Throwback Thursday: Old School Marketing Meets New School Innovation
A well mapped out marketing campaign should include digital elements, as well as traditional marketing methods.
- Are you finding limited results with your online marketing campaign?
- Have you wasted money on old school advertising with limited results? Is your social media campaign failing to result in any real business?
Believe it or not, the best marketing campaigns rely on the right mix of old school marketing strategies and new school digital media to reach audiences effectively and promote trust. The key to success is to bridge the gap between both methodologies and give your target market exactly what they’re looking for, in all the places they’re looking for it in. Statistically speaking, online marketing is much less expensive than traditional advertising methods, such as newspaper features, magazines, paid radio segments and direct mail. But, there’s something important to be learned from these very effective old school techniques. Consider these tips for integrating your marketing campaign to maximise your organisations results.
1. Social Media Should Be Used as a Transition to Real Life Connections:
Online and social media marketing allows you to reach out, make multiple connections and engage with people you might not have known otherwise. It’s a great tool to connect with people quickly and efficiently. The key is that the relationship shouldn’t end there. Social media and online marketing is the medium to get your business in front of new audiences, but it’s up to you to nurture those relationships and turn them into business opportunities. Bottom line, don’t use social media as a place to mass pitch people or send sales pitches. Use it as a medium for networking and connection building and then find a way to nurture those business connections in an engaging way.
2. Plan Your Marketing Strategies Based on the Stage Your Business is currently in:
There’s a reason new startups and bootstrappers tend to go the digital route when it comes to marketing. For starters, online marketing is easy to track, thanks to software email marketing programs and web-based analytics. It’s easy to view highly specific data suggesting how people are reacting to your message. In addition, digital marketing and social media are extremely cost effective in comparison to print marketing, direct mail and traditional advertising. Traditional marketing venues are not as easy to track. In fact, unless you run a special survey or focus group there are very few ways to track the effectiveness of traditional marketing dollars. Traditional marketing can, however, be an effective brand trust move. A move you can make once you have a recognised brand, when you can afford to lose the money, and when you already have an established audience. The key here is to plan different marketing techniques for different stages in your business. Don’t discount something just because it’s "online" or just because it’s "old school". Plan your marketing strategy in segments, and when you grow, focus on integrating new marketing methods to better engage with your target group.
3. Let Print Media to Serve Your Online Marketing Crew:
While some think that print media is dead, the fact is that people still read newspapers and magazines, even if the readership has decreased. An interactive survey said 65% percent of adults trust their local newspaper. That's symbolic of Brand Trust, a major goal of any marketing campaign. Not surprisingly, 65% of consumers who learned about a product from a newspaper or magazine opted to buy it. For certain niches and business types, print media still makes sense. Local businesses, for instance, still use newspapers for promotion. Remember though, it’s important to integrate the offline with the online. For example, if you were quoted in your local print newspaper, it’s important to post about your publicity on your website and across social channels to make the most of your exposure. One surprising statistic came from Accenture, where it was suggested that 65% of Indian consumers researched on products online but actually purchased products offline, in physical stores. They split the sale in half between two mediums. If that’s not a case for integration, I’m not too sure what is.
Conclusion: Market With Your Target Group in Mind (Well, obviously!)
Regardless of whether you choose to lead your marketing campaign with digital marketing, or traditional advertising, the one thing that should always be in the back of your mind is your target group. At the end of the day, online marketing is instantaneous and offline marketing goes for the emotional impact and incentive. Traditional marketing tends to be broad and online marketing has more capacity to target individuals and niche segments. Offline marketing is just about doing something outside the box that gets your target's attention. The key with any marketing campaign is to identify your target audience, capture their attention, and instill deeply, brand loyalty so your business can be in it for eternity.
Best,
Yash Merchant