Monthly Archives: May 2020

5 Savvy Ways to Combine Traditional and Digital Marketing

Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing,

Marketing, in any capacity, is an essential component of business success. Organizations of all kinds realize that promoting their value to a particular audience is paramount to generating leads and making money. This realization is nothing new. The Egyptians knew that they could use papyrus to craft sales messaging. Marketing is both an art and a science, making it one of the most complex and dynamic practices around.

Traditional marketing laid the foundation for digital marketing’s triumph. And today, many business owners have abandoned traditional methods of advertising. Some have shied away from billboards to give Google ads their attention, others have removed all magazine ads to run Facebook campaigns or even their television spots to establish and grow their YouTube presence.

As new and shiny technologies emerge, it can be very tempting to ditch all traditional ways of communicating with prospects. But is this the way to go? Has digital media overtaken traditional media in such a way that it makes sense to dedicate all dollars to the former?

While there is certainly much to be said about the power of digital marketing in 2020 and beyond, it is worth noting that traditional marketing tactics still have power too. What if combining the two strategically was the winning ticket?

Today, we explore some of the shrewdest ways to make digital and traditional to work together, creating the opportunity to cast a wider net of prospects.

Merging Traditional and Digital Marketing for Business Wins

Digital marketing can live in a lot of places – your phone, your inbox, the websites you frequent, and so on and so forth. And while our lives are overwhelming digital, there are still a number of places that website code and internet access cannot reach. Digital marketing cannot have a conversation with a prospect during a networking event, it cannot be sent to the front door of a home, and it cannot target hundreds of thousands of people driving along a highway.

So, how can you utilize both digital tactics and traditional methods to reach your target audience everywhere? Let’s dive in.

1.      Direct Mail and Email

The ability to reach people in their mailbox is still powerful. Sure, some will immediately throw away a flyer or a coupon book, but what if that flyer or coupon book came from the same company that sent an email earlier that day? Brand recognition goes a long way in generating leads and coordinating direct mail with email marketing campaigns can have a major influence on consumers.

2.      Billboards and Geotargeting

Location is huge in marketing, that’s why billboards still live on the sides of the road worldwide. Geotargeting is also hugely important for companies looking to corner a specific zip code or neighborhood. Combining these efforts can prove to be enormously successful, especially if data-collecting via geotargeting is then applied to the billboard location.

3.      Cold Calling and Prospect Data

Cold calling may seem like the most antiquated play in the book, but what if you were cold calling someone who took an action indicating they had an interest in your product/service? This is the power of combining cold calling and prospect data. Using data to identify intent, you can reach out to people who have expressed interest based on their online activity.

4.      Newspapers and Digital Ads

Newspapers have certainly taken a hit in recent years, but many people still like to start their day with a black and white paper. Running an ad in a newspaper and then following up with digital ads targeted by location can be a great way to hit people twice in one day. Plus, with readership dwindling the cost of newspaper ads has gotten a lot more competitive.

5.      Local Events and Social Media Marketing

Hosting a local event is a great way to engage current clients and attract new ones. Pairing this with a social media campaign can be very effective. This may mean giving a discount for social media check-ins or even featuring attendees on your social pages. Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign was a major success. Fans were encouraged to purchase a personalized bottle and this boosted online sales. Plus, countless people posted photos of their Cokes on social media, further promoting the campaign.

Lessons from Diversification in Marketing

Most marketers can attest to the fact that putting all of your eggs in one basket is a big mistake. Running only Google ads will inevitably leave out segments in your target market. Putting all of your money behind a billboard on a major highway will only work with supplemental digital activity. As we shift more and more digital as a society, it is tempting to forgo all traditional methods of marketing. However, those who can combine both digital and traditional marketing strategies will find themselves winning big with their audience.

Could your company benefit from the combination of both traditional and digital marketing? At Big Customer Network, we have mastered the art of finding the perfect combination for our clients. Call us today to learn more.

7 Best Practices for Hosting Successful Virtual Meetings

Digital Marketing,

Day-to-day business has been turned on its head over the last several months. While the pandemic has certainly upended many aspects of business, there are a number of redeeming elements linked to conducting business amidst a near nationwide quarantine. Companies of all sizes, in all industries, have surprised themselves in their ability to hold virtual meetings.

From internal meetings to client relations, relying on virtual tools has become commonplace for business operations. Those organizations that are able to lean on digital assets will position themselves to succeed not only during the COVID-19 era but far beyond. Hosting a virtual event requires three important elements:

  • Planning each aspect with strategy
  • Meticulous preparation and rehearsal
  • Ability to troubleshoot and roll with any hiccups

Presenting to a group of prospects on a virtual meeting means getting an opportunity to reach people in a specific setting. With this in mind, it is important to take advantage of the platform and the audience in the most strategic way possible. Companies who rely on in-person events have had to rethink how they will remain in business. In order to adapt to our current situation, virtual events have seen a rapid rise in popularity.

In some ways, replacing in-person meetings with virtual meetings have limited companies’ ability to reach their audience the right way. On the other hand, virtual events allow for a global reach that would be impossible for many in an in-person setting. As such, it is critical to host a virtual event the right way in order to retain current clients and seek new prospective clients.

The following are some of the most important tips for hosting a successful virtual event:

  1. Define your goals before planning any aspect of the virtual event, and keep these objectives in mind during each phase of planning and launching the event
  2. Conduct thorough research to determine the platform that you will use – this means focusing in on features, metrics, engagement tools, and other relevant aspects to your company
  3. Keep your brand in mind throughout each aspect – from landing pages to social posts and from virtual background to email automation, your brand should be accurately represented
  4. Create high-quality content that is beneficial to your audience – whether that means producing a new video or designing impressive documents to supplement your meeting, make it impressive
  5. Promote, promote, promote – in this era people are inundated with virtual meetings, so make sure your promotional materials are abundant and informative to ensure that you have a sizable audience
  6. Take advantage of registration information – make sure that when someone signs up for your virtual event that their contact information is captured and added to your CRM
  7. Follow-up – when your event is over, plan to offer supplemental materials as a way to follow-up and offer an added bonus for attending

Creating, planning, and executing a virtual event can be a daunting task, especially for organizations that typically rely on in-person engagement. While the thought of making something like this happen can be overwhelming, it is important to remember that riding this learning curve will set your organization up for success well beyond this pandemic.

Invest in the time, people, and tools that it takes to make your virtual event fantastic and you will benefit greatly from new clientele, a new skillset, and an offering that will be utilized today and tomorrow.