Internet Marketing Finds Offline Advertising Important

A new study recently completed by Jupiter Research revealed that 67% of online searches were driven by offline advertising channels, such as TV (37%), Word of Mouth (36%), Magazine ads (30%) with the balance coming from other sources.

In addition, 39% of the above cited searches converted into actual sales. Now that is impressive! One other interesting note about the study is that apparently after viewing the advertising the primary key word used in the search engine was the company name (44%) followed by other key words related to products or services (24%) with the balance coming from other items like company slogans or other product names/advertising.

I found the study very interesting for a number of reasons. First, it validates a strategy I have been advocating for years. On of my suggestions to many companies is an aggressive offline advertising campaign with the stated purpose to drive traffic to the site. My primary offline advertising has been direct mail and display advertising, which has worked very well for my clients.

Push vs. Pull

I believe this strategy is so powerful for a couple of reasons. First, mass market advertising has two principles to make it work, one that it is frequent enough for people to remember the ad and number two be memorable enough to have someone take any type of action. A key principle is that mass market advertising is very much a "push" type advertising where you are pushing your messages to people. Internet marketing is different in the sense that it is, in most cases, a "pull" type advertising meaning that the person is actually seeking you out and listening and absorbing your message.

Utilizing a relatively low cost offline channel to influence people from the "push" mentality to the "pull", i.e. your web site you change the psychology of the situation 360 degrees on the spot. Now add to that the power you have on your web site with the rich multi-media, such as video, audio, strong copy, testimonials, information collection tools, etc. and you have one very powerful marketing vehicle on your hands.

Strong Strategy for Local Marketing

This strategy works very well for companies that operate in a limited geographic area and it doesn't pay for them to obtain visitors and inquiries from other geographic areas outside of their area of operation. However as this study indicates it also works for companies that use the strategy to drive traffic to a site regardless of geographic operation.

Now to make this strategy work well, especially if you use direct mail or display advertising as I have is to...

1. Use a strong headline to get attention
2. Use the company name in the headline
3. Use well written and hard hitting copywriting and direct response strategies.

Without a strong headline you will never have anyone even notice your ad, which will make it a waste. Not using your company name in the headline is also a big mistake according to this study since a bulk of the searches done after viewing offline advertising were on the company name.

Finally, failing to use persuasive and well written copy for your ads and direct mail packages will not convince someone that taking the time to even sit down and search for your company is worth their time. You need to give them a reason, benefits, and irrestable offers to take time to actually sit down and search out your site.

If you accept the findings of this study it will have a dramatic impact on the convergence of Internet marketing and offline advertising, which some of us have known for a while now, but it is good to have your strategies validated by others, even if they are bit late to the party.

Michael Temple