The internet has changed the game in terms of how we market to people, and for the most part, it has all been good. With social media, SEO and other online marketing approaches, we can reach out to highly targeted audiences, and also easily monitor how well our messages are being received far more accurately than we ever could with more traditional means of marketing like press or TV advertising.
The Barrage of Promotion
Of course, with internet marketing being so effective (at least at first), and with things like Twitter and Facebook making it possible to even run certain types of marketing for free, there has been immense growth and now everybody from the smallest blog to the biggest corporation is trying to reach people online. Add to this the fact that due to the mobile revolution, we all now have constant access to our email, Google, and our social media platforms, we see a huge number of promotional messages and adverts every day. Some estimates say the average person sees around 2000 per day!
This barrage of messages means that even those we may be interested in or welcome might get ignored or lost in the noise. We train our eyes to ignore the parts of the websites we use where the ads are displayed, and skip straight past those sponsored results at the top of our Google searches out of habit.
This means online marketing can actually be less effective, as in a sense you are hurling your message into a sea of other messages where even those who really want to hear it may miss it completely.
Face to Face Marketing
Many forms of traditional marketing are also less effective in the modern age, as people tend to watch live TV, listen to the radio, and read print publications less. Face to face marketing, however, is one area that has actually become far more effective. People still go out just as much to malls, events and other places where you can engage them, and by having the direct contact you can cut through the noise of other advertising and really get their attention. It may not be free, but it can still offer a great ROI.
Using Face to Face Marketing
Face to face marketing can work really well at things like trade shows and industry events if you are looking for a target audience in a certain niche, however if you want to promote to the general public, something like a mall pop up can be a great idea. You can see all sorts of people and engage them in conversation, give them promotional materials and make sales. You can contact local mall companies or brands like Westfield Specialty Leasing to organize a presence for your brand in a mall.
In an age of constant advertising, adding the personal touch to your marketing mix can really help you grab people’s attention!
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