One of the greatest benefits of social media marketing, blogging, and general online marketing efforts is how it grows around your everyday interactions. Throughout the day, there are a myriad of opportunities to turn an offline interaction into an online connection, like meeting someone new at a networking event and then connecting with them on a social networking site. This movement from offline to online, then back to an offline transaction, is the basis of most social media marketing efforts. However, to run a truly effective and successful campaign, you should also promote your social media marketing offline. Here are some tips for brick & mortar businesses:
Print Materials, Signage
Joining the digital age does not mean the end of printed materials or signage. It means instead that printed and digital materials should be viewed as different tools in the marketing tool belt. Businesses who want to gain more followers online need to let their customers know about it. Great options for this include:
- A sign by the cash register with social network addresses and QR codes
- Social network information on business cards, brochures, receipts
- Stickers for the door or for giveaway with the company logo & social network information
- Posters depicting customers talking about how they found your store through their social media site
- This may sound a little cheesy, but we’ve seen some really good ones that always get a positive response
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Offer Something Extra
Looking for a surefire way to get people to “Check-in” or “Like” your Facebook business page? Give them 10% their ticket for doing it. Or have a giveaway ready for them – throw in dessert, a t-shirt, or some company swag. People love that sort of thing. I will share an experience I had from the consumer’s perspective.
[blockquote] I recently went into a liquor store to get a bottle of wine when I saw a little wine-tasting booth setup. I went over to try their selections, and the tasting hostess told me about their Facebook promotion. They were giving away a free t-shirt with their company name on it if you liked their Facebook business page. I did, and I got a free t-shirt. So did the lady next to me, and the guy after me. Funny thing is we all also bought a bottle of wine from the tasting booth. It was pretty good wine and affordable, but I think there was something to the fact that we had all just received a free t-shirt. Somehow that made the decision to buy their wine easier. I didn’t feel that I owed it to them, but just that it felt right. And I was happy with my purchase and the t-shirt, as were the other two customers. I don’t know if it was that successful the rest of the day, but I have to feel like their conversion rate was pretty high. [/blockquote]
Talk About Your Social Media
Business owners love to talk about their businesses, and people who support the business love to hear about it. So go ahead, tell people about your social media marketing. Let customers and people you network with know about what you’re trying to do and how you’re trying to spread the word. You will not only generate additional followers to your social sites, but you may also get some great ideas from others who are doing the same thing.
Find Your Social Influencers
This one is kind of a subset of talking about your social media. Influencers are people who are well connected and can help you broadcast your message. You probably have some customers who come to mind already who bring in word-of-mouth referrals and talk openly about how great your business is. These same people are often just as influential online as they are offline. That personality carries into their social media world and influences their friends and family. Reach out to them especially. Make sure you are keeping up with their social media so you can help promote them as well, and you’ll see the reciprocation pay great dividends.
There are a number of other ways to promote your social media marketing offline, but I hope these 4 quick tips will serve as a jumping off point for you or spark a new idea. If you’ve got additional tips, please leave them in the comment section below.
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