By Charly Leetham

Traditional print media, such as newspapers, magazines and television, have not disappeared with the advent of the Internet. In fact, print media is still the most appropriate medium for certain Target Audiences.

A marketing campaign that uses both online and offline mediums can be incredibly effective. The key to success is finding a way to make the two work together cooperatively and effectively, within the marketing budget.

The challenge to a business owner is deciding which Offline mediums to use, and how to combine that with the businesses online presence.

Consistency

When deciding on an offline media campaign, the key to success is consistency – a business owner should ensure that their branding is reflected through each and every piece of advertising.

Branding


Use of the website branding in a print media campaign, may or may not be effective. If a business has website branding only, consideration needs to be given to which parts of the website graphic layout our clients actually ‘connect’ with. It is this part of the graphic concept that needs to be used in print campaigns.

It is certainly worthwhile engaging the services of a great graphic designer to develop a print quality version of the website branding. Ensuring that your branding translates to the print medium, and provides a quality impression to the target audience, is paramount.

Call To Action
Every good marketing campaign has to have a call to action.  When using offline media to promote an online web presence – thought needs to be given to the visitor experience and the overall result the business owner wishes to achieve.

Once the Call To Action is decided – the business owner needs to ensure the website will support it!

Tracking and Measuring
It is very important to measure the effectiveness of all marketing efforts and tracking the results of an offline media campaign is equally as important.

The ability to determine the Return on Investment (or other success metric) will aid the savvy business owner in future decision making process.

Offline Media Channels
There are many offline media channels that a business owner can tap into – not just the traditional ones like Newspapers and Magazines.

A business owner should consider how to “speak directly to” their target audience.  A newspaper or a magazine may not be the best place.  Some other options to consider are:

1. Coffee Shop promotions
2. Contra deals with local businesses
3. Social Club newsletters or noticeboards with local businesses
4. School Newsletters
5. Car back advertising
6. Letter box drops
7. Networking Events

Really, the list is endless and different channels will provide different results based on the offer and the Target Audience.

Use Offline Media

Using offline media to promote your online business can provide amazing results – when implemented and measured correctly.

Charly Leetham is a Online Business Implementation Expert who helps businesses harness the Internet as a sales channel. Charly provides services to solopreneurs and small business who wish to sell or promote their products and services online. For more information on creating an online community, visit http://askcharlyleetham.com/category/services/business-marketing-services for more information