Right now, money is particularly tight for most firms. So, they are desperately looking for ways to do more with less, to get better value for their money. Hybrid marketing certainly does that.
Running marketing campaigns across multiple online platforms and in physical locations at the same time makes a lot of sense. It enables you to reach more customers. All while using just one set of images. It is an approach that saves firms a lot of money, while greatly improving brand penetration and awareness.
Some firms have been doing this for many years. They have become very adept at pulling frames out of their advertising videos to create images for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.
Using digital screens to take hybrid marketing to the next level
But now, some business owners are taking things to the next level, by tapping into the power of self-serve digital signage. They have become particularly good at creating tailor-made advertising materials and using digital display screens to tempt customers with special deals.
Some of these promotions are created on the fly and in as little as 20 minutes. For example, when a celebrity post goes viral, fashion retailers scan their stock to pull together an outfit that is as close as possible to what the influencer is wearing.
They then come up with an offer, take a couple of photos, create the ad, and immediately put it up on their in-store video screens, on their websites and on social media feeds. Doing so before the trend starts to wane.
People have become accustomed to using digital screens in their daily life. So, when they see them while out and about their eyes are naturally drawn to them.
The fact that moving as well as still images can be displayed on them makes these screens even more noticeable. Far more so than static posters or banners, which may not change for weeks, or even months. People tend to get so used to seeing them that they just blend into the background and the message no longer has an impact.
This, and their many other benefits make digital signage an invaluable resource for any business that trades out of a physical location. They have the potential to generate even more income for business owners. Especially when they are used to provide a boost to online marketing campaigns. Here are a few more examples of how businesses are doing that.
It is really easy to use social media widgets to display recent posts, Tweets, and more on digital screens. This helps to create buzz in-store. When done right, it can also lead to people who are shopping in a physical store signing into their accounts and sharing that post.
Some stores encourage shoppers to take photos of items that are being promoted. Perhaps by offering a small discount or the chance to be entered into a draw, when they share that photo on the relevant social media post.
Buyers respond well to this kind of personal endorsement. It is a highly effective way to make an online advertising campaign go from being a bust to being one that results in the item selling out online and in the physical store.
Display customer reviews in-store
On a similar note, displaying reviews that you have gathered through online platforms on your in-store digital signage is effective. People trust personal endorsements far more than they do anything else.
Especially if they come from someone who they perceive to be like them. You can read more about why that is and how to tap into the fact that our minds and emotions work like that, by reading this psychology article. Digital display screens allow retailers to vary what type of testimonials they use according to the demographic of the shoppers that are typically in a store at a particular time of day.
Monitor the results to make your campaigns more powerful
Regardless of whether you are running a marketing campaign in the physical world, online, or in a hybrid way across both physical and digital mediums, monitor the results. The chances are if a promotional image shown on an in-store screen translates into an uplift in sales it will do the same when used online.
Where to learn more
As you can see hybrid marketing has the potential to be highly effective. But it needs to be done in the right way. It requires an approach that will take time to perfect. If you want to reduce the learning curve you can do so with the help of this comprehensive guide.
