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.
john harper
July 7, 2007 at 8:23 am
Let me know your final choice of products. I like the analysis and questioning. I don’t see a link on your blog to your main site.
I’m not sure I can buy Jeff’s comment – sounds like something a salesperson would throw out.
Marty Van Diest
July 8, 2007 at 12:04 am
Just stopped by to read your post for carnival of real estate.
I don’t have mapping on my site…guess I better step up.
Huh? I don’t even have IDX on my site. Bettey get some blue hair dye.
B. R.
July 8, 2007 at 8:46 am
Marty! You have a blog and you’re hosting the carnival! Hold up on that dye!
Honestly, idx has been secondary on my site as well as the look and feel of it really leaves a lot to be desired. The point of all of this is is outsiders have reinvented it and made it “neato.” So why not provide it ourselves if technology allows…
Thanks for coming by!
Heinrich
August 7, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Hey Realty Genius,
Genius Realty here… We’ve had our mapping tool up for about two years now and it is home grown. Give it a run. It even uses Ajax at the beginning of the search. Let us know what you think of it.
B. R.
August 7, 2007 at 11:36 pm
I checked out your site and your map search function- I searched all of Boise 3/2 200k to 300k as a simple test (this is the same test I run on all search sites) and it choked. My suggestion is limit results to 150 as a start and give searchers the option to load the full boat with a warning.
It isn’t just your map product that does that, most of them do with mixed results. Either pictures do not load, the map is too congested w/ indicators, or the wait ends up frustrating those who are searching.
All in all I liked your site and your search results. Nice clean lay out, clean interface, great spacing between results in lists. I liked the truck, great branding, nice logo and appeal.
Cheers.