Traditional and digital marketing, old school and new school. Traditional marketing has been around for decades and consists of direct mail, telemarketing, prints (newspapers and magazines) and broadcasts (radio and television). On the other hand, digital marketing encompasses marketing efforts that use the Internet and electronic devices – content marketing, emails, SEO, PPC, and social media marketing.
While in the past traditional marketing dominated the business world, nowadays it is the digital marketing that rules this world where the Internet is ever-accessible. And the number of people going online is still growing. “Constant” internet usage among adults increased by 5{ba0a9a3e15355dd97c9749cb9a24ec6f5ef05feff25622efecfa17819de82733} in the last three years, according to Pew Research. And the way people purchase and shop has changed along with it – in other words, offline marketing isn’t as effective as it was in the past.
But this doesn’t mean there is no value in combining them. More often than not, they can complement each other and through their combination, your company’s marketing efforts can reach new heights.
Increase publicity through both
In order to improve the publicity of your company, a certain leveraging of both digital and traditional marketing is required. Publicity increases awareness of your products, brand, services, and events.
While there are many methods of achieving this, content creation is one of the easiest. Content can be applied to both traditional and digital marketing as it offers in-depth explanations, stories, and information. Digital and traditional marketing don’t have to stand on opposite sides. If you apply and understand this, there will be maximum use of both channels and better ROI in both.
Advertise your local events online
Social media and websites are great mediums of local event promotion. Building a unique event page on your website is the first step towards this. It will make the event look serious in their eyes, and will become a hub for any event information.
There is no online promotion without addressing its importance on your social media accounts. Facebook is the obvious choice. Share the event on Facebook – with its 2.32 billion monthly active users, it has the biggest reach available.
To start, create a unique event page on Facebook. It will let you make a unique space for your community to stay updated on any news about the event. Plus, you can add videos, pictures, update event details, keep a list of the attendees and remind them about the event as it gets closer.
Online promotion
Here, you can begin with a giveaway. Its premise is easy to understand. Something of value is given to the brand’s followers, and, consequently, your brand visibility increases, their engagement with your brand grows, while your business attracts links, likes, shares and the attention of the target audience.
For example, you can offer promotional products with your brand name on it. While promotional products are an age-old traditional marketing tactic, here we mix them with online promotion in order to increase their effectiveness. Promotional products, besides increasing brand recognition and awareness, are simple to combine with a call-to-action through a giveaway and thus offer a bigger brand impression and higher ROI.
Or you can try offering your products and services as a prize to better showcase your brand in the future. Customers will try your product and discover what it’s about.
Combining direct mail marketing and email
You probably already understand the effectiveness of direct mail marketing for services and product promotion. In traditional marketing, this consists of mailing out postcards, flyers, and letters to customers and prospects.
On the other hand, in the digital marketing realm, it is based on sending emails to interested parties. Email collection from users enables you to understand who wants to be contacted and who doesn’t. When you mix both, emails and direct mail marketing, you can increase reach and ROI while finally knowing to whom should you send direct mail.
Use billboards to advertise online channels
Billboards are known for their effectiveness in attracting the attention of passersby. And they are especially effective when you know how to place your wording and graphics.
Whatever you try to display on your billboards, be sure to add your digital channels. Invite viewers to enter into your email campaign or to submit client-generated content (blogs, pictures or videos).
Add digital channels on print mediums
All your marketing efforts should include your digital channels and printed materials are no different. Whether you use posters, business cards, brochures or leaflets, remember that today’s consumers are more interested in following brands on sites and social media. Thus, include your URL and social media pages on all of your pieces of marketing and enable consistency across all mediums.
Combining digital and traditional marketing is about mixing new and old. Using the best of what both worlds have to offer. Not everyone is online, and although redundant, traditional marketing is still a great way of complementing your digital efforts. Combine and use both, and your customers will become loyal while your ROI will get bigger with each passing day.
