It’s 2020, and it might seem odd that a marketing company is writing about offline marketing, but that’s exactly why we’re doing it. See, by being different, we’re standing out - that’s the entire premise of IgnitePost. With so many platforms vying for consumer attention, every message becomes diluted. But that very place that we all used to embrace has been, largely, left alone: the offline world.

OFFLINE MARKETING

It used to be as complex and chaotic as online marketing is today. Talk with a radio sales rep or newspaper advertiser and you’ll learn quickly, though, that offline media isn’t the focus it once was. As more organizations take their marketing efforts online, there’s a lot of space for marketers to stand out offline. With that in mind, let’s talk best practices for offline marketing.

BE AUTHENTIC

Authenticity has been the go-to move for a long time now. Most marketers understand the importance, and most of them put out content that shows it. However, when it comes to offline marketing - direct mail, newspaper, radio, television, etc. - people expect a realness to what they read, hear and see. If your marketing piece misses the mark, it will fall flat.

Online marketing has the advantage of infinite space, linking to other content and even mixing media formats (text, video, and so on). Offline doesn’t have this luxury, which means when you choose your piece, you need to put a lot of thought into how you say what you’re saying. Font choices, voice tones, and even paper selection can make a massive impact on how your piece is received.

If this seems complex, just know it doesn’t have to be. Start from the feeling you want to evoke and work backward.

CREATIVITY SHOWS

Depending on your offline platform of choice, you might find consumers are looking for aspects to skip. Television viewers want to skip commercials, magazine readers often gloss over ads; yet, how many people watch the Super Bowl strictly for the advertising?

When marketing is authentic and creative, whether that be through humor, education, emotional sentiment, or something else, it has the ability to really strike people. Offline marketing doesn’t receive the attention it once did, which means your creative piece has a chance to stop people in their tracks and take notice.

CALLS TO ACTION

We’re so used to pushing prospects through funnels and retargeting ads that we can forget what a simple, direct call to action looks like. “Call now” or “for more information” became a cliche for a reason - they work when done the right way. Don’t just list your website or phone number, give people a reason to take that next step.

CONSIDER DEMOGRAPHICS

Online marketing is king when it comes to demographic information. If you’re someone that lives in Google Analytics, you know how powerful this information is, and how granular it can be. Offline marketing will never give you the same level of data, but that doesn’t mean you don’t get some. Different newspapers have different readerships, and (often) the benefit of regionalized distribution.

By working backward from the “who” of the medium, you can craft an ad piece in a way that works for them. You can work with advertising departments to release ads that work with the theme of an issue or show, collaborate with other advertisers in the same space, or even release multiple simultaneous ads that split the demographic up.

While it’s never as clean as online segmentation, it does still exist, so be careful of going “shotgun” when you’re offline.

CONSIDER THE PLATFORM

Every offline marketing platform has an advantage. Radio is put on in the background of many retail shops. Newspapers are available in many places. Direct mail can be catered to with lists. No matter the platform, there’s an upside - maybe it’s cost, maybe it’s the appropriateness of the demographic for your business, maybe it’s the ability to supplement other marketing efforts (like what we do here at IgnitePost).

If you look at all angles of the platforms available to you, you’ll see some make no sense for you, others could work, but a few… well, there are probably a few that could really help you connect with the people you most want to connect with.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON OFFLINE MARKETING

I’m not going to tell you to put all your ad spend in the local, free bi-weekly paper. But I’m also not going to tell you that your marketing strategy should be based solely on Facebook and Google. For some companies, ad dollars are shorter now than they’ve ever been. CPMs keep going up on competitive terms, leaving offline, in some cases, very inexpensive.

Just as smart firms saw the wave of online advertising and moved in slowly, it also makes sense to keep some dollars in your offline marketing. People love getting mail, they enjoy hearing and seeing a funny-ad, especially from a local company. There are times when it pays to play in the big ocean of online, and then there are times it makes sense to be the big fish in the little pond.

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