Are you having trouble reaching your target audience through online marketing strategies? If that’s the case, then perhaps your business will be better served with offline marketing strategies. It’s easy to assume that online marketing should take up a large part of your marketing campaign—it’s easy, low-cost, and dynamic.
However, online strategies may not be enough or be optimal for your particular business. For example, a B2B business whose primary target market is CEOs and entrepreneurs may have a hard time using social media to find their audience to introduce their product or service. A more nuanced offline approach, such as an offline networking event and direct mail marketing, might make more sense if you think about it.
First, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of offline marketing and why you should consider using them to elevate your brand presence in the real world.
Benefits of Offline Marketing
These days, going digital seems to be the go-to solution when it comes to promoting their business. However, it’s important to realize that offline solutions, like offline marketing, offer several advantages that are often overlooked.
Ensures Hyper-Targeted Marketing
Firstly, offline marketing allows businesses to reach specific niche markets and local audiences. For example, if you have a business that sells farming machinery, you shouldn’t use the bulk of your advertising budget on social media ads. Instead, you’re better off printing brochures and mailing them to potential customers who are farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs. Similarly, you can also try to promote your company during agricultural conventions and conferences.
Through offline marketing strategies, you can focus on finding your target market and meeting them where they are. Whether it’s through printed brochures, events, or targeted direct mail campaigns, offline marketing can tailor your message and resonate with the interests of your target demographic.
Connects Through Tangible Marketing
If there’s one thing that digital marketing cannot replicate, it’s the physical connection through tangible marketing. Imagine being gifted with something as simple as personalized lanyards or custom lapel pins. While these items are just humble things that anyone can buy, they leave a great impression on your customers or clients.
Complements Online Marketing Strategies
In promoting brand awareness, there’s no need to focus on just one set of marketing strategies. Most of the time, you need both online and offline strategies to maximize your campaign. However, for effective execution, you need a cohesive brand presence across multiple channels. In doing so, you can reach the most number of audiences with a specially targeted approach provided by offline marketing tools and strategies. By using offline marketing to complement your online campaigns, you can reinforce your brand’s message and goals.
Different Offline Marketing Strategies
Now that we’ve explored the benefits of offline marketing let’s dive into four dynamic strategies that can help unlock brand awareness:
1. Branded Merchandise
Keep your brand top of mind with consumers and industry professionals through branded merchandise. From custom-printed T-shirts and wristbands to branded water bottles and tech accessories, there’s no shortage of options for creating memorable branded merchandise.
According to the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA), 75 percent of customers who receive branded merchandise are likely to become repeat customers. In addition, branded merchandise can increase brand awareness by more than 96 percent.
That’s why if your goal is to increase brand visibility and awareness, you can opt to giveaway items with your logo and branding prominently displayed.
2. Direct Mail
Despite the rise of email marketing, direct mail remains a highly effective way to deliver targeted messages to specific demographics. In a survey of marketers published by Marketing Charts, respondents are 69 percent more likely to report a good response rate when leveraging direct mail with other marketing strategies.
Typical examples of direct mail may include postcards, catalogs, or flyers. They provide potential customers with information about your brand and the products or services you offer. One nonconventional direct mail strategy that some marketers are trying is sending handwritten letters addressed to decision-makers or executives in the company.
Handwritten letters or hand-addressed envelopes have a staggering 99 percent chance of being opened. Due to the novelty of receiving handwritten letters these days, you can use this strategy as a chance to reach even the hardest target demographic.
3. Print Marketing
Visual print marketing includes billboards, posters, and brochures that leverage imagery and design to capture attention. According to Gitnux, print marketing has never really lost its appeal. It still has a 70 to 80 percent recall rate compared to digital ads. What’s more, 56 percent of consumers trust this type of marketing the most. As such, you might want to consider including print marketing in your offline marketing arsenal when developing new campaigns for your brand.
4. Networking
Networking events and industry conferences provide valuable opportunities for you to build connections and expand your brand reach. This type of marketing approach is especially effective for niche industries and business-to-business enterprises. During these professionally organized events, you can launch new brands, products, and services in front of the right audience.
Offline marketing offers a wealth of opportunities for your business in terms of brand awareness. Moreover, it allows you to connect with your target market in meaningful ways. Through these offline marketing strategies, you can establish your brand and leave a memorable impression on your audience.
This story originally appeared on SheOwnsSuccess