Directory Marketing vs Social Media Marketing

Every tool is built for a purpose and the digital marketer has to know its full potential and understand its scope. Some tools appear to be similar at the outset but each one is different with its own uniqueness whether new or old.

So, it is highly necessary on the part of the digital marketer to not only understand that such and such tools exist for a purpose or two, but should be adeptly be able to leverage the use of the tools. He has to take up the tool at the right time, use it optimally and execute its purpose in the right measure. It requires knowledge of the tool, training of its use, understanding of its effectiveness and mastery of its handling. Professional digital marketers keep updating their skill-sets and knowledge horizon and continually improve their abilities to perform better with digital marketing planning, work with tools and platforms, implement ideas and strategies and pull off results not once or twice but continuously and consistently. Here’s a look at two types of digital marketing viz Directory Marketing and Social Media Marketing.

Similarities & Differences

Similarities between Directory & Social Media Marketing

Profile Creation: In both Directories and Social Media, you can create your User Profiles, portray your brand and establish your brand identity.

Audience Segmentation: With chosen categories and keywords in your Directory listing, you have the control to decide what type of audience and users should see your brand and profile, product and company content in Directories Marketing. As with Social Media Marketing, you have the ability to add specific followers and let your content be seen by such chosen and specific audiences.

Lead Generation: In both Directory and Social Media Marketing, you can generate leads and convert customers though the process may be tangentially or diagonally variant. Consult Digital White Labels Link Building Agency and get more leads and conversions.

Premium Ads & Sponsored Promotion: In both forms of Directory and Social Media Marketing, you have the optional Paid Promotion, Enhanced Presence Creation Packages, Featured Listing or Ads, Display Banner Ads and Top of the Crowd Promotion Ads for higher visibility, better reach and greater performance.

Search Marketing: Both Directory and Social Media Marketing offer in-search and Google search opportunities to get your content and profile found through relevant keywords, tags and/or hashtags. Digital White Labels, No 1 Web Design Company helps you with Search Marketing and gets you found better in search engines.

Differences between Directory & Social Media Marketing

Interpersonal Connectivity: While the Social Media offers more scope for interpersonal connectivity through chatting, instant reply option and direct messaging, the Directories do not provide such close or short time interactive options and communication features except few features and few directories. Usually,  communication through Business or Industrial Directories are only after explicit expression of interest made through non-personal mode such as contact form filling or emailing.

Updated & Streaming Content: Directory listings are usually for a period of one year except Classifieds which offer listings for 15 to 45 days. So, the concept and context of frequent updation of content do not even arise. But in Social Media, you can stream your posts, pictures and comments live. These apart, you have an option to schedule your posts for any time intervals as preferred and you can keep on updating and promoting your digital content non-stop.

Followers: With most of the popular Social Media Platforms are about networking, you can create Followers in Social Media. A typical Business or Industrial or Niche Directory mostly allows your business to just be listed there and perhaps with social submissions option but they are not really about creating and increasing a Follower Network within those Directories.

Personal/Non-personal Efforts: A Directory’s advantage on the marketing front is that given its popularity among its users and high rankings in search engine search results like in Google, these Directories bring you visibility, conversion and other marketing/sales results without your active efforts, participation, intervention and promotional indulgence. But, in Social Media you have to be actively, constantly and regularly posting, scheduling and publishing your content excluding or partially excluding Paid Promotions and Ads. Otherwise, your brand presence gets eroded and you do not get obvious and concrete results like visibility, brand engagements and leads.

Live/Instant Interaction/Connectivity: In Social Media, you are able to instantly connect with other Users and communicate or share about your brand content and links. In Directories, these are far-fetched.

Nature of Content: While content posted in Social Media is more light, personalised and about latest trends, it is more so business-like and in a professional tone in Business/Special Interest/ Niche/Industrial Directories.

Paid/Non-paid Promotion: Though most of the Business Directories offer Free Listings, they come with limited options. So, to have a comprehensive and very inclusive presence in the Directories, you have to take a Paid Listing which justifies your presence there. But you can post innumerable content in Social Media without having to pay for them unless otherwise you opt for Paid Ads in Social Media.

Merits of Directory & Social Media Marketing

The differences between Directories and Social Media prove to be advantageous in some respects which include exclusive merits of both the media.

Merits of Directory Marketing

They are as under:

• Periodicity
• Third Party Promotion
• Expert Marketers
• Dedicated Support Team

Merits of Social Media Marketing

Prominent merits of Social Media Marketing are:

• Personal Touch:
• Flexibility of Content:
• Higher ability to scale up/scale down promotion:
• Ability to do respond instantaneously:

Conclusion

Having analyzed and stated thus far about the differences and merits of Directory Marketing and Social Media Marketing, the Marketers are advised to intricately study each functional and featural differences and merits of each of these platforms and types, and craftily put together your marketing ideas, plan your campaigns, and promote your business and brand. All Directories are not the same and so do all the Social Media Platforms. With studied observation, consistent efforts and immaculate execution, your digital marketing efforts can never derail. Moreover, put out your excellent team work with rope tight coordination and pull out a great success.