Traditional media matters … for nontraditional reasons

For many of us, the name Kris Lindahl was permanently burned into our brains after what seemed like an overnight explosion of billboards featuring the realtor’s now-famous “Open Arms campaign.” What most people don’t realize is that Lindahl was already one of the most successful realtors in Minnesota well before those ads started running.  

“I saw a huge opportunity to disrupt the traditional real estate industry,” Lindahl says, adding that the billboards were just part of his company’s “proprietary omnipresent marketing machine.” Lindahl also says that “in the beginning, we had a lot of successes and a lot of learning opportunities. Now, Kris Lindahl Real Estate has become one of the most recognized real estate brands in the country.”

As a marketer what strikes me about this campaign is Lindahl’s use of traditional (some would even say old school) marketing tactics. It’s a great lesson for all of us. Understanding how and when to use traditional marketing channels like radio, billboards and print is crucial and it can boost the results of advanced digital marketing tactics, even on a small budget. 

While most business owners have dropped the idea of finding a single silver bullet marketing tactic, we are drawn to strategies that are familiar to us. For millennial entrepreneurs, that can sometimes mean relying entirely on digital channels or even just one social media network. For some business owners that can mean working email lists to the point of exhaustion.  

The last few years have seen a huge shift toward digital marketing, lead generation and social media marketing. A big change that many people haven’t considered, however, is how the role of traditional media fits into an integrated or omnipresent marketing campaign — meaning a campaign executed across multiple channels simultaneously.

Traditional ads used to drive every marketing campaign. The creative team built a cool concept, the ads were purchased based on the makeup of the customer base and all the elements — email, social media, blogs, etc. — revolved around that paid media plan. Today, however, we know that content leads the charge when it comes to most marketing efforts, and as a result, some marketers have left traditional tactics out completely. 

Kris Lindahl’s campaign reminds us why it’s important to consider traditional media as a tactic to boost the rest of our marketing efforts. And that with careful planning, results can happen faster (even without a large budget).

The big question is how to decide where to put your money. Here are a few things to consider as you ponder the marketing strategy for your business: 

1. Understand your audience’s behavior beyond the screen. Most of us know which social media channels our customers prefer. We also have a decent understanding of what works in terms of SEO, digital ads and influencer marketing. But we also need to consider where our customers’ eyes go when they’re not looking at their devices. Are they driving to pick up kids from daycare? Running to catch a plane? Reading a magazine? (Many people don’t know that the niche print magazine business is booming, with more than 7,000 new magazines launching this year, according to Publishers Weekly.)
2. Create a strong message and boost your primary outreach with focused paid-media buys.  Many traditional salespeople are quite good at helping you plan buys based on your budget. They understand that if the ads don’t work, you won’t be back. Ask your rep to keep you posted on discounts, remnants and other “deals” that could make this type of advertising affordable. Fit your ad buys into the schedule where and when they’ll do the most good, based on the timing of your other tactics. 
3. Remember radio. According to Statista, radio still reaches 83 percent of all adults in the U.S. on a weekly basis. Focused radio programs are often the most effective, particularly when you’re marketing to a specific community. Radio is a great way to quickly boost brand awareness or get important information out there fast, particularly in a specific community. 
4. Test and measure continuously. Getting more sales is the end goal, not the actual metric. Make sure you understand how to check the traffic, engagement and other digital stats on specific landing pages and other internal (what we call owned) content. Create a set of simple metrics that demonstrate your tactics are working and review them on a regular basis. 
5. Keep tweaking your marketing mix. It would be great if we could lay in a marketing strategy and just let it run, knowing it would keep working forever. But today’s customers are constantly changing their media behavior as they find new channels and abandon old ones. You need to evolve your marketing mix as those changes occur if you want to maintain or improve your results. 

Marketing today is really hard, especially on a tight budget. It takes constant focus and a consistent, persistent effort. As Lindahl wisely says, “You should go into it knowing that you’re going to lose for a certain amount of time and with the understanding that you’re not going to get ROI right away.” 

With patience you can find the right rhythm, and that’s when the magic really starts happening, but remember to include all channels in your consideration. Traditional media is here to stay … it’s just parked in a different spot these days.