In marketing today, it seems it’s all about digital. You’ve no doubt seen buzzwords like SEO, re-targeting, link building and content strategy in nearly every marketing blog you’ve read this year. And that’s not surprising—these are among the top tactics in the modern marketer’s toolkit.
Digital marketing is a must for many companies in today’s tech-driven landscape. It’s also incredibly quantifiable, making it easy for business owners to justify the investment. A recent study published on Statista revealed marketing spend worldwide has increased by nearly 22 percent from 2012 to 2018. The proven successes of well-executed digital marketing strategies are no doubt key drivers of this increase.
The rise of digital marketing, however, does not mean traditional tactics are dead. “Offline” marketing tactics complement your digital marketing efforts and help your company stand out to consumers. As one example, according to US Presort, 87 percent of people ages 25 to 34 like receiving direct mail. And while direct mail can have a higher acquisition cost than digital tactics, it often has a higher response rate.
Direct mail, public speaking engagements and trade shows have the power to produce large returns on investment. However, proving that ROI can be difficult. It’s easy to see how many widget sales resulted directly from a social media ad, but how do you know if a billboard campaign or a trade show really brought more business in your door?
Direct URLs and “alias” phone numbers can help you track the effectiveness of your next offline campaign.
A direct URL that links to a customized website “landing” page is one smart way to measure the effectiveness of traditional marketing tactics. By including a direct URL on a flyer you hand out at an event, you can later track how many people visit the landing page after the event. For this tactic to be effective, create a unique URL specifically for the event, and give people a compelling reason to use it. The promise of a special offer or exclusive information is extremely enticing. Gather email addresses and contact information from visitors by including a web form on the page.
Similarly, temporary and alias phone numbers from services like Google Voice or Mighty Call allow you to track call volume. They are easy to set up, and they route to your existing business phone number. Like direct URLs, setting up a unique phone number for a specific campaign or event is key to tracking results. Use the dedicated number to track how many calls a mailer, flyer or billboard generates. For your next big event, consider printing special business cards with a unique phone number to measure how many new prospect calls your team generates.
In a digital world, you’ve got to capitalize on the non-digital world as well. It may be offline, but it’s certainly not off-target for your marketing strategy.
Emily Cupples, Marketing Strategist at RedRover Sales & Marketing Strategy, can be reached at www.redrovercompany.com.
