Traditional Media Vs Social Media - Is One Losing the Battle to the Other?

Fifty years ago, women tennis players only received a tenth of what men made. To change it, a few righteous and daring women left no stone unturned, either by forming their own tour or through the “Battle of Sexes”, but most decisively, with the help of the traditional media. As Billie Jean K said, they spent more time promoting than they probably did playing, and if the traditional media didn’t tell their story, they were nothing.

However, with the march of traditional media vs. social media, the time has changed. Nowadays, the relationship between public figures and the audience no longer relies on the traditional media only. They have direct access to their fans to tell their stories. Like Naomi Osaka, the No.2 ranked women tennis player and highest-paid female athlete in the world, has been through recently.

Her decision to skip all the news conferences for mental health, her announcement to withdraw from French Open, and her honesty about the long-time struggle with depression were all uncovered through social media with two Instagram posts.

From threatening to sympathizing, the attitudes of the tennis officials, on the other hand, looked ridiculous and defeated. The more they try to defend the position of the news conference, the more we feel social media is hammering hard on the traditional media. Is traditional media really losing the battle to social media? 

Traditional Media Vs. Social Media

The contrast between women tennis in the past and Naomi Osaka today is just one out of many examples of the battle of traditional media vs. social media. But a certain message is conveyed that traditional media is facing a major challenge from the impact of social media. For example, most people are thinking about how to get free TikTok followers instantly or likewise.

According to a study done by TopMedia in 2018:

• There are 3.2 billion social media users, who are more than the total number of people who consume TVs, radios, newspapers, magazines, etc.

• People spent an average of 2 hours a day watching TV while social media consumption researched 2.20 hours.

• Though TV doesn’t experience a substantial drop, newspapers have dropped over 25% and magazines consumption 19%.

What Is Traditional Media?

Well, long story short, the traditional media can be the TV you watch till midnight, the radio you listen to while driving on the road, the magazine/newspaper you bring to the toilet, the billboard you see on the street or any other media that doesn’t make use of the internet.

What Is Social Media?

As opposed to it, social media is internet-based sharing of information that focuses on the feature of interacting, such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, etc we use every day.

The Differences between Traditional Media and Social Media

As mentioned before, the traditional media is at a disadvantage in the battle of traditional media vs. social media. You’ll have a clearer picture of why by reading the following 5 differences.

1. Traditional media reaches out for a broad audience while social media’s audience is more targeted.

2. Social media is immediate whereas traditional media is often delayed due to press time.

3. Social media is a two-way conversation but traditional media is just one way.

4. Traditional media can not be changed once published, however, social media is more dynamic with the flexibility to make adjustments.

5. Social media is easier to track the results, such as the reach, the engagement rate, or the demographic of your audience. But traditional media has little chance to track the results.

Is Traditional Media Losing the Battle of Social Media Vs. Traditional Media?

The answer is not yet. Traditional media still has its firm foothold in the battle of traditional media vs. social media though not as solid as before. The advantages of traditional media over social media mainly reflect in these two aspects - trust score and brand awareness.

Traditional Media Is Vital to Build Brand Awareness

Unconsciously, traditional media shapes or changes the audience’s perception of a brand.  

A study done by Sproutsocial reveals that 58% of consumers learn about brands and companies through TV advertising.

Compared with 55% of customers who know a brand through social media, traditional media has also a broader audience, which is key to build your brand awareness.

Traditional Media Has Higher Trust Scores

As it is known to all, time is money. It is even more so when a brand pays for commercials on traditional media. High barriers to entry have already eliminated a bunch of poor-quality companies.

Moreover, traditional media channels are meticulous in choosing whom they should collaborate with. After all, it is not worthwhile for them to lose credit just because of money.

Take a look at the convincing data, ads from newspapers, magazines and TV have the highest trust score more than 60%, while social media ads are listed way behind with only 39%.

Marketing on Traditional Media or Social Media?

When it comes to marketing, which one should you choose, social media or traditional media? Probably you may feel a little bit confusing because in the battle of traditional media vs. social media, as you can see, both two have their pros and cons. 

Otherwise, you won't see luxury ads on TV or people are anxious about 0 views on TikTok. Actually, you don’t need to dwell on which one to use. Our suggestion is to invest in both traditional and social media if you have enough budget.

This strategy is also what many traditional media companies are doing. They keep their presence in the form of traditional media, and at the same time, they manage their social media profiles on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc.

• On the social media platforms such as Instagram, you benefit from communicating with your customers, tracking your performance,  and cultivating targeted Instagram followers.

• On the traditional media channels such as TV, radio and magazines, you build your brand awareness and increase your credibility.

However, not all brands can afford to pay traditional media for advertisement. Thus, marketing on social media is a more feasible way for you if you have little budget.

In addition, social media marketing is the trend. Brands of all sizes have a profile on Instagram and make an effort to get free Instagram followers instantly.

That is all because the opportunity on Instagram is huge. Out of 1 billion users, 90% of them follow the business and 2/3 said they could interact with the brand thanks to Instagram.

How to Build Brand Awareness on Social Media Effectively?

Marketing on traditional media channels is effective to build brand awareness, because ads on TV, newspaper, magazine, etc. bombard us out of breath, we can’t avoid knowing the brand.

On the social media apps like Instagram, however, people’s habit is to search for a brand willingly. So it becomes hard to increase your brand awareness on Instagram. 

Is there a way to build brand awareness on social media as effectively as on traditional media?

Yes, we have. GetinsupSuperPostSuperPost is designed to help you boost the fame of your brand. It is the biggest IG followers booster community with more than 10 million Instagrammers gather to help each other.

With a coin game system to motivate others to follow you, free Instagram followers will increase your brand awareness as effectively as paid ads on TV. 

No cost, no password needed, no survey to do nor investigation to fill out, you get 1k Instagram followers in 5 minutes. Come and try GetinsupSuperPostSuperPost with no hesitation.

The Bottom Line

Traditional media vs. social media is not a battle to phase out one or the other but to better understand the differences between the two. Marketing on social media and hand in hand with traditional media is the best strategy for you. But if you can afford millions to build your brand awareness through traditional media, GetinsupSuperPostSuperPost will back you up, helping you gain free Instagram followers in several minutes.