The internet has had a major effect on all of our lives. It is now one the main sources of information worldwide with multiple avenues through which people can share information. With this advent of new information sources, businesses have been forced to change how they market their products in order to stay relevant in the ever-changing marketplace.
Marketing companies and advertisement campaigns now break down their marketing strategies into two main categories; online & offline.
Marketing Strategies
Online marketing
Market analysis has shown that marketing through television and newspaper ads are becoming less and less effective as the years go on.
Several companies are now the getting the word out there about their products by creating high-quality content that is related to their industries then posting it on forums on the internet. They do this to engage potential clients and customers in their demographic by distributing eNewsletters, videos, case studies, and articles. Once they have created the content they use social media as a primary avenue for getting it onto the screens of their potential consumers.
At the start of the social media, craze companies were limited in the number of social media websites that they could use for their online marketing strategies. But now there are a plethora of sites available, which means that marketing campaigns appeal to customers via more channels than ever before.
This has worked in the favor of businesses with well-though out online marketing plans as they are now able to reach more people than ever before. Intelligent online marketing campaigns are designed to get their messages across using attractive images and engaging pictures. This is called being image-centric.
Image-centric campaigns and advertisements work well online because the major social media sites place emphasis on images. The most successful blog posts on social media that generate the highest number of shares and views all make intelligent use of graphics to illustrate the messages of their accompanying words and to empathize the point that they are trying to make.
Offline Marketing
Many companies have shifted the focus of their marketing strategies to the internet. Offline marketing is losing popularity however it is wise for companies to continue using offline marketing techniques because even though our lives are experiencing a shift to the net-space, we still exist and interact in the real world.
When people meet, they still have the habit of exchanging business cards. A business card is a great way of telling someone exactly what you or your business is about. In Japan, business cards are so revered that it is considered good courtesy to make a show of carefully stowing away someone’s business card immediately they give it to and if you don’t it is a sign of disrespect. Once they have your business card, they can give you a ring as soon as they feel that they have a need for whatever service or product it is that you offer.
Professional events are another way to share your ideas and tell new people what your brand is about. Being invited to speak at an event is an honor as you are being blessed with a room or even a hall full of people who have come to hear you tell them about you and your product. This works a lot better than regular advertisements because regular advertisements have to be pushed on people while those at an event are asking to be told therefore will be more receptive to what you have to say.
Mix and Match
As you can see, both online and offline marketing techniques have their advantages.
When choosing a technique to use, a limited number of resources may tempt some into relying solely on online strategies rather than offline strategies or vise verse however a wise choice would be to use a mix of both. For example, if you are marketing an event you could design flyers for the event and post them on social media pages and then print hard-copy flyers of the same flyers to distribute in areas where your target demographic frequents.