How to Convert Leads Outside of Social Media

Nov 9 was the official day that the Comcast Internet outage hit across the US. I remember that day very clearly (considering it was only a month ago). While I have lost wifi before, it’s the first time I was completely disconnected from the internet for a few hours. It felt like a kid again, but I wasn’t since I had a bunch of responsibilities. Although the internet returned in around 3 hours, it seemed like an eternity. At that point, I realized that my entire job relies solely on the internet and so does everyone else.

During the pandemic, most businesses also had to shift into the online space in order to advertise. As a result, they became heavily reliant on social media to market their products and services. Due to the Comcast outage, I cannot imagine how many businesses were left without access to their audiences.

And it got me thinking… Since things are always changing. What if a social media platform dies out? Because that could happen, I mean look at Snapchat. And the process of always keeping up with the trends and the new features on social media platforms can be daunting. Regardless of what platform you use it is important to drive them back to the outside world. Here are three ways you can convert your leads offline.

Networking
Identify your target audience and find events and clubs that they will enjoy. Apps like Meetup, Facebook, and even Linkedin provide events that can help you find your audience. Also, try joining different memberships and clubs in your local community. I know this might not be the most affordable option because the cost can get pricey. But if you can’t afford the price, I would look into it. Paying for a membership creates exclusivity and it can get you connected with more people in your audience and it lower the competition. 

CTA for Online Promotion
While this solution isn't entirely offline, it is still important. CTA is an acronym that stands for Call To Action, which means that you are asking your audience to perform a particular action that you specify. You could, for instance, refer people to your website in a social media post. When a user clicks on your website, a pop-up window asks them to subscribe to your mailing list. Once you have an email list, then you can invite people to purchase a service or product. It is about converting online leads into offline sales in tangible steps.

Create an Event
By establishing yourself as an expert, you can improve your reputation. Creating events that demonstrate a skill that your previous audience does not possess can help you increase your expertise, and therefore increase your reputation as a result. A number of local organizations, such as community colleges, libraries, and art guilds, welcome new teachers. In addition, they will do a lot of the promotion for their audience, so it will reduce the stress on you since you can now focus on teaching the course you want to teach. They provide the marketing while you provide the skills. It's a win-win approach.

Even though the Comcast outage situation comes once in a blue moon, it is important to be proactive and take actionable steps to convert your online customers to offline. Having a good social media presence is important but look at it from this perspective. If social media didn’t exist, who would show up at your storefront? That’s the value you bring.