Digital and Social Media are such cheap, convenient and effective marketing tools it makes you wonder whether there’s still a place for face to face, and, does it really matter?
No one is saying that the web, along with all its social media tools, hasn’t been a blessing to companies and marketers. Digitally-aware brands have increased sales through building online communities, earned thought leadership by producing great content and have even learnt how to conduct all the traditional marketing processes on social media for next to nothing.
However, many will admit that despite the connectivity of the web, this new way of interaction is not an adequate replacement for meeting clients face to face. After a while, communicating short messages from behind an image of a brand logo or posed headshot falls short of the real interactivity experienced in person.
This is why the person to person interaction experienced at events is still greatly valued in an increasingly digital world.
By meeting potential customers, partners, investors or anyone else in person, you tend to learn a lot more truth about the people who make up your sector of business than you ever could online. What’s more, when you have met with a handshake and a real-life conversation, such connections tend to be more genuine, longer lasting and bring more fruitful results.
It is not choice between digital and face to face marketing - they come hand in hand.
Before any event, you can use social media to discover which customers, exhibitors and speakers will be at the event. You can even join in with the conversations they are having around the event, so when the big day comes, you have a solid opening to introduce yourself and continue these discussions in person.
Post-event, brands can nurture new connections on social media, reposting their write-ups of the event or sharing your latest whitepaper with them, for example.
As we can see, there’s still very much a place for face to face marketing – digital and social media complement your live interactions, enhancing your presence before and after the event.
Do you still value face to face marketing? Let us know your thoughts with a comment below, or on Facebook or Twitter.