Offline Promotion: Undervalued OpportunityWritten by Alex Polonski
When it goes about Website promotion, people usually think about such things as search engine optimization (also known as SEO), different pay-per-click advertising opportunities (such as Google AdWords and Overture), incoming links campaigns, and other methods of online promotion. It seems obvious - Website is online, so one should promote it online. Although it is true, people always undervalue a grand set of techniques of offline promotion. So offline promotion is…Basically, it’s a complex of activities that make your target group aware of your Website’s existence through different material mediums or word of mouth. Let’s imagine that you are trying to promote a company’s Website. Your target group doesn’t surf Internet to find a company like yours. It’s used to seek potential partners trough exhibitions, industry magazines or so. However, you do realize that if they see your Website and find all necessary info there, they won’t pass by your company under no circumstances. What should you do then? Definitely, you should advertise your Website with those mediums that can reach your customer’s mind freely. More often than you might imagine, your message can be located offline. Is it right for me?Like there is no universal cure for anyone, there is no common answer for that question. However, there are two main groups of Websites that can benefit from usage of some offline promotional techniques: - Online community Websites;
- Websites of companies that run their operations offline.
Why those two? The logic is different there. As for online communities, those unprofitable Websites unite thousands of people common in their interests. So we can assume that if your community Website is dedicated to e.g. blues harmonica playing you can promote it widely with some material fan attributes etc. Your aim here would be to involve as many permanent visitors as you can.As for company’s Website, you should turn an attention of a specific narrow circle of potential customers and partners. Business people are like two-faced Janus; they believe only facts, people they know and material things, while they like to get an info as quickly as Internet can afford (if not even rapidly). Tell them about your company in a real time, let others tell them about you too, give them your card with your site’s URL, and you’ll be looking much more solid in their eyes, much worthier than your competitors. Here techniques go…The number of ways of offline promotion is infinite. It can be limited with your own fantasy only. However, it would be wise to divide all possible ways into 3 main groups. | Group | Appeals to | Presumable Effect | | Wide exposure of site’s URL on different material mediums (bags, billboards etc.) | People’s Curiosity | - Increase of site’s general traffic.
- Some visitors can become permanent.
| | Usage of site’s URL on company’s souvenirs, proposals etc. | Need to find a necessary info | - Increase of company’s solid image in potential partners’ eyes.
- Their awareness of company’s existence.
| | Usage of site’s URL on different occasions (press releases, conversations) | People’s Curiosity | - Increase of site’s targeted traffic.
| Let’s clarify a usage of those groups.1. Wide exposure of site’s URL on different material mediums. Material mediums mentioned above can be: - Billboards;
- Bags;
- Umbrellas;
- Cars;
- T-Shirts and caps;
- Print, radio, television ads etc.
That method can be used effectively mainly for online community site’s promotion just because it appeals to people curiosity. A general scheme of its performance is: - A person sees an ad;
- He gets curious;
- He keeps URL in mind;
- As soon as he gets to Internet he visits that URL;
- At end, he either returns over and over, or he doesn’t.
In some specific cases, such method can give great results for companies’ Websites as well. It can be true mainly if: - The company has a well-known brand, so that such promotion can be just a reminiscent advertising.
- The company runs a specific advertising campaign that makes people get curious and visit its Website.
As a conclusion, one should say that although such method can give high increase of general traffic, only a little number of visitors would be targeted. However, word-of-mouth effect will change scale to proper direction then.
| | Ten Tips For Writing GREAT Ad'sWritten by Dan Brown
1. Publish a picture of yourself in your ad. This will show people that you're not hiding behind your web site and you're not afraid to backup your product.2. List how many famous or respected people have purchased your product in your ad. These people should be fairly known by your target audience. 3. Publish results of any tests your product has passed in your ad. Your product may have passed a durability test, safety test, quality test, etc. 4. Publish results of any positive surveys you've taken from your customers in your ad. Just survey your current customers and list results. 5. List any publications that have written about your business in your ad. It could be a product review, on a top ten list, an article, etc. 6. List any related books that you've written in your ad. When you list a book(s) you've wrote, it gives you credibility because it shows you're an expert.
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