In this digitally driven age, we’re all trying our best to be present in the online world. There’s constant pressure coming from society for individuals to be updated with the most viral videos or newest features. The New York Post recently released a study that showed the average American checks their phone upwards of 80 times per day, and one in ten Americans will check their phone every 4 minutes!
For business owners, these feelings are ramped up because digital marketing and social media management have become an integral part of eCommerce operations. With the nonstop pressure to stay wired, it can be difficult to even think about unplugging yourself, let alone your business, but that’s actually when it becomes the most important.
Offline marketing tactics are no longer the focus for marketers. In fact, 28% of marketers say they have reduced their budget for traditional advertising to fuel digital strategies and digital agency services. This is all part of the evolution businesses are undergoing to survive in a more digitally adept day and age.
However, there are still a lot of opportunities businesses are missing out on by being completely digital. Traditional marketing may not be the forefront of every marketer’s agenda, but that doesn’t mean there’s no audience there. These next strategies will detail 5 offline marketing tactics that are very much alive, and how you can integrate them into your online and social media strategies.
Let’s dive in!
Vendor Trade Shows
Not only are trade shows a great place to network and gain exposure with other industry leaders, but they’re also great opportunities to talk with your audience face-to-face. For professionals who attend trade shows, 50% have not met with any exhibitors within the last 12 months. This is prime time for your team to make a great impression on them and make a real connection. You’ll get to see firsthand what your customers are truly attracted to, what they’re interested in, and how they react to certain branding decisions.
A great plus with trade shows is that people can test new products and services you’ve been unsure about. Ask a couple attendees to provide feedback on how each item is and what you can improve on. Their opinion is invaluable because chances are good they share the same views as their peers, which are your users! Make sure you’re choosing the right trade show for your niche with this list and remember to register your booth early!
Educational Workshops
Hosting educational workshops helps build your company’s rapport within a community, and further strengthens your brand’s image. By investing in your audience’s skills and education, you’re showing them you care enough about these topics to speak and teach about them — It’s a win-win offline marketing strategy because while your audience is learning new things or acquiring new skills, you get to bring up problems within your industry, and propose your goods or services as a solution.
Endorsements and Influencers
Nowadays, influencer marketing is thought looked at from a social media standpoint. Which YouTuber should I choose to sponsor for a video? Which Instagram famous blogger can take a picture with our latest product? While targeting these big names and accounts can help on a larger scale, to effectively target a smaller market remember to reach out to community influencers.
In Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point he says, “there are exceptional people out there who are capable of starting epidemics. All you have to do is find them.” The same way you search for social media influencers, find those people in your local communities who do their influencing offline simply by using their personality. Find people with a real gusto who enjoy talking to others and spread your brand the old-fashioned way: with interpersonal communication.
Bulletin Boards
Yes, these things still exist! Print out a couple fliers with pull off tabs; post your most recent newsletter up; pin up your business card on an actual board! Coffee shops, barbers, grocery stores and markets all have places where physical updates can be posted. Simply ask management if you can pin up one of your fliers, and when they say yes, stick it up! Bulletin boards may not show you how many impressions your ad made, like a digital agency can, or even detail how many conversions your business card drove, but what it does do is show your presence in your local community. Not all advertising has to be blatantly in your face with a call-to-action, it can be subtle too!
Networking Events
Attending networking events will help re-inspire your creative juices, and also offers a place to bounce ideas off other people who could be in the same situation as you. Business owners, industry leaders, audience members are all in attendance, so talk to these people about the issues and ideas you have. Each person you talk to has experienced something completely different from you and your team, so use them! Talk, mingle and exchange contact information to increase your network and foster new business relations. You never know when you’ll need them!
Take a Step Back
Technology has changed the way we relate to one another and has altered how businesses market their brand, but it hasn’t killed offline marketing. Those face-to-face interactions and conversations you have with real people are still valuable places your business can drive revenue. As we’ve seen, there are still plenty of opportunities for brands to make an impression on consumers without having to ask them to click on a link. Like a digital marketing agency does. Sometimes all it takes is a conversation to spark an epidemic. Let’s see those tips again:
- Attend vendor trade shows to test out new ideas and get immediate feedback from your audience
- Host educational workshops to build your brand’s rapport
- Find community influencers with stellar interpersonal communication skills
- Pin your business card onto a bulletin board for subtle advertising
- Go to networking events to foster new business relations
Try out any one of these tactics and don’t forget to let us know how it goes, good luck!
Author bio: Therese Palmere is a content writer for Aumcore, an NYC based Digital Marketing Agency specializes in eCommerce Development Solutions.
