Don’t Scrap Your Offline Efforts While Doing Digital Marketing

Whenever I discuss digital marketing with potential clients I always ask the question, “What sort of offline marketing are you doing?” I ask this because it gives me a gauge of what direction the conversation will take. A lot of people assume that if you just do digital marketing you’ll see significant changes and you can scrap offline marketing all together. This only happens as an exception, not the norm.

There’s no doubt about it, we live in a digital world. Game consoles are wireless, mobile phones are becoming mini computers, laptops are becoming smaller & lighter (hello iPad), and EVERYBODY is on some sort of email list. Having said that, we need to understand that we still watch TV, we still read books & magazines. We still drive or ride in cars, listen to the radio, look at outdoor advertising, and actually walk into buildings. The ratio of online/offline interaction may vary but we co-exist in both worlds.

Digital marketing at this point is the hot topic button of business meetings. Everybody wants to be on You Tube, Twitter, and Facebook. It’s great that people want to finally incorporate these digital tools into the marketing plan but they have to understand that radio, TV, and print still have a role in how successful their efforts will be.

One of my projects, The Mixtape Comedy Show (Full disclosure: I’m a partner), recently saw the success of how a strategic online and offline marketing plan can impact a brand. Ever since we created the Facebook page, we’ve increased fans at the rate of 15% per month. We only marketed ourselves online through Twitter, You Tube, and email marketing. In March of 2010, we incorporated two syndicated radio interviews into our mix and saw our fan page grow by 46%! That’s three times the rate of previous growth. All we did was have Anthony, one of our co-hosts, mention the show and the Facebook page several times during the interviews. The dramatic increase was a direct correlation to these two radio interviews.

To really be successful utilizing digital tools you have to make sure the offline efforts coincide with what you’re doing online. What good does creating a Facebook page, that offers discounts or information, do for the brand when people don’t even know you have a page? Sure you can advertise online and suggest the page to friends but think about how much more these tactics would help if you actually promoted the page within your store? Took out a print, radio, or TV ad? The ad should always mention the page, its address and why people should visit your page. You will see significant results immediately.

If you’re a brand, you spend a lot of time talking to potential fans/clients. You can mention your website or fan page in any conversation when discussing your business. You have a captive audience whether they are reading an article, listening to an interview, or watching a performance. They are listening to what you have to say. Online you can still reach that audience but odds are they have other banners, emails, IMs, & other push notifications to distract them. Your competition for their attention becomes that much greater.

Give your audience a reason to visit you online. Give them a sense of purpose, even if it’s as small as clicking the “like” button. Once they come to your website or page it’s up to you on how you want to continue captivating them.

What is digital marketing?

The practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution channels to reach consumers in a timely, relevant, personal and cost-effective manner. (per Wikipedia)

Such a loaded question. One could sit down and write a book about the complexity and vast number of layers that cover the amazing range of answers. In fact many people have, ranging from inbound marketing, integrated marketing, mobile marketing, search engine optimization (SEO)/search engine marketing (SEM), and the most popular one, social media.

Digital marketing has been around for years. Basically ever since cable networks were born. Ever since cell phones came into existence and grew exponentially with the creation of the internet. Only recently has it become the first thing out of executives’ mouths in their weekly marketing meetings. I remember a few years ago working for an entertainment company when the head of our digital marketing department was brushed aside in our meetings by the president. The meetings were never about what our goals will be five years from now, let alone 5 months from now! They were always about what is going on right now. They never saw what hit them, the explosion of web tools that allowed people to skirt the system and share content was like a body blow to the industry. The kind of blow that leaves your opponent dazed and out of breath. To some companies/industries, these blows keep coming as they refuse to change their stance. These companies will continue to flail, downsize to keep their inflated salaries, and eventually be surpassed by the companies who adapt. Don’t be the company that refuses to change with the times. Educate yourself and your employees. Change up the meetings, make them more creative and progressive. Pay attention to what your consumers want. The more you fight with them, the more they’ll look for a better alternative. Embrace digital marketing, this is the future. It won’t replace traditional marketing but it will continue to grow and be the best indicator or listening tool for businesses. Do you really think that brands know what their consumers want from airing a commercial on TV or the radio? Or do they get more info from a SMS campaign, a tweet, or even a post on facebook? Think about it…