How can SMEs in Africa combine online and offline marketing? Continue reading this post to find out.
The covid-19 effect and cell phone penetration are accelerating the development of online business concepts in Africa. Business supply chains were interrupted as a result of the prolonged lockdowns, which limited demand, supply, and revenue streams. It became important to use digital alternatives for offline corporate procedures in order to survive. It is estimated that by 2025, there will be 614 million unique mobile subscribers in Africa, according to GSMA, up from 477 million in 2019.
But how many African businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises have the necessary skills and resources to compete in this digital business environment?
For years, there has been a dispute about which marketing method is more effective: online (think pay-per-click and social media advertising) or offline (think one-on-one campaigns, discount programs, and so on). The good news is that you don’t have to choose between the two options. In fact, your best marketing strategy could be a combination of both online and offline marketing strategies, depending on your aims and target demographic. In a nutshell, the more integrated your marketing strategy is, the higher its chances of success.
So instead of seeing these channels as competitors for your marketing budget, think of them as complementary tools that can help you grow your brand, generate more leads, and increase your bottom line. Most smart entrepreneurs already use online channels like social media platforms to promote their offline events and campaigns.
How SMEs in Africa can Combine Online and Offline Marketing Channels
Here are some additional methods to mix online and offline marketing tactics for efficient marketing:
Incorporate online calls-to-action (CTA) into your printed promotional materials
Assume you’ve created an incredible TV commercial for the Christmas window featuring heartfelt narratives by the children in your neighborhood. If you know when your show will debut on television, you can build more anticipation for it by posting an online call to action on all of your social media channels and even a sneak peek at your website.
A call to action is important because it clearly directs your customers to act in accordance with what your business needs. Your call to action (CTA) could be as simple as encouraging visitors to come into your store during a sale. It could also entail creating reasons for your audience to sign up for your weekly newsletters, visit a specific landing page to acquire contact information for subsequent follow-up on your printed collateral and print ads. Whatever you choose, make sure the message being communicated is clear, precise, and easy.to understand.
Launch a “to be continued” marketing campaign
Why not start a story on paper and then finish it on the internet? You can then direct the audience to a landing page or your social media sites, where they can get more information (again using a specific CTA). You could start this by writing a print piece, for example, with a call-to-action like “to comment on this, use #articletitle on Instagram,” or “find out more at www.yoursite.com/landingpage.”
Use the results of online engagement to fuel offline campaigns
Use your most popular social media image as the lead image for your next print campaign — something you know your target audience clearly enjoys. This will provide a unified brand experience for your consumers, bridging the gap between their online and offline experiences with your company.
Invite your devoted social media followers to comment on your next offline project
The active email address of a devoted customer is one of the golden chalices of any online marketing attempt. Your offline marketing activities could just be a way to persuade your consumer to share this email address with others. You could, for example, host a magazine-based competition that requires winners to be contacted through email.
If you’re not sure what to showcase in your next print campaign, contest, or event, ask your followers on social media. This is a fantastic method to connect with your audience and make them feel like they’re a part of your company. It would also help you come up with something that will definitely capture your audience’s attention by the time it is released.
Encourage selfies to obtain valuable user-generated content and brand endorsement
Online marketing benefits greatly from user-generated content and customer involvement. The impact of a well-written convincing essay by a marketer pales in comparison to the trust provided to a fellow client. You can influence your offline market by encouraging connections online as well. For instance, you can use selfies or online videos to get help with your next slogan or to find the star of your next commercial. If you like, you can start this relationship with your customers through offline marketing – simply drive them to your website or social media sites to submit their entries.
You could also use a direct mail campaign to engage your audience on social media; urge them to snap “selfies” and share them on social media with specific hashtags to track the campaign. For instance, when Indiana University utilized a hashtag to promote admission, they were successful. They printed #IUsaidYes on acceptance letter envelopes, prompting students considering the university to use the hashtag to post selfies with their acceptance letters. As you can imagine, this advertising trick was a huge success.
Use phone numbers, URLs, and UTMs that can be tracked
It is relatively simple to use statistics to verify a return on investment with online marketing. Conversely, you don’t always know when you’ve made an impression on a certain consumer with offline marketing as you can with website and social media statistics. There is a way to bridge this divide with online and offline marketing tactics. If your magazine or newspaper advertisement includes a call to action and a lead capture form, include a UTM code to trace the source, medium, and campaign name that inspired the interaction. This would allow Google Analytics to track which campaign brought the customer to your website.
You can use a trackable phone number for interactions on specialized offline ads. This will provide you with demographic data that you may utilize to continue your marketing efforts. URLs and/or phone numbers can be created and linked to certain print pieces. These aren’t personalized to a single person, but rather to a particular advertisement. You may measure the campaign’s success by counting how many times the URL is visited. When using URLs and landing pages, always employ CTAs and lead capture forms.
You can use UTM code in the same way. A UTM code is a short piece of code that you may add to a custom URL to track the source, medium, and name of the campaign. Google Analytics uses UTM codes to track where searchers came from and which campaign led them to you.
Make your digital contact information available on business cards
Make sure to include the digital contact information on your business cards, such as email addresses, Twitter handles, and so on. This way, your relationship with your customers will expand from offline to online. As such, your marketing chances increase.
Conclusion
Although online marketing is increasingly gaining popularity, many offline marketing strategies are still applicable today. It shouldn’t come down to a choice between the two. On the contrary, combining online and offline marketing efforts might help you get the most out of your business plans. This is due to the fact that no single method will work for all segments of the audience. Pepsi, for example, fell to third place in the market after abandoning television advertising in favor of social media.
Online and offline strategies can be combined in a variety of ways to improve overall advertising effectiveness. Your customers will acquire a sense of a trustworthy and coherent brand if you combine your online and offline marketing. How you handle your strategy will determine your success. The time has passed for putting all your eggs in one basket. Don’t be afraid to use your imagination!
Kindly check out SME360 for other articles to help your small business improve its marketing strategy.