It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the options available for marketing your brand. You can have more success when you integrate your online and offline digital marketing strategies. Plus, integrating your marketing platforms is a cost-effective way to develop a brand identity and create a brand experience that reaches consumers wherever they are.
Key Takeaways:
- Competitive, successful brands need a seamless integration of both traditional and digital marketing platforms.
- A cohesive approach to marketing improves the buyer’s perception of the brand and streamlines the journey through the sales funnel.
- Joint marketing platforms develop a brand experience that keeps customers returning, revenue increasing, and the competition scrambling.
Basic Elements of Online and Offline Digital Marketing
Since you need to know what you are working with for marketing mediums, it’s best to quickly review the marketing options within either strategy. One relies on the internet, and the other takes a traditional approach.
Online or digital marketing includes email marketing, pay-per-click, paid social media advertising, SEO, mobile marketing, content marketing, marketing analytics, and more.
Offline or traditional marketing relies on efforts that don’t involve the Internet. Think of word-of-mouth, billboards, direct mail, television or radio ads, print, or other efforts.
There isn’t a right or wrong approach to marketing, though offline efforts tend to bring the best results when reaching the local consumer. Digital marketing can expand your market and audience, but integrating both options brings the best of both worlds.
Ways to Effectively Combine Marketing Approaches
While online and offline digital marketing strategies may not have much in common, you can integrate them. These tips can help you create a seamless consumer experience.
1. Let Your Strategies Co-Promote
In the marketing industry, co-promotion occurs when two companies combine resources to promote a specific product. Although you aren’t two companies, you can use your online and offline resources to do the same thing.
For example, you can use your social media platforms to share a sneak peek of a television ad campaign that will soon launch. Think of it like the pre-Super Bowl commercial teasers that show up online. The preview may encourage a larger viewing audience when the commercial airs.
You can also use offline marketing, such as mailers or printed ads, to direct potential consumers to a specific online location. You can use their online presence to gather contact information for further follow-up but to also reward them for engaging with the brand. An e-book, newsletter, or digital coupon are options.
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2. Encourage the Customers To Mix It Up
It’s a lot easier to get your online customers to attend an offline event, generally because of the tangible value or interaction that’s present. Getting offline customers to change it up and interact online usually takes more work.
Rely on efforts in each platform to push customers toward mixing up their interactions. Make sure your offline consumers have your social media handles and website address. Put a QR code on business cards, mailers, or invoices that lead to your social media page or website landing page.
Use email marketing to encourage online users to come by for a customer appreciation event or a product launch party. Your calls to action should encourage actionable steps that allow you to develop a more personal brand experience.
3. Enforce Brand Consistency Across Your Platforms
Your efforts to integrate online and offline digital marketing should include paying attention to brand consistency. This means giving consumers a way to recognize your brand, whether it’s online or in a printed ad. A unified approach makes your brand easily recognizable.
Make sure you keep your brand name highly visible and use the same colors and fonts across both platforms. Your images should share similar characteristics, and your tone should have the same persona across any written or spoken content.
4. Create a Mobile App
Consumers want to research and find products easily and conveniently. You can use a mobile app to help combine your offline and online marketing efforts. When you develop a mobile app, you can give consumers direct access to exclusive offers, coupons, announcements, and other special information.
With a mobile app, you make your company readily accessible and create more brand recognition. An app offers the opportunity for consumers to leave business reviews, access digital coupons, locate a store, check loyalty rewards, and more. You can use the online functions of the app to encourage offline actions.
5. Develop Audience-Specific Incentives
When you want to integrate your online and offline digital marketing efforts, you can come up with incentives that are attractive to specific audiences.
For example, your website can promote a specific in-store promotion or discount to encourage those in the local area to respond and visit the storefront. You can use a photo tag raffle at an in-person event to promote offline activities and attract online attention.
6. Establish a Dedicated Tracking System
To check how successful your marketing integration efforts are, set up a dedicated URL, email address, or phone number to track campaigns. While a tracking system does take time to set up and manage, you will likely see a return on your investment with this data.
For traditional marketing efforts, you can use a QR code to a specific site page or email address to find out which information or campaign brings the highest yield. Personalized URLs are trackable and give a targeted message to the recipient while educating the consumer and encouraging interaction.
You can join your online and offline data to develop an in-depth profile of your consumers and their journeys. Analytics and customer relationship data will help you understand things such as how paid media campaigns compare to local ads for in-store versus online sales.
Your Potential With Online and Offline Digital Marketing Integration
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all that it takes to successfully market your company, don’t panic. Shanahan Strategy is the right partner for helping your industrial or manufacturing business grow and thrive.
Our team specializes in integrating online and offline digital marketing strategies to expand your consumer base and strengthen your brand. Contact our team to find out how we can improve your marketing efforts.
