SEM Drives Traditional Marketing Success

Traditional advertising campaigns drive web traffic. When planning a traditional advertising campaign, you should always consider this increase in online traffic and how to steer it in the right direction.

Start by building your marketing efforts around a desired outcome. Are you trying to generate leads? Do you want to produce sales directly from your promotions?

When you have an answer, create a marketing message and stay focused on that message throughout the campaign. This will effectively channel your customers through to your desired outcome.

Enter, search marketing.

Why is this important? Don’t all traditional marketing campaigns focus on a message? Yes, they do. But not all traditional marketing campaigns craft that message with search marketing in mind.

The average consumer has trouble remembering a specific website or new product name that they heard on the radio or saw on TV, but they frequently remember features and benefits of that product, in addition to your marketing message.

If your website can’t be found when someone performs a search for the messaging you used within your traditional marketing campaign, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with potential customers.

Buzz word alert: Create Synergy. Here’s how:

1. Use slogans and phrases from your traditional marketing campaign as keywords for SEO and PPC.

2. Conversely, use top performing keywords from your SEO and PPC campaigns for use within traditional marketing efforts.

Your traditional advertising campaign should consider increased online traffic throughout the entire planning process.

Use a call to action in your traditional advertisement to pre-qualify your online traffic.

This will help lower your online advertising costs and keep your customer on the desired action map (i.e., purchase exclusively online).

Map your desired customer activity chain to identify your channel integration points.

Your ads will create awareness of your brand and product, pass your customer through each channel with ‘where to go next’ type messaging. Try using paid search terms in your messaging to direct viewers to the next step, and ultimately to your desired outcome (i.e., search for ultra-thin laptops online).

Design campaigns that provide a complete experience.

Start with awareness and extend your message through to the completion of the desired user action. Each step should contain a relevant message and instructions for proceeding to the next step (i.e., if an ultra-thin laptop is the product, continue with the ‘ultra-thin’ message throughout the campaign).

If your marketing plan is to succeed, your campaigns must result in increased sales or leads – not merely traffic volume. Creative approaches like entertainment, suspense, or an emotional appeal may drive traffic online, but the campaign must have a clear strategic goal with calculable metrics.

Always consider the desired outcome of your marketing efforts by planning for every stage of the customer experience – both on and offline.