Everywhere you look, people want to talk about digital marketing. In fact, if you don’t have a digital marketing strategy in today’s business world, you’re not going to last long. But just because digital marketing is popular, don’t assume that offline marketing no longer yields value.
When used together, these strategies can produce significant returns.
“Some people will argue that traditional marketing is dead, but there are several benefits to including offline advertising in your overall marketing campaign,” sales expert Larry Myler admits. “Combining both offline and online campaigns can help boost your brand’s visibility, and help it stand out amongst competitors who may be busy flooding the digital space.”
How do you use offline marketing in a manner that’s both cost-effective and high in exposure? While your business will dictate how you should proceed, here are a few offline marketing methods that still return considerable value in today’s marketplace.
1. Yard signs
When most people think about yard signs, their minds immediately go to political signs that you see posted everywhere during campaign season. However, yard signs have a lot more utility and value beyond campaigning. They’re actually an extremely cost-effective form of offline advertising.
The great thing about yard signs is that you can print your own custom designs for just dollars and, when properly stored, they last for years. They’re also free to place, assuming you have access to property where it’s legal to advertise. This makes them a practical addition to a low-budget marketing campaign.
2. Billboards
The fact that you notice billboards when driving down an interstate or highway is a testament to the reality that other people are also being exposed to these valuable advertisements. If you’ve never considered implementing billboards into your marketing strategy, now’s a good time to think about it.
With billboard advertising, you have to be really careful with design, structure, and execution. “Considering we’re on the move when we read billboards, we don’t have a lot of time to take them in. Six seconds has been touted as the industry average for reading a billboard,” copywriter Paul Suggett explains. “So, around six words is all you should use to get the message across.”
3. Promotional giveaways
It’s the tangible nature of physical marketing that makes it so valuable. Yard signs and billboards are great, but make sure you’re also taking advantage of promotional giveaways as a way of getting something into the hands of your customers.
Promotional giveaways, no matter how simple, generally produce a healthy return on investment. They increase brand awareness and recall, while giving customers positive associations with your brand. (Who doesn’t love getting something for free?)
4. Local event sponsorships
One aspect of offline marketing businesses frequently forget about is local event sponsorships. These sponsorships are usually cost-effective and tend to offer great returns in terms of audience engagement.
Local event sponsorships can usually be found simply by checking the calendar of events in your city. Any time there’s a public event, farmer’s market, parade, sporting event, concert, or fundraiser, there’s an opportunity for you to get your name out there. Look for events where you feel like your target audience is most likely to attend.
Offline marketing is anything but dead.
If your goal is to stand out in a crowded marketplace where all your competitors are investing heavily in social media, SEO, PPC advertising, and blogging, then it’s certainly worth supplementing your existing digital strategy with traditional offline marketing methods that reach your audience at multiple touchpoints.
Missy Caulk
April 1, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Ooooo, I like that last quote by Jeff Jarvis, that is a keeper.
Kim Wood
April 1, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Yo Missy!! You should think about reading that book, if you haven’t. Sarah Cooper pointed it out to me – it’s full of good information.
Chuck G
April 2, 2009 at 6:16 am
It’s ironic that you would bring up this topic. Just this week I had a lengthy discussion with someone in my office who firmly believes “too much is too much” when it comes to transparency. In other words, “if you give everything away for free, they clients won’t need to come to you.” Hmmmmmm.
Let’s now consider the opinion of who’s actually paying my bills — my clients. Here’s a response to the aforementioned comment, lifted verbatim from a client email:
“1) Transparency drives market activity. Markets stall when people don’t understand what is happening in them. Consider the stalled market for toxic assets. They are held up in part because of the lack of transparency. This lack of transparency is threatening to bring down our largest institutions.
2) You operate in Silicon Valley. We are analytic numbers people in this region. You’ll take market share in this brutal real estate market by differentiating yourselves and meeting the needs of the market. (we) were attracted to working with you and your firm BECAUSE of your apparent understanding of the market as evidenced by the information on your blog, including this most recent post. Take this away and you are just another no value real estate agent that we would have zero loyalty towards …”
Their words,not mine. Case closed…
Sarah Cooper
April 2, 2009 at 7:37 am
I actually have a similar post in draft about how it’s ridiculous NOT to give out information for free. If you don’t, they CAN get it somewhere else, and they will. It’s a big internet out there, trying to force people to contact you for secret info just doesn’t work anymore. Prove expertise up front to earn business.
Sarah Cooper
April 2, 2009 at 8:56 am
Had to come back and share a quote I just read near the end of World Wide Rave, “All the success stories we’ve looked at follow a similar path, a path I hope you’ll soon follow: You must create some great free Web content that drive people to you.”
So there. 🙂
Matt Stigliano
April 2, 2009 at 10:01 am
Kim – My sister is a travel agent (in King Of Prussia area – Sampson Travel, now Travizon – you might know them) and I remember her going through all the same things. I went through it in the music industry. While the music industries fight was slightly different, they blew it by criminalizing everyone’s actions. Once they did that, the fight was on – the internet consumer vs. the big labels. The big labels lost the battle and are now playing catch-up. I have no problem giving my info for free – the info is there for them to use, but in the end my value lies outside just facts and figures. With the travel industry, try calling an online ticket seller at 4AM when you realize you’ve missed your connecting flight. With an agent, I knew I could pick up the phone and get my issues resolved – quickly.