Offline Marketing Tips to Increase Online Traffic

 

Today, most companies are focusing the majority of their marketing efforts online. While the internet has created a plethora of new marketing channels, it's not the only way to drive traffic to your website and grow your sales. Despite what many online marketing gurus will say, offline marketing is still a powerful way to reach out to both new and repeat customers in order to increase your bottom line.
If you think offline marketing is dead, here are some great ways to increase your online traffic that may just change your mind:

List Your Website Everywhere: Whether it's on your invoices, business cards or product packaging, make sure your website address is listed everywhere. This additional exposure, even to people who may already be familiar with your company, can help improve your share of the market and cause your company to pop into consumer's minds first when they have needs that you can fulfil.

Network at Trade Shows and Industry Events: No matter which industry you're in or type of business you operate, there are going to be trade show and events that your customers attend. While social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn have become hotbeds of networking activity in recent years, in-person events still offer a powerful way to stand out in your potential customer's mind, more so than a simple online advertisement or friend request.

Direct Mail Campaigns: Direct mail campaigns, one of the strongest marketing strategies prior to the widespread use of the internet, are still great ways to reach out to customers and drive them to your website. In fact, most direct mail campaigns today are highly integrated with online tracking in order to know exactly which recipients are responding to your mailings and visiting your website. These integrated tracking features allow you to better segment and target your most promising leads. 

Host Seminars and Lectures: One effective way to gain an advantage over your competition is to be seen as an expert or authority in your field. To do this, many small business owners host offline seminars and lectures to educate others about topics related to their company's operations. For example, a web design firm could host an offline seminar for local business owners on the importance of having a strong online presence. 

Pick Up the Phone: Nowadays, too many companies simply take their leads and throw them into a marketing funnel. While well-developed funnels can be a great way to maximize revenue and convert visitors into customers, one-on-one communication still has its advantages. Rather than sending a generic email to your customers who haven't order in a certain timeframe, say 90 days, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and give them a call instead. This can have a much bigger impact on their purchasing patterns than an email that could easily be overlooked or deleted.

Although online marketing should be a huge part of how you're expanding your market reach, it should not be your only source of website traffic. There are still a number of proven offline marketing methods that no smart business owner should overlook. By creating the perfect blend of online and offline marketing practices, you can take advantage of multiple sources of web traffic and keep on bringing in new customers.