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.
Kris van Gool
June 22, 2011 at 11:28 am
Builders and Architects are a great resource for building your knowledge base and learning more about their industry. They are also great for contacts.
Eric Holmes
June 22, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Simplic, Magnifolio, Carousel, Auzora, Mephisto, Entrepenuer and Awake. What do those words have in common? Their wordpress themes I've purchased over the last year trying to accomplish this goal. I've spent hours and hours trying to figure out the different themes, sliders, short codes, blah, blah, blah. etc. Portfolio sites don't necessarily translate very well because we also need to be able to add property details and descriptions which can be long depending on the property. The moral to this brief story is that in the end it's infinitely easier (and cheaper when you figure in the cost of time) to let go of the reigns and hire a pro. Go sell houses. Let someone else worry about the kerning of Helvetica Neue and Cascading Style Sheets.
Robyn Schnadelbach
July 19, 2011 at 9:41 pm
Lani, I am glad you have brought this up. I too, like Eric Holmes, have gone through countless wordpress themes still not completely satisfied. The architect and builder website approach is something that definitely got me thinking. As odd as it may sound, I came across a wedding photographer website recently that I loved. It was different that any other wedding photographer website I have ever seen. Rather than putting thousands and thousands of her photos, she posted videos revealing her personality and how she works. It has got me thinking if an approach like this may work for Realtors. So much of why people may want to work with a certain Realtor is not only their expertise but if their personalities. This is the wedding photographer website I am talking about. jasmine-star.com I would love to here your thoughts about this approach too! Rather than displaying countless listings, something like this could display who we are and how we work.