7 Easy Tips to Get More From Your Marketing – Online and Offline!

by Michelle Keegan Kimball

Like many business owners, you may consider online marketing and offline marketing to be two different things. The fact is, they’ve converged and the popularity of social media makes it increasingly important to use both types of marketing in promoting your business. Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter make it easy to tie together your offline and online efforts. Companies that are able to do this successfully will see a much higher return on their investment, so isn’t it time you made it work for your business?

Online and Offline Marketing are Better Together!

At first, you may be puzzled by the concept of merging your offline and online marketing efforts. After all, advertising in print and marketing on the Internet are two totally different things. Thanks to social media marketing, however, that’s not really true anymore. In fact, social media makes it a snap to bridge the gap between online and offline marketing. Being active on social media isn’t enough, though. You need to know how to seamlessly and effectively tie both types of marketing together.

Here are 7 easy tips to help you get started:

Maximize Your Every Branding Opportunity – Customers respond more favorably to companies that maintain consistent branding in print and online. Use the same logos, fonts and graphics to make it easy for customers to identify your company on the Internet and in real life.

Use Consistent Messaging – There isn’t any benefit to using one message online while using something completely different offline. The goal is to build familiarity and relationships with customers so they automatically think of you and your company when they need a product or service that you provide. This is also important because customers are more likely to connect with your business online when they recognize it from offline marketing efforts (and vice versa!).

Promote Your Social Profiles - It’s great to raise awareness about your website, store or blog through offline marketing efforts, but you should make a point of promoting your social media profiles too. When sharing your Facebook, Twitter and other social media profile information, include corresponding logos so people instantly know your company is available on social media. Thanks to smartphones and tablets, it’s easier than ever for people to quickly find your profile and become fans and followers on the spot.

Promote Offline Events on Social Media – Don’t just promote your online presence through offline advertising efforts. Promote real-life events through social media too. For instance, alert followers to when you will be attending trade shows and invite your online followers to sales, open houses and more on social media.

The bottom line is synergy. Online and offline marketing are simply better together.  The powerful combination can yield better results than either one can on its own!

How do you combine online and offline marketing? Share your own tips below!

Image Source: http://greatworkworks.com/articles/arnoldnyc-client-reeses-makes-landors-2011-breakaway-brands-list

Michelle Keegan Kimball, Director of Marketing for MarketMeSuite, knows a thing or two about small business and online marketing. Formerly the Email Marketing Diva® for Constant Contact®, Michelle was the resident expert and editor of Email Marketing Hints & Tips® for 9 years and has spent the better part of the last 20 years sharing her knowledge and advice with small businesses via live seminars, online webinars, articles, radio and TV.  More recently she’s been the little birdy behind MarketMeSuite and is just now gathering her own following on Twitter. Follow her @michellekimb.