The first are display ads. This is one of the most widely used forms of digital marketing. Placing graphical ads on websites, videos, or e-mails is display advertisement (Kannan & Li, 2017). The ads can be in the form of images, text, animations, or videos. The content should preferably be interactive. The ads can be targeted based on demographics, choices of the users, behavior, and other relevant parameters. By proper targeting the ad reaches the relevant people and generates better impressions. The second platform is e-mail marketing. E-mail Marketing is a great way to reach customers and improve relationship with them.  Email marketing is a tried and tested method of gaining new customers and creating brand awareness. E-mail marketing is a great way for small companies who are on a limited marketing budget (Kannan & Li, 2017). The only challenge of this method is building a database which can be time consuming. However, if targeted properly, this method shows good results. A marketer should use this method in a careful manner and not overdo it. People do not go through all their mails and by sending a lot of mails you may end up upsetting a possible customer. A marketer should avoid spamming a customer’s inbox. The third platform is social media marketing. Social media has emerged as the most preferred channel of promotion for majority of marketers. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and blogging websites have taken the digital marketing space by storm (Tiago & Verissimo, 2014). Social media platforms are not just a great platform to connect with people but also provide marketers an ocean of opportunities.

                With digital marketing, there are some both positive and negative sides. The positive side of digital marketing is that is not very expensive, it engages and targets specific customers, and it is a way to reach a large pool of possible customers or patients (Tiago & Verissimo, 2014). Some negative of digital marketing is security or privacy issues, maintenance costs, and dependability on technology.

                When it comes to digital marketing, it only appeals to certain populations. The older population, such as senior citizens, are less likely to be active with the latest technologies.  Most will not have Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat or even know what they are.  They might be reachable by email but it could be hit or miss. Millennials and the General X population is more amendable to digital marketing (Todor, 2016). They are more up-to-date on the latest technologies and are looking for the easy way to make connections. The seniors and older population are more comfortable with traditional marketing (Todor, 2016). They are the ones who still read newspapers, magazines, direct mail, and brochures.  TV ads and radio ads are another way to reach this audience.

References:

Kannan, P. & Li, H. (2017).  Digital Marketing: A framework, review and research agenda. InternationalJournal of Research in Marketing, 34(1), 22-45.

Tiago, M. & Verissimo, J. (2014).  Digital Marketing and Social Media: Why bother? Business Horizons, 57(6), 703-708.

Todor, R. (2016). Blending Traditional and Digital Marketing. Economic Sciences, 9(58), 51-56.

Atisha King posted Apr 7, 2019 3:58 PM

For healthcare organizations to be successful, marketing strategists must focus on patient acquisition and long-term retention (Orchard, 2015). They must understand the needs and desires of these potential patients and fulfill those requirements to the highest of standards (Radu, Solomon, Gheorghe, Hostiuc, Bulescu, & Purcarea, 2017). As noted in the discussion article, an effective healthcare marketing strategy employs a mixture of traditional and digital forms of advertising.

Traditional methods for marketing include newspapers, billboards, and magazines. Such methods are effective in disseminating information to broad categories of people. Persons who are not accustomed to using cell phone apps, social media, or the internet to rapidly acquire new information would most likely benefit from traditional marketing techniques.

Conversely, use of electronic media, in conjunction with the traditional methods listed above, is most effective at targeting potential patients and retaining them long-term. Digital marketing tools include text messages, email, social media, and the internet. Healthcare marketers must be cognizant of proper use of these platforms, and budgets must be precisely determined in order to prevent over-spending. However, there are several advantages to digital marketing in healthcare. As noted in the discussion article, websites can include HIPPA compliant chats that facilitate communication between patients and their healthcare teams, thus strengthening the doctor-patient relationship (Pierret, 2017). Additionally, Facebook advertising enables marketing managers the ability to target and retarget a specific audience based on demographics, location, income, and other factors (Pierret, 2017). Digital marketing most appeals to individuals who mostly utilize their phones, computer apps, and the internet for research and acquiring new information.