Perhaps you’re doing all the right things online: posting regularly on your core social media accounts, creating useful, shareable content for your website, and sending out regular emails to the customers and potential customers who’ve signed up to hear from you. But in a busy online world, you might feel like your message is being lost in the noise.
That’s where offline marketing comes in. You can cut through the noise in a visible, tangible way: you can get your company’s name and your brand literally into people’s hands.
Here are 4 great things to try:
1. Offer Promotional Products
Promotional products that include your company’s name, logo, and URL are a great way to give customers and prospects a little gift that helps them keep you in mind.
If you’re pretty sure that a free pen isn’t going to impress, don’t worry: there are hundreds of different possibilities to choose from. Promotional ties might be a bit out there, but for a client who loves collecting custom items, they could prove a great talking point (and a brilliant way to boost word-of-mouth sales).
2. Use Local or College Papers
While your brand may not (yet!) be at the point where you’re attracting national media attention, there’s a good chance that small, local papers might be interested in hearing about what you do. Craft a great press release that talks about something new (it could be as simple as a new or updated product you’ve launched) and send it to local or college newspapers.
If that route doesn’t result in any free publicity, try advertising in those papers: you may well be surprised how cheap it is. This obviously makes a lot of sense for local businesses reaching out to local customers – but it can also be a great way to get some traction behind your brand even if you market and sell your products to a national audience.
3. Create Printed Materials
If you don’t already have any printed materials, that’s a great place to start. If you meet a prospect at a networking event or simply get chatting to someone while you’re waiting in line at your local coffee shop, then it’s really helpful to have at least a business card to hand to them.
Printed materials are also essential if you’re presenting at a conference, lecture or industry event. It’s a good idea to research a range of options such as foamcore signs which are ideal for trade show displays. Even if you conduct your business primarily online, having printed materials (such as a leaflet or catalog) can make you look instantly more legitimate in your prospect’s eyes. It’s clear that printed materials still have a future.
4. Run a Free Workshop or Seminar
Would you like to have an hour or more to talk to your prospective customers? Offer a free workshop or seminar that they can attend. This could be anything from an hour-long talk to a whole day program, though you’ll probably want to start with something simple and straightforward.
Your free event shouldn’t be a “pitch fest” but should instead be an opportunity for you to engage in face-to-face content marketing: give your prospects truly useful information, then make sure they know what you offer and how they can get in touch.
Takeaway
Whatever method you opt for, offline marketing can be a great way to promote awareness of your brand – without paying for yet another sponsored Facebook post that people just scroll on past. Pick one of the above options, give it a try as soon as you can, and track the results you get.