If you have been using forms of offline marketing, such as brochures, booklets, newsletters, and business cards, to promote your company, you may be wondering whether marketing online is a good idea. Most top companies do a mixture of online and offline marketing, and it is generally agreed that a mix of the two will bring in the highest conversion rates. With Facebook being the number one social network, having a Facebook page for your business is essential. And, it is relatively easy to integrate your Facebook marketing with offline campaigns. Keep reading to find out more.
Facebook is an excellent place to publish online advertisements for your company. You can choose to have your ad appearing in news feeds, or in the sidebar of the site. And you can choose whether to direct customers to your business’ web page, or your business’ Facebook page. The best thing about Facebook ads is that you can choose to advertise to a set demographic. For example, if you run a local hair salon in Dorset, you could choose to advertise to women under the age of 50 in the Dorset area. With most Facebook users being truthful on their profiles, you can rest assured that the majority of people who see your ad will be those that you want to target.
In order to integrate advertising campaigns with your offline marketing, you could advertise a specific event, or a money off voucher for example. This can easily be tied into an offline marketing campaign.
If your business is planning a face to face event in the future, Facebook is the ideal place to advertise it. You can create an event page and list all of the relevant information. You can then send out invitations to people on Facebook and wait for them to RSVP. This is an extremely cheap form of marketing, and you can invite all of the people who have ‘liked’ your Facebook page within seconds. Fans can also help you by sharing the event with their friends if they find it valuable.
To integrate this with offline marketing, you can create a booklet or brochure company, which advertises the same event. You can ask the people who receive the booklet to RSVP via your Facebook event page. Not only will you be showing people that you have an online presence, but you will also build up your online following.
Finally, you could encourage supporters of your business to check-in using their mobile when they physically interact with your business. One salad company, for example, offered 15% off a meal to all users who checked in with them after 4pm. Before long, their visitor numbers had drastically increased. When a Facebook user checks-in, it is instantly shared with all of their friends, gaining your company even more exposure. It can encourage people to talk about your brand both online and offline, and can increase the amount of followers that you have on Facebook.
Try and keep your marketing strategy cohesive across all channels, and ensure you have a single, targeted message. Facebook advertising can easily be integrated with an offline campaign, and you are sure to see an increase in business.