Traditional marketing vs. online marketing. Which one is better for your cannabis business?

Traditional marketing — billboards, direct mail, TV commercials, etc. — has been around for decades. It’s a tried, proven method of raising brand awareness and drawing in new customers.

But the Internet has revolutionized the way we live to such a degree that it’s absolutely essential to have an online marketing strategy in place.

Most people use search engines to help them find local businesses. If your business can’t easily be found on Google, you’re out of luck.

So should you favor online marketing over traditional marketing?

No.

Ideally, you’re using both. In fact, you can actually leverage traditional marketing to work for your online marketing strategy.

Let’s say you’ve gotten a prospect’s attention through a poster ad placed in an airport. Great!

But why not also use that poster to direct them to one of your online marketing channels, where you can increase your engagement with them via their computer or smart device?

Here are 5 ways to use traditional marketing to boost your online marketing!

1. Use Direct Mail Campaigns to Promote Your Email Newsletter

Businesses often use direct mail campaigns to advertise the opening of a new location, offer coupons, or promote sales events.

On your next direct mail postcard / flyer, take things a step further by inviting the prospect to subscribe to your email newsletter.

Offer them an additional coupon for a great deal. If they want the coupon, they just need to go to the email subscription page on your website and sign up.

Make it clear that signing up for the newsletter will also give the prospect access to special deals and coupons that they wouldn’t receive otherwise.

2. Create Promotional Posters, Postcards, and Stickers to Encourage Online Reviews

Anyone who regularly shops online know how valuable a positive online review can be. And the more reviews, the better.

You can encourage your walk-in customers to leave reviews on Google and Yelp by placing promotional posters, postcards, and stickers inside your place of business where people can see them. Keep the message succinct: “Please Leave a Review for Us On Yelp / Google!”

And if a customer tells one of your staff members that they had a great experience inside your store, that’s the perfect opportunity to reply with, “Great! Can you leave us a review on Yelp?”

3. Use Social Media Hashtags on Billboards

It takes about 6 seconds for a driver to read and process a billboard message. This is why marketers recommend that you use no more than 6 words to get that message across.

That’s more than enough words for a hashtag.

Are you currently running a social media campaign that’s using a memorable hashtag? Is the hashtag evocative enough to stand alone, like a slogan, next to your brand logo, and along with a cool image or photograph?

If so, then you can use the billboard to advertise your product as well as encourage the viewer to engage with you on social media via the hashtag.

4. “Follow Us On Social Media!”

A social media CTA can be placed on most types of print advertisements.

Somewhere on the ad, you can simply say, “Follow us on social media,” and include pictures of the social media icons with your company’s handle next to each one.

You can also create small cards that have your social media information printed on them. Put those cards in your customer’s shopping bag along with their products and receipt.

5. Include Your Website Address On Everything

It’s worth repeating.

Include your website address on everything.

Posters. Postcards. Flyers. Magazine ads. Anything that’s printed should have your website on it.

If you want, you can invite prospects to visit the website so that they can place orders online,  download a “how-to” guide, or watch a funny video.

You also don’t need a specific CTA. You can just place the web address at the bottom of the advertisement, underneath the copy for whatever it is you’re trying to promote.

But having your web address on the ad at least gives the customer the option of visiting you online to learn more about your company and your products.

Does your cannabis business need help combining traditional marketing with online marketing? Give us a call at 702-600-9687 or email us at hello@hazymarketing.com for a free consultation!