Guest Post: 7 Simple Offline Marketing Ideas To Increase Website Traffic

There is a wide variety of ways that you can promote your brand online. However, you mustn’t forget about your offline efforts as well. Even in today’s era of the internet, there are people who aren’t as familiar with it, or who simply prefer a more tangible form of marketing. This means that your online and offline efforts should go hand in hand, in order to make your marketing strategy truly successful. There are some great marketing methods that are often neglected but can actually improve how much traffic you drive to your website. Here are some of them.

1.      Branding your vehicles

Branding your business’ vans and cars is a great marketing strategy, because it basically enables you to have a mobile advertising asset. If you want people all over the town to notice your brand, you should place an attractive ad on your vehicles that includes the address to your blog. This makes sure that thousands of people get to see it on a daily basis, and is certain way to bring the wanted attention to your website. You need to make sure that it’s professionally designed, in order to leave the best impression.

2.      Appearing in magazines and newspapers

A lot of people read newspapers and magazines, so why ignore this opportunity to advertise yourself? It may not be as cost-effective to place color adverts across the whole page, but it doesn’t mean that you have to start big. Start by placing a small ad into a classified section of a local newspaper. In time, your business and traffic will grow, and so will your ability to appear in larger papers and magazines. Do some research and find out the cost of advertising products and services specified to your business niche. This is important, because you want to reach a specific audience.

3.      Branding items

A very effective and tangible way of advertising your blog is to place the URL onto various promotional items that you can share with your audience, such as pens, cups, t-shirts and badges. Of course, you should give these items away for free, because the effect they have will pay off in the long run. It goes without saying that you need to focus on particular markets that are bound to use your product. If you send a bunch of branded items to an unrelated organization, it’s nothing but a waste of resources. Give your items away to a local business that will be interested in what you have to offer.

4.      Visual assets

People react to visual stimuli, so you need to make the best use out of your visual assets, such as posters, banners or a media wall on an event. Place them at appropriate locations, indoors or outdoors, where they are bound to attract the attention of people passing by. For the best effect, you need to make sure that your blog’s address is clear and prominent, and if you are selling a product, it has to be upfront. If done properly, it is bound to catch people’s eye, and interest them in looking you up online.

5.      Guest speaking on local radio shows

Local radio shows are a great place to present yourself to people who prefer this form of advertising. You need to check the show listings for your local radio stations and decide which ones are the best choice for your business. Then all you need to do is contact the radio station and present yourself as a local expert that can provide valuable insight in the field. During the show, there will be a moment when they will focus on your industry and give you the opportunity to talk about it. This is the chance for you to mention your website address as well, and get people interested in reading your blog.

6.      Speaking at conferences

Conferences are a perfect opportunity to speak about your business and let people know where they can find out more about it. As well as online video conferencing solutions, traditional conferences represent an opportunity to reach hundreds of people at once and convey your message in a timely manner. A great number of conferences is held by organizations and associations that you can benefit from. You have the opportunity to present yourself to a primed audience as an expert in the field. If you want to have a great pitch, you should do your research on particular topics that were already discussed, and provide your audience with new ideas that can improve on them. This is also a great chance to get references.

7.      Guerrilla marketing

Out-of-the-box marketing solutions are what captures customers’ attention, especially when performed suddenly or in unexpected situations. The catch with guerrilla marketing is to use the unusual strategies to try to get the maximum results with minimum investment. Guerrilla marketing can be anything from graffiti and other forms of street art, street festivals, business cards and print publications etc.

The truth is that if your marketing campaign is solely focused on your online efforts, you will miss out on some great opportunities to get more people to know about your blog. These are some of the marketing tactics that are still essential and can have a great impact on your audience. Next to all this, remember to have your own press kit that you can provide to anyone who is interested in telling a story about your business.

Leila Dorari is a marketing consultant and a freelance writer from Sydney. She has been working with different companies for 5 years now. When taking a break from making new marketing slogans, she is either window shopping or exploring new ways to make her life more meaningful.