Ways Online Advertising Boost Offline Sales


Ways Online Advertising Boost Offline Sales

The idea of online advertisements boosting offline sales might sound counterintuitive, but it is far from the actual truth. Last year Italian singer Arianna Bergamaschi collaborated with US musician Pitbull in a 'promercial' for Fiat. In the video that went with the song 'Sexy People (The Fiat Song)', the singer is seen driving a Fiat under the surface of the Ocean. The video has attracted 16 million views to date, and the rising popularity of the commercial is something that the Fiat marketing executives had slightest of an idea. It is just one of the many ways' businesses promote their brands online these days.

For Claudio Annicchiarico – Head of UK digital operations of Fiat, promoting the Fiat brand online is number one priority: "Ultimately, we exist in a competitive market ... and for a while digital has been our 24-7 shop window."

Even in its relatively short existence, online advertising has made a sizeable presence in our day-to-day lives. Retailers heavily rely on search advertising to drive sales. It is a straightforward process, and both the buyer and the seller are just a few clicks away from a secure purchase. According to a research conducted by Forrester, almost 88 percent of the consumers are researching items online before going to the store to buy. These trends reveal the links between online advertising and offline purchasing.

With the most extensive user base in the world, Facebook has emerged as a goldmine for marketers to reach their target audience directly. Facebook enables marketers to reach out to every demographic in a targeted manner, with million having access to the social media platform at their fingertips. Brands across all categories are leveraging the benefits of social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to connect with potential customers and also to influence consumer behaviour to some extent. Such kind of online advertising is popularly known by the term social media marketing. Social media marketing helps businesses reach out to the right audience. If a particular product needs to be reached out to a specific age group or behaviour segment, then social media platforms are the best medium. Brands have used this tactic in the past, and are constantly doing it in the present.

Woody Allen once famously said in the 1980 Boston Globe, "80 percent of success is showing up", this couldn't be truer as it applies to the concept of putting up online ads to promote offline sales. The ultimate objective of every brand is to increase sales; therefore, successful campaigns are ones that take into account the entire purchasing journey of the consumers. From the early stages of awareness of a product to the actual physical purchase of a product – online advertisement help brands achieve all the marketing goals in an optimized process.