Traditional advertising and social media marketing need to exist together. Your advertising efforts in newspaper ads, tv and radio commercials are drivers to the website or a landing page. Business cards are holders of information about to your blog and social media profiles. Creating a print ad or a tv commercial that does not mention your website or even a follow us on … is not making full use of the media placement. Radio is a bit more difficult as you want them to remember the website or phone number and not crash trying to write it all down or give them too much information that they lose interest.
As we eagerly watch how, if at all, social media impacts consumer buying and/or influence to purchase during the upcoming holiday season, there is opportunity to integrate traditional advertising with your social media efforts.
5 Tips for Integrating Traditional Advertising & Social Media
1. Print Ads. Single message that is a driver to a landing page on your website. The landing page needs to contain the same message as well as design of the print ad. The customer needs to visually know that it is the same offer as what they saw in the paper/magazine or online.
2. TV Commercials. Branding message or offer message visually and verbally that once again drives to a landing page on the website. You have peaked their attention to visit the site – give them what they want … the offer.
3. Radio. Single message that emotionally connects with them to create a visual picture of the offer with either a phone number or preferably the website or landing page.
4. Out of Home. These by far have to have the simplest messages as you have a few seconds to grab their attention and the message has to be enticing enough for them enough to visit the site.
5. Face to Face Networking. The opportunity is almost endless here. Business cards with social media profiles, ability to describe what you do in 10 words or less to peak interest (or move on). Bringing your offline community to online is helps not only to grow your online community but to have a chance to teach a newbie the ropes or interact with a local in a new way.
The bottom line is that within your traditional advertising targeted at the offline mediums, you have to let them know where you are online. Don’t expect them to look for you to follow you – ask them to by telling them where you are. Create the “we are here, are you?” pull to make them be compelled emotionally to have to be a part of your online community. No-one really likes to feel left out -we all want to belong and be a part of.
What have you done to integrate your online and offline community or what will you be doing?
photo credit: Dave Hamster