4 Offline Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
While digital marketing is certainly a requirement for modern businesses, it’s unwise to totally forget about offline marketing methods. The best strategies involve a healthy blend of the two. Unfortunately, most marketers and business owners don’t even know where to start with offline marketing. But it’s simpler than you might think.
The Role of Offline Marketing in an Online World
There’s no denying that we operate in an online world where digital media rules the day. But it’s not as if offline mediums have disappeared. We still live in a physical world where marketing, brand, and advertising are ubiquitous. Offline marketing might not have the same “sex appeal” that online marketing has, but it’s still effective.
The key to successful offline marketing is to meld it with online marketing. Because when you combine offline and online media, they produce a much higher ROI than when they’re siloed and segmented.
“Even though many advertisers are focusing on digital marketing and advertising, traditional offline media channels are still important,” Marketing Evolution explains. “The key to offline media optimization is to know which offline tactics are still valuable and to allocate a percentage of total ad budget accordingly.”
Done correctly, offline marketing can build brand awareness by reaching customers where they are (physically). It has the ability to penetrate your audience, even when they don’t have a screen in front of their face. It also allows you to test specific regional markets and study behavior.
4 Offline Marketing Tips
When it comes to offline marketing, there are so many different strategies, techniques, and modalities to choose from. The key is to create a strategy and focus your energy and effort around it. With this in mind, here are some suggestions:
- Tap Into Local Media
Local media companies, like radio and TV stations, are always on the lookout for news stories. In many cases, they’re on the verge of begging for new content. If you can give them a newsworthy pitch, they might feature you in a story.
There are also plenty of paid options for local media. Buying ad time on most local stations is extremely cheap and could help you reach thousands of local customers without breaking the bank.
The key is to build relationships with local media members. A strong emphasis on local networking will serve you well in this regard.
- Attend Local Events
Local events are a great way to increase your brand’s visibility and get face-to-face time with potential customers. Pay especially close attention to things like community fairs and trade shows.
The key to being successful with local events is to prepare ahead of time. With a cost-effective online printing partner, you can print and distribute things like booklets, catalogs, brochures, postcards, posters, flyers, and magazines.
- Rent Billboard Space
Billboards aren’t something most modern marketers think about, but they can still be effective. Depending on your location, you might be able to snag one for just a few hundred dollars per month. However, pricing depends on Geopath ratings, which account for factors like traffic volumes, the number of people in each car, and the position of the billboard relative to the road.
- Send Snail Mail
Direct mail used to be the hottest thing in marketing. It was one of the go-to strategies for almost every major corporation. But over the years, shiny online methods have grabbed the attention of most marketers. However, don’t let that convince you that direct mail is dead. It still has a pretty impressive ROI.
Research shows that direct mail has a median ROI of 29 percent. This makes it the third most effective medium behind email and social media. (And get this: social media leads by just one percent.)
When leveraged appropriately, sales letters and postcards can help you reach the right people at a very low cost (often pennies per piece of mail). And ironically enough, this change of pace from digital marketing allows you to cut through the noise and differentiate.
Putting it All Together
Offline marketing isn’t rocket science. It does, however, require a targeted approach. You can’t be all things to all people, and you can’t invest in every single tactic that exists. But if you’re willing to get focused and organize your resources in a strategic manner, you can get a healthy ROI from your offline strategy.
