I am going to show you how I helped my clients grow their businesses using traditional (offline) forms of advertising.
So, what is traditional advertising? Traditional advertising are marketing methods that are not online. These include tactics such as billboards, TV, print advertising, sponsoring a local kids’ sports team, even trade shows, cold calling, and direct mail. These are just a few forms of advertising that have been minimized since the explosion of the internet and social media, but when utilized properly they can still make a big impact.
But being online is not the only way to reach customers and grow your business.
Here’s an example.
I work with a company that sells online courses. To try to grow this e-commerce business they were spending thousands of dollars on social media ads before reaching out to me. My first step in working with this client was creating a marketing plan specific to their business. This plan identified who their most likely buyers were.
The findings were not as obvious as the client originally thought.
We then built our marketing strategy around this new customer persona.
In completing the marketing plan, we recognized that a large portion of their prospective customers were not spending as much time online as imagined. We shifted 40% of their advertising budget to industry-specific print publications and to attending one annual trade show annually. The result? They grew their revenue by 15% in two years and spent less time coming up with social media content that wasn’t even reaching their target audience.
Here’s how to use traditional advertising to dominate your market:
I have worked with hundreds of businesses and organizations; social media has been just a small part of their successes. Here’s how to be sure you are getting the best out of your marketing and advertising efforts.
- Have a plan. I don’t mean just plan out where you will promote but really have a strategic marketing plan – one that establishes measurable goals, target audiences and a clear and concise message to reach those audiences. I have created many marketing plans in the last several years. And I can honestly say that companies that take a little extra time to create a solid plan are much more effective and spend less time and money on marketing overall.
- Know your goals. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Understand what you really want to achieve and write it down. Where do you want to see your business in one year, in five years? We can’t achieve our goals if they are not in front of us every day.
- Know your true audience and ideal customer. Marketing yourself to everyone is not only impossible but prohibitively expensive. Instead, hone in on the clients who will bring us the most success and will really benefit from your products and services.
Marketing will be more effective and cost less if you stay focused on one or two target audiences making sure your brand and message resonates with that audience.
If you understand your customer, you will know exactly what their pain points are and how you can help them. Your marketing message will be clear and concise and will strengthen over time through consistency and purpose. As a bonus, understanding your customer really well will help you know exactly where to reach them.
Here’s another example.
I had a client who sold health insurance to businesses. She was talented and provided a very valuable and affordable service. She posted almost every day on social media. She shared success stories and advice but wasn’t getting enough business. When we developed her marketing plan, we identified an area in her local community that really needed her services. We shifted some of her efforts to a single billboard in a high traffic area near her office and her business expanded. The billboard was well designed with a simple and clear message that people could read easily as they drove down this busy roadway.
Be Omnichannel.
If you are focusing on one or two methods to promote your business, I would like to encourage you to think more broadly.
Many studies have proven that it takes between 7-15 times for someone to see your marketing before they will make a purchase. 15 times! It has also been shown that shoppers are likely to start an online search AFTER viewing a traditional ad.
82% of consumers will trust a traditional ad versus social media before making a purchase (Retail Federation of America).
My health insurance client was very successful with the billboard tactic. She then decided to also run a commercial on TV and streaming TV services to broaden her brand into more of the local market. Her social media efforts were a complement to her traditional advertising instead of being the only things she did. All of these efforts, a billboard, a commercial and consistent social media expanded her reach, created brand awareness and built a trusted following.
_____
Traditional advertising is anything but traditional.
The world is a very noisy place when trying to get your products or services in front of the right customer. It takes a well-thought out marketing strategy – one that includes multiple touch points in order to dominate your market and grow your business.
For more on building a solid marketing strategy – contact us.