Offline Website Promotion Checklist
Would you run an ad or hand out a business card that didn't list
your museum's address? Of course not. You want people to find
you. But are you as vigilant about promoting your organization's
online presence?
There are dozens of offline opportunities every day for website
promotion, but it's amazing how many of us forget to take advantage
of them! A good rule of thumb is to include your website URL
anywhere you would include your physical address or phone number.
Your letterhead, business cards, brochures, flyers, press
releases, ads and newsletters are obvious choices, of course,
but don't stop there. When it comes to getting the word out about
your website, the possibilities are almost endless.
One of my favorite examples of the power of offline website
promotion is the story of Rock
City, a tourist attraction located in Georgia, just outside
of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Anyone who has traveled through that
part of the country anytime in the last 65 years is familiar
with the company's roadside advertising, memorable because it's
painted on barns.
In 1999 Rock City built a website. Not about to mess with
a successful formula, the company took its website promotion
efforts on the road. According to an article
in Business2.0, painting "seerockcity.com" on just
two barns was all it took to bring more than a half-million visitors
to Rock City's website in the first year.
Just in case you don't have any barns handy, here are some
other prime promotion spots to consider:
- Envelopes
- Address labels
- Fax cover sheets
- Invoices
- Checks
- Voice-mail and on-hold messages
- Membership cards
- Tickets
- Coupons
- Tour confirmations
- Postcards
- T-shirts
- Museum store packaging
- Menus
- Table cards
- Trade show materials
- Speaker handouts
- Promotional items
- Uniforms
- Museum vehicles
- Signs
Copyright © 2001 Katherine Khalife All rights
reserved.
For reprint permission, please e-mail info@museummarketingtips.com
Katherine Khalife is a writer and consultant specializing in
museum marketing, customer service and heritage cultural tourism.
See the Services section
for information about her Internet marketing workshops and other
services.
