Integrating Online and Traditional Marketing Strategies

May 28, 2008

This is the first part of the discussion from our May 19 marketing seminar.
These free marketing seminars are held in our Elgin, Illinois office every other Monday, at 7:30 a.m. Business owners and other interested persons are invited to attend, ask questions, and hopefully learn something!

The topic was about how a business can take the first steps to integrate their Internet marketing strategy with their existing marketing efforts.

Traditional Marketing Opportunities that Can Help Online:

Public Relations:

PR can be good for just getting your name out, but many media will also feature your links on their website so that viewers / listeners / readers can learn more about your company. That traffic is usually high-quality traffic that if not “ready to buy” certainly wants to learn more about your company and gives you an opportunity to capture their information, perhaps with a free report, a safety checklist, or something else that might be valuable to them.

Also, since media are considered “authority sites” most search engines trust them to only feature important website links. This trust will help elevate your website in the Search Engine Results Page or SERP.

Direct Mail and Brochures:

Just like with the media driving people to your website, direct mail can as well so your website should have something available to capture their interest and information because the people visiting your website are obviously interested in your company.

Networking Events:

Make sure you have your website on your business card and if you have something special on your website, make sure you promote it as opportunities allow.

You can also use networking events to build your internal email list, but be careful not to send emails too frequently or blindly. Certainly though, you should email everyone you meet and thank them for talking with you the night before and send a link to your website. This way your name and company will stand out, where the five other people who didn’t follow-up won’t.

You might also use this opportunity to include a link to your blog, facebook profile, or Linkedin profile where you can further network with the individual as well as build a stronger relationship.

Business Cards:

Your business card should absolutely have your website listed, but also you should make sure that your email and website have the same domain name. This will serve two purposes - 1. it will look more professional 2 it is easier to remember one domain than two!

For instance, if your domain is www.greatname.com make sure that your email isn’t greatname@comcast.net.

Posted in Marketing Seminars