Nowadays, every company must have an awesome website and a solid social media marketing strategy. By no doubt, digital marketing is omnipresent these days. The digital approach is the focal point for many marketers and businesses, and they use it to reach their target audience and promote their brand, products or services.
Marketers could finally track all interactions the audience has with the ads, and use this knowledge to revise content and strategy. A third of senior marketing professionals believe that digital marketing will account for about half of marketing spent in this year.
Not everyone is online or knows about your business. You cannot expect from people to visit your website or Instagram page if they don’t even know you exist. People are still watching TV, listening to the radio, reading newspapers or watching billboards as they drive. As a matter of fact, almost 90% of Generation Z and 93% of Millennials are reached by radio alone each week.
In this article, we will teach you what are the benefits of combing both and how you can use offline marketing to better supplement your digital approach.
The benefits of combining both
Firstly, better brand awareness. Since marketing is all about increasing reach, you can use online marketing efforts to increase your brand exposure to a wider audience, and then add various offline methods to expose your brand to those who are still not accustomed to the digital world- in other words, those who aren’t online.
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Secondly, it will make you look credible. Which business today can be considered credible if it doesn’t have a phone for you to contact, website or a business place to visit? Gaining a customer trust is one of the greatest challenges for any company today and by combining both online and offline marketing you can help your business to lessen these issues. Offline marketing is a tradition, and people often view anything traditional as credible.
Lastly, a sharper competitive edge. You’ll often find your competition on social media, Google or other online channels. But, is the same true for radio, TV or direct mail? Here you can find a certain marketing “vacuum” you can use to your advantage.
Have a phone number placed on your website
Nowadays, everyone has access to a mobile device, making it an easy-to-use method for customers to make instant inquiries about a company or a product. Many a member of your audience will use Google to locally search for your store or to find your website online.
However, it’s possible that on your website they won’t find what they have been searching for. Then they will try to call you to resolve this issue. Don’t make this a burdensome task for them. Phone systems for small business can help here unless you want a reduction in lead-generation.
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These phone systems can increase your customer engagement and will make your business look credible in their eyes, instead of just being another quick to make quick to dissolve an online business.
Mixing the radio and Facebook advertising
Social media marketing works great if you know your audience well and you’re already involved in offline marketing such as promoting your brand over the TV or radio. Here Facebook and your favorite radio can have a certain synergy. Promote any offer you have on radio and then direct those listeners to your Facebook page or vice versa in order to increase engagement and awareness.
Although investing into a radio advertising is an expensive endeavor, it can still make a big difference if your target audience drives a lot, or falls into a specific demographic such as aforementioned Millennials and Generation Z members.
The same can be said for TV ads. They’re also expensive, but they are known to hold people’s attention. Use this to your advantage and quickly highlight your website or landing page where they can receive additional information.
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Use online presence to promote offline events
The industry event is still an important factor for networking, lead gain and having a consistent line of communication with your audience. But just being there won’t cut it.
Use digital marketing to create a hype for the event, increase attendance and thus have more networking opportunities available. Use your social media pages and your website to announce the event.
Don’t stop there. Go live on the event and take selfies with your clients and business partners. They will feel appreciated and respected, a rare thing in today’s business world. Since most Instagram stories and live videos disappear after a day, be sure to add updates and post-event news for the full coverage, either in a blog format or social media posts. In the end, ask attendees for feedback.
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Although downsized and being smaller every year, offline marketing can still play an important role in your overall marketing efforts as a great addon for your online approach. Nowadays, reaching every customer is a must, and with both, this becomes easily achievable.
| About the Guest Author:
Lauren Wiseman is a marketing specialist, contributor to bizzmarkblog.com and an entrepreneur. She helps clients grow their personal and professional brands in the fast-changing and demanding market, strongly believing in a holistic approach to a business.
