Are you using O2O marketing for your small business?

I recently read Duct Tape founder John Jantsch‘s article on 5 Trends that Will Shape Small Business in 2011. One trend that resonated with me was: O2O (online 2 offline) marketing.

What is O2O marketing?

John refers to it as “the logical integration of instant media with traditional media, social networks with chamber mixers.” He adds, “Online and offline, traditional media and new media, will stop competing and start working together.” Admittedly, I’m an avid user of social media, however I also have a personal campaign to encourage people to send handwritten communications (read my articles here). Needless to say, I’m very fond of—and familiar with—the concept of online to offline marketing. And after being bombarded with social media opportunities, going offline for awhile is a nice change of pace.

How can O2O marketing be effective?

In my articles, I talk about about my own business relationships that were initiated online (i.e. twitter, blogs) but became established offline (i.e. handwritten note, in-person meeting). Without the offline communications, I wouldn’t have been able to to get to know the person and learn about their business. In each of these situations, I made not only a valuable business connection, but a new friend. And in small business, it’s all about creating personal relationships, discovering how we can work together or help each other.

How do you use online 2 offline marketing techniques in your own small business?