As we discussed in our post “Call Tracking for Offline Traditional Advertising,” offline advertising — billboards, radio, TV and direct mail — is a great way to reach target audiences, but you need to accurately track conversions to understand which ads are driving leads/action and generating an acceptable return on investment.
Armed with conversion data, you can more effectively evolve ad campaigns, including medium selection, headlines, messaging, promotions, calls to action and budget allocations.
However, since billboard, radio, TV and direct mail ad campaigns are offline, they are naturally more difficult to track than online banner ads and PPC campaigns.
We’ve detailed three call tracking tips to maximize the ability of each ad to produce results.
1. Use Strong Calls to Action
Depending on the medium, your audience may only be exposed to an ad for a brief moment, such as, the time it takes to drive by a highway billboard, listen to a :15 second radio commercial, or watch a :30 second TV spot.
In addition, your audience is not sitting in front of a computer, so ads and calls to action need to be highly motivating and memorable.
For this reason, when integrating a tracking number into your ad, make sure it is combined with a strong call to action.
• Make it Directive: Eliminate any unnecessary wording and simply tell them what you want them to do — “Call Today [Tracking Number].”
• Make it Valuable: Clearly explain what the prospect is going to get in return for calling — “Get 50% off your first month.”
• Create a Sense of Urgency: Make them feel like they will be missing out on an opportunity if they don’t act fast — “For a limited time only.”
2. Account for Geographic Location
When integrating tracking numbers into offline advertisements, make sure to take into account for the geographic locations of your audience:
• If you’re running an ad in a different part of the country than where your business is physically located, provide a toll-free call tracking number.
• Conversely, if your business is local, it’s probably better to display a local area call tracking number to show your community presence.
3. Tag Call Tracking Numbers and Integrate with CRM
For effective reporting, in your call tracking platform, tag tracking numbers with the corresponding medium (i.e. billboard, radio, TV, etc.), ad, messaging, call to action and any other details you feel are important to capture.
Next, feed these conversion details into your CRM software. This allows:
• Sales professionals to prioritize and customize lead follow-up communications.
• Tracking of which offline advertisements generate leads that convert into customers.
How have you used call tracking to improve offline advertising campaign performance?
Tags: Call Tracking, offline advertising tracking, phone conversion tracking
