Have you been seduced by the glamour of new digital marketing tools?
The current perception, especially if you talk to anyone under the age of 30, is that new more trendy stuff like like social media, online marketing and pay per click has put the older marketing techniques into the shadows – but actually those old often forgotten marketing methods can still get you business.
When trying to raise awareness of your brand, get customers or even drive more people to your website, there are other forms of advertising and promotion that can be explored, that are just as effective, in some cases more so, than digital.
The digital space is now really crowded – so try some of these – you’ll stand out because there is less competitive ‘noise’ diluting your message.
Getting your message across – Bill Boards, Press and Outdoors
If you’ve got a local business, why not think about forms of localised outdoor advertising such as posters at local Railway Network, Adshell (posters at bus stops). You can get your brand displayed on 6 sheet billboards costing as little as £240 for 2 weeks advertising campaign.
Compare this to the cost of an ongoing advertising campaign on Google – you could be advertising for a month on a billboard in your area and reaching a similar audience!
Another brilliant benefit of poster advertising is that if the media sales agency has not sold the space after your campaign finishes – your poster stays up there! This can be as little as an extra, but we have had experience of our posters staying up for 6 months – FREE!
Your local Radio is another interesting source of advertising for certain businesses. Used correctly with creative thinking, it is said to raise over 50% more business if localised to an area.
Traditional Awareness-building Graphic Design Work
Consider other forms of branding and advertising – some of these long term such Banners and exterior advertising – signage and livery, flag poles and so on – they all have a longer shelf life – delivering your message constantly.
Think about every Eddie Stobart lorry you drive past on the motorway. Have you seen the Rabbit vans (another client of Snap Marketing!) driving around Reading? That investment has been paid over and again.
Think outside the box – what about bus exteriors and interiors – what about Hotel, or Leisure Club lobbies, sports exteriors – race courses – football and Rugby grounds. Think about pooling resources with complimentary business to make your marketing investment go further over time or to have greater impact.
Direct Marketing – Send a postcard – Write a letter!
I’ve left the best till last – send stuff to prospects. This is a real weapon now. Its really easy to ignore an email or delete it without evening scanning more than the Subject Line. Send something in the post and the recipient has to do something actively with it.
A well designed postcard campaign will get your prospects intrigued and a well crafted letter will often really open up a conversation or get your foot in the door – and that’s all you can ask of your marketing activities isn’t it? We’ve done lots of this recently with huge success – call us!
Why not send them a Christmas card?
Author Matthew Simmons
