Traditional marketing techniques, also known as outbound marketing, still have a presence in a largely digital world. However, the popularity is decreasing significantly due to the cost and risks associated.
Most traditional marketing efforts have a long timeline from creation to delivery, and some traditional marketing techniques are simply outdated.
Some examples of traditional marketing techniques include television commercials, billboards, and newspaper ads.
If you like your traditional marketing strategies and want to continue using them, you should at least understand how to track them successfully. Below, we’ll cover four ways to cleverly track your traditional marketing efforts to make sure they’re producing the results your company desires.
1. Add a call tracking phone number to your advertisements
Every advertisement should include a call to action, a phone number, and your website so that customers can easily reach you if they’re interested in your products or services.
Call tracking is one way to track your ad success. Anywhere that you advertise your business, you can provide a different phone number that is tracked each time someone calls your company using that specific number.
This phone number can be added to your print ad, billboard, radio, or TV commercial. When someone calls the number, it gets recorded and forwarded to your normal business phone. Using a call tracking number is an effective way to see the actual results from specific marketing strategies.
Only potential customers that have seen or heard the advertisement associated with the call tracking number will know about the unique phone number. If you’re using this tracking method for multiple advertising efforts, you can use a different number for each medium – that way, you’ll know exact results for each marketing strategy.
For example, if you provide a specific call tracking number on one of your billboards, and you get 10 calls to that number, you’ll know that 10 people saw your billboard, and acted on the CTA you provided.
Based on your results, you can see how lucrative that advertising effort is and if you should continue using it.
2. Assign a vanity URL
In a very basic description, a vanity URL is a separate web address that automatically goes to your website when typed into a web browser. This address can be tracked through Google Analytics to view the data associated with your campaign.
Keep in mind that vanity URLs are meant to be short and easy to remember. Otherwise, you invest a lot of effort into something people may not remember or use.
3. Use coupon codes in your advertising
You can use unique coupon codes to represent sales or targeted offers.
This is a great way to gauge the effectiveness of multiple campaigns at one time. For example, if you’re running multiple magazine ads, you can run a code specific to each publication. Doing so will help you decide whether the coupon codes are a profitable means of advertising for your company.
Coupon codes can be tracked through Google Analytics as well. This makes it convenient to find out whether or not your strategy is worthwhile.
4. Create QR codes or snap tags
Both of these options represent a specific URL or page from your website pictorially. They are fully customizable and easy to create. These graphics can be placed in advertisements and tracked the same way as a vanity URL.
When a viewer sees the graphic, they can take a picture of the graphic through a smartphone app, which takes them to the desired page on your website. The only downfall to this type of customer direction is that they must have a smartphone app capable of reading the code.
Start tracking your traditional marketing digitally
Using traditional marketing techniques doesn’t mean you can’t track your results digitally. When you track your traditional campaigns you’re able to determine which strategies result in the most leads, as well as which strategies need to be revamped. Digital tracking is a great way to determine which of your techniques is most effective so you can optimize your campaigns as successfully as possible.
At Inbound Marketing Inc., our focus is on achieving your goals and delivering real results. We’ve driven over $700m in sales and more than 3m leads for clients. Our team of 150+ experts knows how to track campaigns digitally and we can help you.
If you’re interested in using any of the digital strategies above to start tracking your advertising efforts, contact us today to get a free quote or call an inbound marketing expert at 888-675-9886 today!