Combining Online and Offline Marketing to Build Business Credibility

November 23, 2017

By Susan Friesen in Business Marketing Social Media Marketing

New clients are essential to the success of any business so make sure you keep up consistent efforts to draw in new leads you can then turn into paying clients.

To accomplish this, you need:

Proper planning

Have you taken the steps to define your ideal client yet? It's important to have a plan before setting off on a journey.

Ideal clients are just that: ideal. The more of them you have, the less stress you have in keeping any toxic clients who may be more trouble than they're worth.

Make your presence known

Content marketing, e-mail marketing, and social media marketing all work together when planned properly. Before you start any guesswork about how to market your business online, remember our tips on the value of planning it out and hiring a professional to get it done properly.

The value of organic and paid marketing to drive website traffic in droves and the cost of messy DIY attempts at online marketing cannot be overstated.

The importance of referrals

Referral business is a great way to generate leads. The leads are better and the fact that you're coming by way of a reference goes a long way to securing the client.

We looked at four ways to earn referrals so that you can feel more comfortable when approaching existing contacts for referrals.

Offline Marketing is Still Essential

A lot of what we focus on is specific to online efforts. That is essentially because we specialize in professional website development, social media marketing, and search engine optimization.

Your business success can rely on not only online marketing strategies and tactics, but also offline efforts. So remember to keep up some hard and true staples to keep the leads coming in.

Here's some suggestions to infuse into your overall marketing pie:

Event or Tradeshow Sponsorship

Sponsoring an event or a tradeshow is a great way to get your business in front of key decision makers within your industry or business sector. Our success with the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce in 2016 was not only great for getting our name in front of local businesses over having won a Business Excellence award but the sponsor of our award, Blackwood Building Centre Ltd., also received a lot of recognition.

Contests Offering Merchandise

Holding a contest is a great way to get word out about your business. Watch out for serial contest entrants (yes people have side jobs entering contests all day) and take the construct of the contest seriously. Look for loopholes that could be exploited and carefully plan your contest so it targets your ideal clients.

Offering free samples or credit as a reward is great when you focus on those who need what you have or do. You may get less entries but it's better to get 10 qualified entries than 1,000 entries from people who are really only after a freebie.

Radio Advertising

Radio ads are still a good tool especially if you deal locally. Many stations are eager to support local businesses so try reaching out to your local radio stations. The cost might be a lot better than you expect.

Newspaper Mentions

These are great for getting eyes on your business. It's even better if the newspaper has an online equivalent that publishes the article.

If you are able to get your name in a newspaper editorial and the author is willing to link to your site, then you're not only getting some amazing exposure but because of the link, you are also telling Google that your website has more value.

Journalists have trust placed in them by their readers so if you can get someone to feature your business in an article you should definitely do it.

*Bonus Pro Tip – If you have key phrases drafted and website pages with them sending the right on-site ranking signals, then try asking the article author to link to your business with an actual term you're trying to rank for.

Networking

Never underestimate the power of good networking for your business. Getting yourself out there at events, trade shows, or anywhere else you can find your target audience is a great idea.

Not all events cost money and, even if you don't make a connection, you can still have a good time.

Some other quick ideas to boost your brand exposure include:

• Sending postcards to past or prospective clients;

• Posting flyers, sending mailers or distributing door hangers;

• Goodie bag and door donations at events where your target market will be in attendance;

• Merchandizing;

• Volunteering;

• Even get your car wrapped with your brand messaging.

These methods are good on their own and together they result in you building your credibility and getting more exposure in front of your ideal target market.

The value of credibility is immeasurable for business success and the cost of not having any clients know, like, or trust you is equivalently high.

Understandably, a lot of these tips seem great but are often tough to execute, but the pay off is worth it.

As the founder, Susan Friesen brings a unique advantage to eVision Media clients by having earned a Bachelor in Business Administration degree with a concentration in Computer Information Systems through the Thompson River's University. Her experience in the Web development industry since 1999 has gained her much insight and knowledge in how to effectively brand a business and then translate that to a user-friendly, search-engine friendly, custom designed website. She is a graduate of the Vancouver Film School multi-media program and also earned several certificates in technology through the University of Victoria and Athabasca University. She won the 2003-2004 Governor General's Bronze Academic Award for achieving the highest academic standing in a diploma-level post secondary program. http://evisionmedia.ca

Source: Combining Online and Offline Marketing to Build Business Credibility