One of the greatest myths, as well as most harmful ones, is that the offline marketing techniques have stepped down in order to make way for digital marketing. In reality, both of these methods are capable of coexisting. In fact, this is precisely when they give optimal results. Those who are still skeptical about this though need to further look into ways in which one's offline strategies can maximize their online efforts. Here are five examples of this underutilized trend.
Social media handles on promotional materials
A lot of marketers, even some of the more experienced ones, often fail to see the connection between promotional materials and digital marketing. For instance, how does one connect a promotional umbrella or a T-shirt with the concept of social media marketing? Well, one of the ways to do so is to add a couple of social media handles on these promotional materials.
Sure, some people are skeptical that people are actually going to memorize your Instagram name by taking a glance at a branded t-shirt. Yet, this is not even the point of this strategy. Your goal here is to remind people that you are present on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube and encourage them to look you up on their own. In most cases, they will be able to find you by simply entering your company name in the social network's search box.
Flyers and display boxes as teasers
One of the greatest advantages of e-store is the fact that you don't have to be obsessed with the amount of space your catalog is going to take. If people are interested in a certain item, they can just filter it out, if they are interested in items from a certain price range, there is often an option to apply a filter for this, as well. On the other hand, with flyers and printed catalogs, this doesn't apply.
Instead, you can use retail display boxes as teasers or samples of all that you have to offer. In other words, you can pick the most popular or the most in-demand item from each category, print it and proudly display it here. For those who are interested in other, similar products, you can leave a hint that there's more on your e-commerce website.
A grand opening
In a situation where you also have an actual retail spot, you can host a grand opening and announce it online. In this way, you are using the live-event to draw an inspiration for more content marketing material. Furthermore, you could also make this opening into a closed event and encourage people to apply for their invitations online. In this way, you are luring them in, similarly to starting a competition or a giveaway.
Printed mail
While it is true that email marketing may yield in a 4400 percent ROI, when working with a smaller sample, it might still be more reliable to work with printed mail. You see, statistics and ROI, in general, can be quite misleading. Seeing as how sending a single email isn't a service that requires a fee, you are free to send out as many of them as you like. Low overhead, combined with an enormous reach, always gives an excellent ROI. However, when working with a limited sample of your local target demographic, you should focus on conversion rate rather than ROI.
Traditional ads are still alive and kicking
Finally, you need to keep in mind is that a right message is always an effective tool, no matter what medium it is delivered through. Whether you advertise on TV, newspapers or radio, display your ad on a billboard or a storefront, it might still reach your target demographic. Why not use all of the above-listed methods to further promote your website or e-store?
At the end of the day, there's no such thing as a bad promotion. Still, shunning traditional marketing to pave the way for digital means of promotion is never a good idea. This especially goes since these two techniques are in no way exclusive to each other. Furthermore, people who have maximum efficiency in mind are seldom in a situation to turn down an effective method, regardless of its nature, origin or form.
Guest Author
Steven Clark is a business consultant, marketing specialist and a regular contributor to several reputable websites. He likes to write about digital and traditional marketing, web design, social networks and everything new and innovative in the business world. When not working on new projects, he likes to spend time with his daughter in the great outdoors.