Guest Post from Erin Steiner:
How to Connect Your Online and Offline Marketing
(and Why it’s Essential)
If you limit yourself to just one type of marketing (online or offline), you are effectively cutting the reach of your sales techniques, career potential, and your business’s potential in half. The simple fact is that not every person out there is as tethered to the internet as you are. On the other hand, there are people who are now old enough to vote and rent cars who don’t know what life was like before the Internet was invented. If you’re not using both of these types of marketing, your business or career won’t ever reach its full potential.
It’s not a one-way street!
For example, lets take a look at an attorney who is incredibly active in his community who undoubtedly brings in a fair number of clients through referrals from previous clients. At the same time, he understands that, unless they already know someone who can help them, a sizable portion of his local population uses the Internet to find the service providers they need. So he started a website that appears as a blog. Over time links to social media profiles, client testimonials etc. will appear.
At first glance, the integration of your offline marketing and online marketing methods might seem like a huge undertaking, but it is simpler than you might think. For example, you can include your physical address and phone number on your website’s contact page and encourage people to try those methods of contact. When you send out a piece of direct mail, make sure you encourage people to follow you on Facebook and include a link to your Facebook profile at some point in the message (a lot of traditional businesses simply put “PS: Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook!” at the end of their letter or on the bottom of fliers). Make sure the URL to your company’s website is printed on your business cards. There are lots of things you can do!
Every piece matters!
The point is that, although we’ve been shifting steadily toward an entirely web-based culture, we aren’t there yet. Offline marketing methods still matter. And if you haven’t yet tried your sales techniques online, now is the time to do it. You’ll reach more new customers, have better engagement with existing clients, and see more profits. It’s a win-win. So what are you waiting for?
Erin Steiner is from Portland, Oregon. She does most of her writing online but has been known to appear in print from time to time as well. Tim Broas is the attorney referred to in the example above.
