As the world turns more into a digital sphere, marketing techniques evolve to keep up with the times. While you may follow many familiar practices, you must be aware of how technology can change the way you operate. Here are ten tips for online and offline marketing which should help you stay relevant.
1. Optimize For The Tech-Savvy User
If you are reading this, I assume you are already active online. For most marketers, the line between online and offline marketing becomes blurred as content and messaging are transferred seamlessly between the two. What is important is that you begin to think about your target audience in terms of the devices they use to access your content. This may mean creating a digital experience that is accessible via desktop computers, tablets and mobile phones.
2. Identify The Main Attraction
With your marketing goals and objectives in mind, you must figure out the main attraction which will encourage people to give your product or service a try. For example, if you are promoting a web hosting plan, your main attraction could be the promise of having a professional-looking website up and running in no time. Once they try it and realize how simple it is to use, they will be back for more. The same could be said for a product that simplifies complex marketing tasks such as email marketing or SEO.
3. Customize Your Offers
Depending on your product, your main attraction may be something as simple as earning money or as complex as helping solve a specific problem. One of the primary ways consumers can differentiate between products is through customized offers. This may mean something as simple as displaying a personalized discount for that product when they make an online purchase or, for luxury goods, providing a convenience factor such as in-house jewelers who can make a ring look as good as new.
4. Measure The Success Of Your Marketing Efforts
To determine the effectiveness of your marketing tactics, you must set up concrete goals as to what you will measure. For example, if you are focusing on website traffic as a way to gauge the success of your marketing efforts, you will need to track web traffic from multiple sources (e.g., organic search traffic, referral traffic, etc.). Once you have established the benchmark, you can use various tools to track the efficacy of your campaigns.
5. Integrate The Offline Into Your Online Marketing Strategy
While most marketing is based online, your products and services may not be accessible to everyone. That is why you should always consider leveraging the offline world to reach your audience. For example, if you are holding a product launch event at a convention center, you can use signs and posters around the venue to draw attention to your brand. Additionally, you can ask customers to share their experience online via reviews or social media posts.
6. Measure The ROI Of Your Offline Marketing Efforts
When it comes to marketing expenditures, many businesses assume that the return on investment will be seen in increased sales. However, this is not always the case. The ROI of an offline marketing effort can be seen in terms of brand awareness and recognition, attracting new customers, and gaining credibility. To track the ROI of your offline marketing campaign, you will need to compile a list of all the costs associated with the campaign (i.e., costs related to producing and distributing materials such as promotional items and advertising), and all the benefits resulting from the campaign (i.e., increased brand awareness, recognition, credibility, and sales).
7. Integrate The Offline Into Your SEO And Content Strategy
If you are looking to increase your website traffic, you should consider integrating the offline into your SEO and content strategy. For example, if you are trying to grow your organic traffic, you could start by distributing flyers at local events, holding interviews with local journalists, and establishing social media accounts with relevant hashtags.
8. Measure The Return Of Your Investment In Analytics
With the explosion of social media, it is essential that you have the analytics to prove the effectiveness of your social media campaigns. To start, you can simply set up a spreadsheet to track all the different social media platforms and the different methods you are using to achieve a more tangible ROI.
9. Use Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) To Your Advantage
SEO is a form of marketing where the primary medium is the web and the primary audience are search engines such as Google. To succeed using SEO, you need to follow a set of guidelines that can help you achieve higher search engine rankings.
10. Be Persistent
Like many other forms of marketing, SEO is based on the principle of constantly introducing yourself to as many people as possible. To ensure this happens, you must be willing to keep putting out relevant content and connecting with people on social media. Additionally, you should consider using various platforms to reach your audience. For example, if you are trying to raise brand awareness and you know your target audience spends a lot of time on Pinterest, you could create a Pinterest account to pin photos of your products and highlight your campaigns. By doing this, you ensure that your content is always available to your target audience and that they remember seeing your content when they are searching for something related to your topic.
For most businesses, the line between online and offline marketing becomes blurred as content and messaging are transferred seamlessly between the two. While you may follow many familiar practices, you must be aware of how technology can change the way you operate. Here are ten tips for online and offline marketing which should help you stay relevant.