Although online and offline marketing do have different objectives and therefore require somewhat unique approaches, you shouldn’t be viewing them as two separate entities entirely.
Online and offline marketing are like milk and cookies – they’re perfectly great on their own but once you put the two together, you’ve got the recipe for business marketing success.
In this article, we’re going to offer our pearls of wisdom on how to make sure the two are working in harmony and boosting each other but first…
What is online marketing?
Essentially, everything that you do to promote your business, communicate your brand and reach out to your audience that requires the use of the good old internet.
It includes things like:
- Social media
- Content marketing (blogs etc.)
- Email marketing
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
- Digital PR
- Web advertisements (Pay Per Click etc.)
So, what is offline marketing?
In a nutshell, this encompasses all other marketing tactics that are carried out away from the cybersphere.
Some believe this is a bit of a dying art but even in today’s digital age, we believe there is still plenty of room for marketing outside of Instagram ads and high-tech email campaigns.
This includes things like:
- Networking
- Holding events
- Speaking at seminars
- Traditional PR, features and editorials
- Print advertisements and listings
Make your brand guidelines the business Bible
Any great marketing strategy and brand positioning starts with a strong set of brand guidelines that are adhered to across various activities and platforms.
Brand guidelines are the backbone of your USP and should be instantly recognisable whether it’s a printed advertorial in a magazine or a video upload to Facebook.
These guidelines include the fonts, colours and visuals which give your business its unique identity in a busy, busy marketplace. These should remain consistent across the board.
Keep your tone of voice in check
Colours are easy and fonts are in your toolkit ready to use. What is more difficult to implement across both online and offline platforms is a consistent tone of voice.
This applies to everything from social media posts and blog articles through to internal correspondence and conversation when networking.
Tone of voice refers to how your brand speaks (and is therefore perceived) to the world and this needs to remain the same in order to construct a solid and recognisable identity.
For example: if you are relaxed and colloquial on social media, make sure this translates into your blog posts and web copy too.
Ensure your briefs are loud and clear
Okay, they don’t have to be loud but they definitely have to be clear, concise and easy to understand. This is particularly paramount when it comes to working with freelancers and outsourcing to external parties.
You want a freelancer to become an extension of your team for the time they are working for you and part of this is ensuring they understand your business.
Provide them with a copy of your brand guidelines and make sure they have seen past examples of both online and offline material to ensure you’re all ‘on the same page’.
If you’d like to know more about our expert digital marketing services such as Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media Management and Content Creation, head to the Team Organic website.
