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.
Rainer
April 13, 2011 at 8:12 pm
I'm not terribly impressed with the video. While creative, it seems clunky. A third or more of the video is the little….whatever they are…not the house.
I'm definitely with you on shorter is better. But, when someone is searching for a house, they want to see a house. The voice-over is quite distracting from the house, and you know someone is trying to be funny, but just…not…quite.
There's a point where trying too hard can have diminishing returns. Maybe this would be a good overview of the house and would work in conjunction with other videos/photos of the property if they were all on the same site. But, post it on youtube as a stand-a-lone and watch the yawns.
People that are searching for real estate don't need little tricks like this to get their attention to sell the house. They need quality photos and video.
John Perkins
April 13, 2011 at 9:13 pm
There's nothing wrong with short and creative but there's also nothing wrong with a longer video that showcases what the Buyer will get. First lets note that the 30 second video is $366 U.S. dollars which is a hard price to swallow for any U.S. Realtor for 30 seconds. And the bet is that 30 seconds will drive traffic to your door. Not saying it won't but if it doesn't then that Realtor will not be marketing that way again.
PlatinumTV states "The role of film is to leave the buyer wanting to see more. By calling you.” If this is the case then we should just stick with a virtual tour for $79 because that 30 second video was a couple pans like a vt but costs over $350. I might be wrong about their statement but it appears to be more about the Real Estate Agent than getting the home Sold. I say, the role of video is to sell that home before the Buyer ever shows up.
With a longer video (3-4 minutes) you let the Buyer (that "one" you want) see the flow of the home from room to room. If the viewer doesn't like the flow then they don't waste the Sellers or their own Realtors time (Realtors are spending a ton of money on Gas and therefore are really trying to center in on a home the client really wants to buy and the buyer wants the same thing). By showing more home its "Greener" meaning you may not get as many Buyers but what you do get are serious Buyers who saw the home and are truly interested in it. This also builds confidence in the Buyer that the Seller isn't hiding anything and that's a powerful bond between that Buyer and your home as a Seller. I say to my Sellers, "Leave no doubt in the Buyers mind before they ever show up to your house that they've already told each other, "Look honey, I love it already." rather than, "I think we should check this one out." with a question mark. Again, not to say shorter doesn't work but I think this might be a bit too short.
hermanchan.com
April 14, 2011 at 2:03 am
the site said only 2 ppl see the whole 3 min vid, the seller and guy who is gonna buy the house. well, whether there are 1000 hits or 2 hits it just takes ONE buyer to close a deal….if that is the purpose of the video, to sell the subject property. so maybe longer is ok.
but personally i believe brevity is an art. keep things short and sweet
Steven Beam
April 14, 2011 at 9:48 pm
Two minutes tops works best. Having a nice looking spokeswoman on camera helps too. I've had good success with video. Both types either expensively shot pro videos and cheap ones where I'm walking through the house shooting and talking work well. Depends on your buyer for the house.