There are days when The Onion just nails it. Yesterday they posted an article titled, “Local Fabric Store Urges You To Check Them Out On Twitter.”

The sarcasm of the article hits on the idea that every company these days seems to be asking you to follow them on Facebook and Twitter. Restaurants, dry cleaners, grocery stores and others are posting signs in their windows that let customers know they have a presence on Facbook and Twitter.

In theory that’s great. I love seeing business realize the need to create awareness around their social real-estate. Unfortunately, too many companies simply think if they create Facebook and Twitter accounts, they’ll magically get followers. As a marketer first and an interactive practioner second, I can tell you that offline marketing and awareness tools are critical to driving social success.

Ok, off the soap box. Here’s the thing that’s missing. That sign in the window is a great first step, but rarely are the reasons why I should follow you included. Think about it. Why am I going to seek you out on Facebook or Twitter if I don’t know what I’m going to get from it? It just doesn’t make sense.

We need to be smarter about our offline marketing. The real magic starts to happen in the social space, when our offline marketing is working hard to support our online initiatives. Dare I say…our marketing needs to be more integrated? I know that’s a marketing buzzword, but I think you can see in this case, why it’s so important.

I’d love to see examples you’ve come across of companies doing it right.