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Luckily, there’s no need to choose between offline and online marketing strategies. Offline marketing strategies don’t need to take the place of online marketing strategies or vice versa. Referral marketing, also known as word-of-mouth advertising, is by far one of the most effective and low-cost ways to market your business online or offline. Place a link in your email signatures.

In any area, having a well-defined marketing strategy is crucial for your business to grow and gain traction as widely as possible. If you need to attract more customers, the first thing you need to do, obviously, is reaching them. Thus, using online marketing to your advantage is key.

3 Proven Ways To Market Your Website Offline Free

Strategic planning must be constantly and closely tracked, to make sure the expected outcome is positive, and mainly, to ensure that the necessary adjustments are made, since different businesses require different approaches.

Most entrepreneurs know it’s essential to have a thorough plan of actions to promote a business. However, a lot of them have questions when the time comes to decide on the best strategies.

Considering there is not one ideal marketing strategy for each business, the success of any strategy depends on how it’s implemented and carried out, the target audience, and, of course, the type of business.

To better understand which strategies can be applied to your business, check out 15 ways that will help you attract more clients:

Why should I promote my business?

In any area of business, you need to have a well-structured marketing plan so that your business grows and is advertised in various forms, regardless of whether it’s online or not.

Even brick and mortar stores and private teachers need to promote their businesses. This allows more people to get to know the brand and therefore, have the potential to attract more customers.

The more people hear about your products or services, the higher the odds your profit will increase.

Remember there are a lot of competitors, and potential customers look for solutions that can be easily found.

On top of that, considering the digital market is in constant expansion, it’s not enough to just have a good product or service and let your work speak for itself.

You need to really show people what you have to offer and more than that, to make them realize they have an actual need for your product.

What is Marketing Strategy?

Before we talk about the basics to help you attract more customers, we need to explain what a marketing strategy is.

This term is widely used, especially in the digital market, but it doesn’t mean that it’s so widely disseminated that everyone really understands it as a whole. (There are several other terms in the online world that you can understand their meaning better with this digital entrepreneur’s glossary).

Basically, marketing strategy is nothing more than planning all actions to promote your brand, product or service in advance and monitor the results of such actions to understand what should be maintained and what can be improved.

In addition, having a marketing strategy also means getting your product/service advertised to a potential customer in the best possible way. That means not trying to sell all the time and telling people what they should and shouldn’t do, but rather deliver value to people with what you provide and recommend solutions.

Of course, all product advertising also involves campaigns and releases (we’ll talk about them further on), but marketing strategy is not only about that.

It’s a set of elements that can take people on a journey from knowing your product to the final purchase.

That’s why you need to understand and plan the various forms to advertise your brand to attract audiences from various communication channels.

Why is it important to have a marketing strategy?

Clearly, the best marketing for a product is one that will sell what you offer to your audience.

However, you need to have a well-structured marketing strategy before you start your promotional actions because, more than selling, it’s very important to deliver something of value to people.

You need to show relevant solutions, that’s the best way to attract customers.

Even if you are selling something online, the sales process is still personal and requires that you focus on the consumer.

You need to start a business with a purpose and helping consumers solve an issue is a great goal.

If you think of strategies that can somehow show how much your product or service can change people’s lives, you can attract your customers organically, which also helps increase your profits, since you won’t have to make a big investment.

The most important thing in planning your marketing actions is that you can think of low-cost and high-impact strategies that are creative and really focused on your business’ persona.

After all, the more specific your actions are to your niche, the greater your chances of attracting customers.

How to attract customers with a marketing strategy

Now that you understand what marketing strategy is, and know how important it is for your business, it’s time to think about what strategies to tackle.

Of course, every business has a different audience it wants to reach. Therefore, that doesn’t mean that all actions will be right for you. The important thing here is to realize the number of elements you can use to increase your promotion and use those that are the most adequate for your persona.

In addition, you should also know that you don’t have to choose just one marketing strategy for your business. With planning, you can put into motion a few strategies and, over time, you will realize what works and can undo or adjust what is not relevant for your business.

1. Blog

A blog is one of the best-known strategies and is used by those who want to attract customers in an organic manner online and to deliver educational and quality content.

Because, when you have a blog you can write posts that answer different questions (from the most basic to the most technical) and that show specific solutions for your audience.

Do you still have questions about how to get started with this marketing strategy? Read our post with the complete step-by-step process to create your blog.

2. SEO

There’s no point in having a blog with lots of interesting content for your audience if your posts can’t reach them.

This is why you need to apply SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques in your posts, so that your page appears in the top places of search engines such as Google.

Work your keywords well in your texts, test titles that catch the attention of users, write full content and really educate your audience.

The important thing is to optimize all your posts so that people can reach your content whenever they search for a term related to your niche.

3. Email marketing

Many people still have the idea that email is no longer a good marketing strategy; after all, many users don’t even bother to read any messages forwarded to them.

But that’s not what happens, especially if your emails have interesting content for people, not just advertising for your products or services.

Create a newsletter, for example, and send important information via email to encourage people to share their email address with you.

Another option is sending valuable free resources, such as ebooks.

This is a way of maintaining communication with your potential customers via email and also to keep them engaged with your brand.

Still don’t know how to start using this strategy? Check out our post with tips on how to create effective email streams for your company.

4. Social media

Social media, in general, is a great channel to communicate with the public, mainly because pretty much everyone is on it.

As a marketing strategy, what you need to do is understand where your persona is: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Snapchat?

You’re likely to have to carry out marketing actions on more than one social network, but be careful not to push yourself too hard in places where your audience is not. That may actually be a waste of your time.

And remember: your social networks also need to provide content that adds value to users. So don’t merely advertise your brand all the time.

5. Video Channel

Did you know that over 40% of people say they prefer to consume content in video format?

That’s why platforms such as YouTube have grown so much in recent years and are being used by many industries, whether they’re online or not.

The truth is that when you create videos, you can transmit valuable information to your audience and they can easily access it.

So why not use videos to advertise your products and services and attract more potential clients?

Besides YouTube, there are other forms of monetizing with videos, and you can understand this better by reading this text about making money from videos online – in addition to YouTube.

6. Sponsored links

Sponsored links are ads linked on other pages, usually one that is related to your business, for which you pay to be promoted.

The purpose of these links is that other people searching for topics similar to yours but still don’t know your product or service, can find you on other blogs, social networks and websites in general that they follow.

A marketing strategy that has pleased users immensely is native ads. This is because this form of paid advertising doesn’t disrupt users’ browsing experience on the pages they’re on.

7. Out of Home (OOH) Digital Media

When we think about New York, besides the famous Statue of Liberty, it’s quite likely that the first image that comes to mind is Times Square.

This is a destination that most tourists look forward to seeing when visiting the US, mainly because it’s adorned with several billboards and advertisements and it’s known as “The Crossroads of the World”. Those billboards advertise everything you can think of, which means it’s a great opportunity to promote businesses.

Recently, it has become common to find LED panels or screens on elevators and buses, for example, with various advertisements.

If your goal is to promote your business in your geographic region, this is another way to promote your brand further.

But again, you need to always think where your audience is and if that strategy is even interesting for your business.

8. Radio, TV, magazines, and newspapers

Just like OOH digital media, advertising in mass media and print media depends a lot on your type of business and the communication channels your audience uses most.

In addition, you also need to plan on the expenses you will have; after all, this type of marketing strategy usually requires a larger investment.

9. Events

Regardless of whether your business is physical or online, creating events to interact with your market is also a great way to advertise your brand.

These events can be small for a company with which you want to create a partnership, or even larger, open events for the public, in order to attract new customers and educate your audience in person.

Even for those working online, everything involving people requires empathy.

So it’s interesting that you create events so that people get to know and even get to see you.

This will make them realize possibilities that, if only shown online, could go unnoticed.

If you can’t create your own events, try to at least participate in the main ones in your area.

That way, you can work on your networking skills and meet not only potential online customers, but also possible business partners (which is our next topic).

10. Partnerships

Starting partnerships, especially in the digital market, is an efficient way to increase your business’ reach. However, finding good partners who are aligned with your work model is not always an easy task.

There are several types of partnerships you can pursue, for example:

• Exchanging guest posts with other blogs;
• Collaboration on a YouTube channel (when one YouTuber records with another on both channels);
• Co-production of ebooks or newsletters;
• Promotion in the social network of a digital influencer.

The important thing about this type of marketing strategy is that you can identify partners that can help you attract more customers and for whom you can do the same. Thus, there will be an increase in both audiences.

11. Contests

Create contests or giveaways that encourage users to buy more or bring new customers to your page.

I’m sure you’ve seen Instagram profiles creating sweepstakes of gifts and the regulation is that you comment with the ‘@’ of other people who still don’t know the brand?

This is a marketing strategy that certain profiles use to become better known as well as gain more followers.

Another type of promotion you can do is an up-sell, down-sell, or cross-sell as soon as a person finishes buying some of your products. With this, users may be interested in making another purchase on your website.

12. Webinar

Webinars are a great way to build relationships and get ahead of possible objections your customers may have. In fact, if done successfully, it can attract high-quality leads.

If you’re just getting started on this subject, a good tip is to focus on a broader theme. It’s more difficult to attract an audience and keep them engaged if you are talking about something very specific.

Another important tip is: make a thorough plan for your webinar. This is not the time to be spontaneous, and they say, first impressions last. Writing a script is one way of avoiding a negative outcome.

13. Big Data

Using Big Data as a marketing strategy can be useful to not only attract new customers but to build customer loyalty. It allows you to analyze and monitor social media to understand what people are saying about your brand.

Thus, you can find out if the comments are mostly positive or negative, for example, and make the necessary adjustments if need be.

Also, you can monitor trends, behavioral patterns, and more. A good example of making the most of this kind of information is adding a product your audience is asking for, or even changing an existing product to make it appeal more to your customers.

If you’d like to learn more about Big Data, check out this post.

14. Podcasting

Creating visual content for a business is not the only option with great potential. Statistics show that Podcasts have attracted more customers around the world.

One of the reasons for the growth of podcasting is pretty simple: people consume content in different ways and audio content allows them to carry out other activities while listening to podcasts.

Once again, it’s important to understand if this type of content is appreciated by your target audience before really investing in this strategy. If you’re just getting started, take a look at these tips.

15. Use content to attract backlinks

Creating quality content in various formats is a great way to attract links. However, bear in mind that it needs to be truly unique, valuable content.

What kind of content should you focus on? That really comes down to what would be useful for your target audience. You have plenty of options, videos, guides, infographics, spreadsheets, etc. You can even take advantage of free tools to help you out.

Getting links to your content will not only bring referral traffic, it can actually help improve your ranking on search engines. Organic traffic is fundamental to attract potential customers, especially when you think long term.

How to choose the right marketing strategy

Now that you’ve seen the 15 ways to attract more customers, it’s important to know what you need to do to precisely choose the best marketing strategy for your business.

After all, it doesn’t mean that just by applying any of these tips your audience numbers will automatically increase.

So, before you create actions on all communication channels, consider the following:

1. The buyer persona for your product or service;
2. Your market niche;
3. Trends in your area of expertise;
4. What your competitors have been doing;
5. The results you expect;
6. The conversion rate of each communication channel you are using;
7. The maximum investment you are willing to make.
8. The metrics and results of each strategy.

With this insightful information, you’ll be able to realize which strategies are working for your business and you can focus more on those that really provide returns.

Remember, it’s very important to measure everything you do to make sure that your work is not in vain and that you are making a profit.

So, do you already know which marketing strategy is best for you? To help you further, also read our post on how to perfectly launch a product.

3 Proven Ways To Market Your Website Offline Marketing

This article was originally posted in October 2017 and has been updated in order to convey more thorough, precise information.

Imagine you’re browsing online for a pair of hiking shoes for your upcoming trip to the Yosemite. You make a mental note of a few pairs and decide to visit the store nearby to try them on. As you approach the store, you receive a push notification on your phone that one of the pairs of shoes you were looking at is now 20% off. Score!! You make a beeline for those shoes, try them on, and buy them. The next day, you get an email promoting the perfect pair of wool hiking socks to go along with the shoes.

This may seem like a rather seamless experience, but what you may not realize is that there’s quite a lot going on in the back-end that connects these different channels to deliver that experience. In the example above, website, mobile, in-store, and email were all used—listening and responding to your different actions.

Connecting online and offline experiences is not a new endeavor; many marketers understand the need for it. However, what many don’t recognize is its potential to make a significant impact on bottom line goals—like revenue. To influence the entire customer journey, it’s important to look at entire customer experience across channels, not in silos. Online marketing affects offline behavior and vice versa. In fact, according to Econsultancy, 40% of online searchers make a purchase after being influenced by an offline channel. With this understanding, marketers can pull the necessary levers in their toolkit to optimize and achieve their desired results.

Here are three steps to bridge the gap between online and offline marketing:

1. Identify All of Your Marketing Channels and Determine the Best Combinations

List all of your online and offline channels and who owns each channel (in larger organizations, each channel may be owned by a separate team whereas in smaller organizations, they may be shared by one or more teams). If you have a mobile app, don’t forget to include it in your list; mobile marketing is an effective medium to bridge the online and offline worlds as mobile devices have become an integral part of our everyday lives.

Then, identify complementary channels where you can have continuous conversations with your buyers. Some examples are email and direct mail, mobile app and on-premise advertising, and SMS and your website. Whichever combinations you choose, secure alignment and buy-in from the channel owners from goal setting to execution to measurement and optimization. The more you can do with your existing resources and tech infrastructure, the easier it is to move forward. A marketing automation system of record, like Marketo, can enable a 360 degree view of customers and their online as well as offline interactions, so you can truly trigger communications on one channel based on behaviors on other channels.

2. Set Goals and Success Metrics

Like all campaigns, before you begin running your cross-channel campaigns, start by setting your goals. Work backwards from your revenue goal and determine your objectives for each channel. While online and offline metrics may differ, the end goal is the same: drive more sales and revenue. Here are some examples of some online and offline metrics that you may want to track to help you measure your success:

• Website: Page views, average session duration, most visited pages, bounce rate, conversions, behavior flow, keyword rankings, etc.
• Mobile: Users, session length, time in-app, actions, retention, etc.
• Email: Click-through-rate, conversions, unsubscribes, etc.
• Digital advertising: Impressions, reach, clicks, click-through-rate, engagement rate, conversions, etc.
• Offline metrics: Store visits or tradeshow booth visits, phone inquiries, offer usage, store purchases, etc.

Set goals for the lift you expect to see when you integrate your online and offline channels. This largely depends on the channels you integrate and what influence each has on the customer journey. A conservative goal would be around 3-5%, while an aggressive goal can be 20% or more. On the other hand, if you already have goals set for each channel, determine what percentage of those can be driven from other channels instead of from increased ROI on the original channel.

3. Get Creative with Integrating Your Channels

With your goals and framework on hand, start brainstorming campaign ideas that provide a seamless experience for the buyer. Here are some examples that integrate online and offline channels:

• Email and direct mail: Increase customer engagement with direct mail that is sent out based on triggered campaigns. For instance, if a customer opens or clicks on an email, you could send a direct mail customized to that action.
• In-store promotions: Offer repeat customers coupons that they can download online for in-store usage. With a unique code, you will be able attribute coupon-driven offline purchases to your online marketing efforts.
• Geo-specific promotions: Mobile devices allow marketers to reach buyers wherever they are. Add SMS opt-ins to your online forms so you can send important information to customers on their mobile devices.
• Mobile app messages: Send triggered push notifications or in-app messages based on a buyer’s email actions or non-actions, and vice versa.
• Events: Use beacons to track and measure interactions with attendees and follow up with relevant and personalized content.
• Promoting online channels on offline: Aside from QR codes, there are plenty of ways to drive offline traffic to online channels. Include social handles, vanity URLs, and coupon codes on your offline presence to give your online channels a boost.

An integrated online-offline marketing strategy can go a long way in making a significant impact on your organization’s overall goals. With the Internet of Things becoming mainstream, you’ll have many more channels at your disposal to integrate into the customer journey. As you evaluate your current online and offline channels, remember that it’s never too early to start exploring newer channels, such as smartwatches, thermostats, and other connected devices.

What tips and tricks do you have for running successful cross-channel campaigns? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!

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