Web Site Promotion
Offline promotion: Traditional advertising/marketing
A company needs to market their website
both online and offline. This month we will be looking at
how to market your website offline. Offline promotion is any
marketing that does not occur on the Internet. Traditional
advertising such as magazines, radio/TV, mailers, store displays,
etc. are all examples.
You can market your website in a number
of ways:
1) Mass marketing (e.g.
TV and Radio, Magazines and Periodicals, Billboards)
Mass marketing is advertising to large market segments through
mass media and other public forums. While it is an expensive
form of marketing, advertising can be an asset in certain
situations.
2) Press releases
A press release is a news-style article that is distributed
for publication. Press releases can be targeted for online
electronic publications or offline print.
Press releases differ from mass marketing in that a third
party is used to judge and endorse the quality of the information
before printing. The format must also differ from traditional
advertising in that the information must be news of interest
verse purely marketing copy.
Tips
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While press releases can be very powerful, they require
a fair amount of expertise to execute properly. If you
do not have experience in the PR game, it is generally
best to use a professional. |
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Press releases have a secondary value as news for your
site. An article published about your company and/or its
web site in a respected publication provides instant credibility. |
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Who and how the release is distributed is
just as important as the quality of the article. When
working with a consultant make sure both issues are considered
properly. |
3) Direct Marketing (e.g.,
Broadcast e-mail, Broadcast fax, Direct Mail, Telemarketing)
Direct marketing is a promotion mechanism that allows focused
messages to be received by a targeted audience. The main difference
between direct marketing and other promotion is that you can
closely qualify your audience to deliver a message that appeal
to their specific needs.
Tips
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Direct marketing can be powerful yet can
have a negative effect if not done properly. Be careful
what you send to an unsolicited audience. |
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Look to capture potential and existing customer information
on your site or through other means to build a mailing
list of qualified recipients. |
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Look to provide giveaways or special offers in your
message. It has been proved to produce significantly better
results. |
4) Collateral marketing
(e.g. Business cards, Letterheads, Brochures, Multi-media
presentations, Traditional advertising)
Collateral marketing refers to adding your web site address
to various company materials and publications. Collateral
advertising can be done with practically any marketing medium.
Tips
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Collateral marketing should be standardized
company wide. |
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Don't just publish links to your home page. Let people
know what they may find with a short headline. |
5) Networking promotion
(e.g. Sales calls, Trade shows, Seminars and workshops, Word
of mouth)
Networking promotion refers to a broad range of activities
to market through interpersonal interactions. Adding web promotion
to your networking cost virtually nothing yet can return powerful
gains. The holy grail of networking promotion is to get people
not associated with your company to promote the site to others
because of its quality and usefulness.
Tips
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Networking opportunities are everywhere.
Train your employees to take full advantage of them. |
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Every employee should rehearse a short verbal commercial
to draw potential customers to your site . |
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Your web site is your salesperson when you are not in
front of your customer; promote it that way. |
Source:
Lorentz Consulting Group LLC - Dallas, Texas
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