Internet marketing has long surprised everyone by its potential to attract potential customers. But there are a lot of companies that use "human" methods of business promotion, such as printing and distribution of leaflets, broad-channel broadcasting via radio or TV advertising, billboard ads, transport advertising, etc.
Offline Marketing Definition
Offline marketing methods involve attracting the target audience to the site through direct visits to a link that the user receives from the outside of the Internet (offline) and enters into the browser string with his hands. Before starting an offline advertising site, the company needs to assess the need for this. For example, this method of increasing traffic will be financially expensive and in most cases will not bring the desired success for the promotion of fan portals or personal blogs. For commercial topics, this method is not just ideal for brand promotion, it really increases the conversion and brings new regular customers.
Differences Between Online and Offline Marketing
Offline advertising is traditional marketing, a way to notify potential customers about a product that does not involve the use of the Internet. For example, offline marketing includes advertisements on and in public transport, radio, television, press, elevators of apartment houses and offices. Before the advent of the Internet, nobody called these methods of forming demand offline advertising.
If to talk about differences between online and offline marketing, online advertising is the promotion of goods or services on the network with the help of graphic and text materials. This includes filling out web resources with content, placing banner ads, e-mailing newsletters, using social networks, etc.
In contrast to forms of offline marketing strategies, there is cleat targeting in the Internet promotion. That is, the company can segment its audience and show ads to potential customers who tend to buy a specific product. Even those people who do not belong to the target audience can see offline advertising. The effectiveness of online advertising is easier to measure since services designed to reflect user behavior have been developed for this. Both types of advertising should catch people's emotions, but online methods must be accepted by search engines (for this purpose keywords are introduced into the text). In both cases, the copywriter should remember that advertising should be distinguished among thousands of competitors' materials and hook on the potential client, describing all the advantages of the product/service.
Internet Marketing: Integrating Online and Offline Strategies
So how to merge offline and online?
Use of the client base before cold calls. If the company has a base of telephone numbers, it makes sense to check them using social networks. This will provide at least a few advantages. The company not only can learn detailed information about the future interlocutor, but also be able to invite him to the page and show the goods or even customize the display of banner advertising to become familiar and "warm up" the customer before the call.
Reuse of content. In our time, the production of really useful content in any of its types is one of the most popular and rational tools for promotion. However, at first and with limited budgets, it is not necessary to conduct a comprehensive content marketing strategy. A young company can start with conducting corporate video broadcasts in Periscope. If at a conference a representative of the company distributes useful brochures or makes an interesting report, then let people who could not come to download a copy of this material in return for contact information.
Branding words and phrases. The essence is simple enough. The company needs to choose a unique phrase or word, according to which the page will be on the first position in the SERP, and maximize the use of this phrase in all offline activities. This method is often used in the case of a non-unique company name, or if you want to avoid identifying one particular product with the company. At the same time, it is an excellent tool for uniting an audience with interests.
Remarketing in the continuation of the event. If the company conduct the event, the Internet will be useful not only for its promotion before the start. As a result of the event, it is possible to put photos and video records on the network, noting several visitors on it. Then it is possible to hold an additional action or a rally for all visitors through the social network. In conclusion, it is needed to use the database gathered at the event through all kinds of communication channels in the network.
Dragging the audience. Working with a potential audience, it is extremely important to minimize the time and money spent on maintaining a constant contact. All the charm of Internet communications for business is that they are cheaper and systematized, which means that the company can work more with a large number of potential customers without additional costs. There is a large number of tug-of-war tools, one way or another motivating the client to go online, so each company can choose the most convenient and soft way of migration.
Pros and Cons of Offline Marketing
The positive features include:
- Attracting a unique audience. If the product is aimed at older people who are not active users of the Internet, offline advertising will be the main tool;
- Low competition. Everyone can launch advertising on the Internet today, which creates a very high level of competition. One possible solution is offline advertising. It is possible to use both cheap tools (flyers, announcements), and more massive (billboards, rollers on TV);
- Startup speed. A good advertising campaign on the Internet will require the creation of a website and pages in social networks, step-by-step promotion, and support. In the case of offline advertising, it is enough to compose the text of the proposal, to issue and launch it.
Its main cons are as following:
- Assumptions about the target audience may be incorrect, despite costly research.
- Magazines, platforms, advertising agencies can distort information in order to sell advertising media that is advantageous to them. For example, it is much more profitable to sell time on TV and radio than to distribute the same client budget for the ordered media.
- With such a massive impact, it is difficult to form a clear message, so the creators come up with "plastic" phrases similar to each other that cannot sell.
In summary, it must be said that the combination of online + offline advertising is one of the most effective ways to increase the flow of customers since with this combination the brand is present in both the virtual and in real life of the target audience. At the same time, advertising should be concise, understandable and intriguing, so that the potential client wants to learn more information that will already be found on the Internet.