Successfully combining online and offline marketing addresses the results of a study by Intersperience, which found that 28% of 1,000 people live a life influenced by multi-screen habits. Given that the research was conducted in 2012, it’s likely that over 39% of people aged 18-24 now deal with the challenge of splitting their attention and focus across multiple screens and streams simultaneously.
As wearables gain popularity and are expected to grow significantly in the coming years, brands that want to stay competitive must learn how to link online and offline marketing campaigns smoothly and effectively. For those who are still skeptical about these new trends that are clearly here to stay, here are some small projects you and your team can consider:
Track Your Trails
Start with what you have. This means auditing all your offline and online marketing efforts in order to see where you really are as of the moment. Don’t throw away your flyers, billboards, and other traditional marketing practices out just yet. These days, harnessing your brand can be tracked with the aid of online channels through URL tags. Though this may take some of your time and patience, URL tags allow you to segment each campaign and see what impacts your sales.
With such statistically important data governed by Google-friendly search engine optimization (SEO) practices within your reach, you are no longer joining the bandwagon without a goal, a target, or even a KPI. More than ever, brands are off to a better footing in as far as agile marketing is concerned. As Forrester notes, “…firms that embrace big data, and adopt new adaptive intelligence approaches are creating new generation smart systems that overcome limitations and create disruptive business innovations.”
Sealed with a K.I.S.S: Keep Interactions Super Simple
Branding is no longer confined to the world of keeping a formal and subdued tone. Even big brands like Red Bull and Coca-Cola weave content emotions and human-centric engagement in every aspect of their marketing mix. Purpose and passion are the two forces that drive this Era of Content Meant. Bid all your sales pitches and work your way to understand your customers in every step of your sales funnel.
Do not complicate your messages especially when it comes to your social media spheres. You do not need to stand out to look good. Instead, bank on super simple key emotions for effective brand management. Seek non-mainstream conversations that are derived from very specific, often overlooked niches. Hear out what your customers and potential patrons are irked about, and single out on those in the most conversant, non-salesy way. Solve their problem, or at the very least, help them out.
This can be done with the use of meme-inspired in-store posters from your very own clients or followers. Remember to stick with a single name for all your social media handles This makes more impact when it comes to searching online and offline.
Brandish What You Publish
Contrary to popular belief, content marketing can weave seeps in all kinds of marketing campaigns. According toJoe Pulizzi’s infographic, in 1895, the first customer magazine was published by John Deere. So for those who are still apprehensive in striking a balance between online and offline marketing, this is an inescapable and irrefutable truth. More importantly, this history proves that you need not be intimidated with nor dismiss the idea of digital marketing.
You may even look into your past publications or advertorials and print ads. See patterns and unearth what content marketing strategies you have been doing offline. You can repurpose existing news or feature articles to communicate your brand’s heritage or history. Brandish what you publish for the past years so as to let your customers feel that you are indeed committed to your product or service since you first opened for business.
Inspire In-Store Incentives
The customer experience is where you boost business revenue in a sustainable manner. Whether you are a for-profit or non-profit brand, you can (and must) make your brand breathe and live. Doing so entails you to be part of a larger world that transcends your store, your sales, and your market. Supporting a cause that you and your market believe in is something that can inspire in-store incentives that are worthwhile. In the face of the rise of disasters all over the world, you may hold a sale inside your store that will be for the benefit of these disadvantaged people. Loyalty cards are still working, but the best brands are those that champion something that is beyond it – that is consumption that might lead to something called collaboration.
Online Curation for Offline Collaborative Consumption
According to a study conducted by Justin Pearse, in 2012 alone, we are drowning in all sorts of content. In fact, in only a single minute:
3,600 new photos are uploaded in Instagram
27,778 fresh Tumblr posts are published
48 hours of YouTube videos are up
684,478 Facebook content are shared
As marketers continue to push the idea of burning their time and resources to come up with original content in the hopes of going viral, marketers seem to forget one thing – we are experiencing surplus of original content. This is the best time to curate content in order to paint a vivid picture of collaborative consumption.
Still not able to visualize this?
Imagine your brand as a curator of ideas that are centered on your offering or your industry. As you process a multitude of data, you get to touch-base with other brand owners, advocates, followers, and even non-believers. Upon juxtaposing all your curated content, you instantly gain better chances of real and even offline conversations. In doing so, you get your message across sans neither forcing it nor having to exert so much effort.
Net Worth = Networks
At the end of the day, the real test of a brand lies on offline relationships – those that are not dictated nor conditioned. Then again, you must mirror your warm welcome and wishful send off to your customers and suppliers in your online channels. On top of your aim to drive offline sales, you must give due importance to widening your networks. The beauty of online marketing falls in the possibility of exploring markets that are otherwise bound geography and even language. These days, you can conveniently tap new markets or diversify your offering with just a few clicks and ticks.
Indeed, brands are in a sphere where the line between offline and online world gets bigger yet closer yet fragmented, too. What have you been doing to marry these marketing streams seamlessly?
Read more: How to Budget Online vs. Offline Marketing