It’s easy to get caught up in the rush of online marketing. Search engine optimization, social media, content marketing. You’ve likely done plenty of reading on these online exclusive marketing tricks and spent a lot of time on them. But are you neglecting one of the most effective marketing tricks there is? We’re talking about building a real connection in the real world. It doesn’t have to be a one-or-the-other choice, either. By mixing the offline and the online, you can build your most effective marketing campaigns yet.
Have something to say
Content marketing has become one of the strongest ways to build a real brand of expertise. You can answer questions and report on challenges, tips, and news that shows you know what your business is about. But spoken content can sometimes be a lot more effective than having to read it. It’s even more impressive if it’s spoken before an audience of people who are really connected to the industry. Speaking events can add that extra bit of prestige to your content. If you can share it online after, then you’re hitting that important video marketing audience as well.
Connecting offline
Nowadays, your customer might be ‘online’ no matter where they are. Particularly in cities and large towns, a lot of the market is always connected thanks to their smartphone. No matter where they are, they have the option to flip out their mobile devices and access the internet for some answers. Landing pages are very common in directing attention to specific products and deals. Why not extend that to your real life marketing? QR codes are a great tool to add onto your billboards and your print adverts. People can get their phone out and follow it directly to what you’re advertising specifically. You take a lot of the follow-up effort away from the customer, making them more likely to pursue and follow through.
Give them something to tweet and talk about
Word-of-mouth, whether it’s online or offline, is one of the most valuable marketing resources a business can get their grasp on. Using your products and your marketing campaigns to give people to talk about across mediums is like hitting a goldmine. It will take creativity on your end to see how to fit it into your product. But for one example, you just have to look at Coca-Cola’s named bottle campaign. Not only did they become a goldmine for customers tweeting and talking about them. Coca-Cola actually followed up by using Twitter to address customers by name with targeted marketing. The digital nature of modern society made that campaign possible and successful.
Make curiosity your weapon of choice
People don’t like being in the dark. Sometimes that can work against you. If you show off your product, but they don’t understand the value of it, they’re likely to not be all that impressed. However, if your message has an impact and it’s intriguing enough, it will prompt plenty of investigatory involvement on the customer’s end. Lots of ads make use of curiosity to drive customer interest. Perhaps one of the most famous and most classic examples is that of the horror film, the Blair Witch Project. Anyone who saw the trailer immediately jumped online to the provided link to find out more. That was successful back in the relative infancy of the internet and still continues now. Get people on the hunt with creative marketing and only a link to help explain what they just saw.
Build up to the big event
Getting face to face is easily one of the best lead building opportunities a business can hope for. Trade shows offer that connection, but the way that companies are incorporating trade shows into their digital marketing. A strong social media and email campaign can spread the word far and wide about your attendance at the event. Then, Storify and other apps can help you create a running campaign based on what’s happening and what you’re talking about at the show itself. The trade show offers the chance for online-only businesses to create a real brand image through booth design and aesthetic. Booth specialist team Steelhead Productions has info on how the right visual appeal can add some real punch to your brand.
Add some much-needed trust
It’s sometimes misguided, but there is a very broad understanding that companies that have some kind of physical presence are more trustworthy. Online adverts can lead to nothing at all and you don’t know whether or not any business site is legitimate. Of course, that’s not true, but that’s the kind of suspicion that can stop your audience from becoming customers. On the other hand, something as simple as some presence in print materials, like magazine and newspaper advertisements, are a lot more likely to build trust amongst the consumer base. Any business needs some level of trust if it wants to succeed.
No replacement for face-to-face
It’s not just the customers you want to get face-to-face with, either. Collaborative marketing is becoming more and more effective. People find they share audiences they can tap into, or that their combined marketing might add prestige and visibility to one another’s campaigns. It’s a lot easier to network with other businesses and create a rapport offline than it is online. From that burgeoning offline relationship, you can begin strategies for collaborative digital marketing pushes. Or even if it doesn’t go that far, you’ll be a lot more likely to find them sharing and signal boosting your existing social media messaging. Just make sure that you return the favor or they’re not as likely to keep it up.
The digital world has a lot to contribute to your offline marketing methods and vice versa. You can broadcast your latest events and campaigns better online, while some real world presence adds a bit of prestige and trust that can make your online marketing more likely to hook a few leads. Start thinking not of only the methods, but how you integrate them from now on.
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