Marketing both online or offline is necessary to business and there’s no doubt that offline businesses can benefit from online marketing.  However, did you know that online businesses can benefit from offline marketing too? The trick to maximizing both is to integrate them into one cohesive marketing strategy.  This is a topic that can bare repeating and here are a few more ideas of how to use these techniques.

Step One

Consider you goals for each type of marketing.  Know what do you want to accomplish.  There are a number of goals you might consider that could include the following:

  • Driving traffic
  • Increasing awareness
  • Strengthening brand
  • Building your opt-in list
  • Boosting credibility and authority
  • Attracting partnerships and affiliates
  • And of course selling products or services – increasing sales

Step Two

What tactic(s) will help you reach your goals most effectively? Offline marketing provides a number of tactics to use including:

  • Flyers
  • Radio advertisements
  • Television ads
  • Print ads
  • Media spots – radio or television interviews
  • Press releases
  • Publicity – events
  • Direct mail
  • Yellow pages ads

With online or Internet Marketing you also have a wealth of tactics to choose from as well, such as:

  • Email marketing
  • Article marketing
  • Social networking
  • PPC advertisements
  • Banner and text ads

Combining online and offline marketing is where the real challenge and opportunity begins. Before implementing any tactic, explore ways to have maximum effect from any methods and create a comprehensive strategy to accomplish it. F or example, if your goal is to drive traffic to your website, you could offer a free report. You might market this report by:

  • Radio or printed ad
  • PPC (pay per click) ad
  • Social media exposure

Step Three

Launch the campaign. Here are three keys you will need to pay attention to when combining can be effective.  They are to launch your campaigns:

  • Simultaneously – Launch your radio and print ad at the same time you launch your Pay per click (PPC) ads. This way you’re capitalizing on momentum. You’re also in control of how long the promotion lasts and you’re being consistent.
  • Complimentary – Make sure the campaigns complement each other. Continuing with the same example, your radio and television advertisements are going to be driving traffic to your website for your free report, just like your PPC advertisement. You want to make sure your offline and online marketing tactics support the same goals and each other.
  • Consistently – Consistency is important. Your marketing tactics are designed to promote your business, increase awareness and exposure and strengthen your brand. If they have a different voice, personality and approach, the inconsistencies will be noticed. Your prospect who hears your advertisement on the radio is expecting to find the same tone, personality and voice at your website and supporting marketing materials.

Step Four

How will you track success? Often, offline marketing tactics are more difficult to track and test. However, if you have the same goals, then testing may be easier. For example, if your call to action in your radio and television advertisements sends people to a website, then you can track your traffic to that particular URL and analyze increases in traffic. Tracking success is an essential element of any marketing tactic or strategy, regardless of whether it’s online or off.

When creating your marketing strategy, take a look at where your prospects are and create tactics that reflect that. Most often, you’ll find that a little offline marketing works quite well to build your business, particularly when it’s integrated with your online tactics.