To achieve success today, entrepreneurs must have a concrete plan for showcasing their brand to their target audience. With both online and offline marketing now being essential business elements, a unified brand experience ensures consumers know what your company is all about—regardless of where they come across your brand.
Despite this, some businesses may fail to see the importance of connecting both the online and offline marketing experience. To help businesses bridge the marketing gap, 11 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one effective strategy company leaders can leverage to connect their offline marketing to their online marketing.
1. Clearly Define Your Brand
If this is a problem, you likely haven't defined or communicated your brand clearly within your organization. When you have multiple people creating content or assets, the voice of the brand should be the same. If employees or agencies aren't given the right guidance, the brand will become fragmented. Step back and create brand guidelines and tone-of-voice and communication messaging strategies. - Krista Neher, Boot Camp Digital
2. Ensure Employees Fully Understand the Mission and Values
It's critical that all employees fully understand and can effectively communicate the company's vision, mission and brand offering. Provide this information in simple, essential and consumable terms on the company website, in addition to marketing and education materials. If the message is clear to all employees, it will be clear to the market as well. - Margie Kiesel, Isidore Partners
3. Use Consistent Visual Elements
Utilize consistent visual elements, such as logos, color palettes and typography across offline and online channels. This cohesive branding reinforces brand identity, making the transition from offline to online seamless for consumers. - Cynthia Salarizadeh, House of Saka, Inc.
4. Maintain Consistent Messaging
The best way to connect offline marketing with online marketing is to use the same message and point in marketing for things like web pages or social media pages. A consistent tagline, branded logo and message will go a long way to providing consistency between the two. Colors and other elements need to be similar, too. - Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure
5. Craft a Cohesive Brand Experience
Creating a unified brand experience is crucial for demonstrating business value at each online and offline touchpoint. A comprehensive marketing strategy aligns key messages, visual identity, themes, promotions, events, experiences and voice across different mediums. Integrate content, collaterals and platforms for seamless engagement. Make it easy for customers to interact with your brand. - Lillian Gregory, The 4D Unicorn LLC
6. Implement a Feedback Loop
I propose a digital-physical feedback loop. Whenever your clients engage with your offline marketing content, offer them a digital token. This can be in the form of a QR code that can be scanned to lead them to a unique hashtag or online experience for social media. It's a seamless integration that has the potential to create a holistic brand journey. - Dr. Kira Graves, Kira Graves Consulting
7. Showcase Your Values Through Nonprofit Collaborations
Consider partnering with nonprofits for mission-centered work and support. Consumers want to see the values of the company and the brand, and there is no better way than aligning with mission-centered work. Consumers would have the chance to see a brand live its values offline by supporting critical work, and those efforts translate to organic and authentic marketing and storytelling online. It's a win-win. - Jennifer Thompson, Hope Loves Company
8. Document Organizational Activities
One effective strategy to connect your offline marketing to your online marketing is through capturing your professional stakeholder, political and volunteer activities on social media platforms. Demonstrating your value-add affiliations, core competencies and commitment from a visual perspective conveys brand quality and experience. - Raquel Olivier, The Olivier Incorporated
9. Attend Trade Shows
We attend trade shows to showcase our brand offline. This not only validates our success but also introduces the people behind the brand to potential B2B outlets. It's a highly effective way to validate a brand. - Tammy Sons, Tn Nursery
10. Hold Workshops or Events
Organize workshops, events or conferences led by industry experts that tackle your clients' problems. Ensure they indirectly interact with your product without being promotional. Follow up your post-event branding by creating a virtual community where attendees can access further resources. This provides a hands-on experience that is directly linked to your product and continues the talk digitally. - Gergo Vari, Lensa
11. Maintain Simplicity and Consistency
Keep it simple and consistent. Avoid having too many products that may confuse the public and your own employees about what the brand stands for. For example, Toyota is known around the world for their reliable but good-value cars and trucks. However, when they decided to come up with luxury cars, they launched a new brand called Lexus. Keep the brand message pure and simple to ensure no one is confused. - Zain Jaffer, Zain Ventures
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
