Many people in business and marketing are leaning towards the thought that print marketing is dead – long live digital marketing. However, it would be more accurate to view both mediums as a team as there are some amazing benefits offered by print marketing that can’t be replicated in the digital world… Print and digital marketing can work well to improve the marketing efforts of one another, and many businesses still get results from print media marketing.
It is, however, a little more complicated than just putting something out there and hoping for the best. Here are a few tips on how to best integrate the two methods of marketing to create a well-rounded cross media strategy.
Understanding the target audience
Print media engages the senses far better than digital equivalents. This makes your marketing far more memorable, as you are adding tactile sensations and even scents to the experience. Writing your ads, brochures, coupons etc… in a way that doesn’t speak to and resonate with your audience can have a detrimental effect. For instance, a funeral home wouldn’t use a slang-strewn piece with a sassy undertone. It may seem obvious, but it is a common mistake – you need to make sure that the message you’re sending fits with your audience. You can achieve this by thinking about the industry sector you’re in as well as the demographics of your audience. Print marketing enables you to test out your engagement without that digital crutch. When no clickable components and animations are there to capture your viewers’ attention, just how effective are your designs and message?
Create the right materials
Print marketing enables you to build credibility with a targeted audience in a very tangible way. Through consistently displaying your branding, including your logo, colours, and over all ‘look’, you are building awareness of your brand within your community. Considering this it’s imperative that you choose the right type of Print marketing as it comes in a variety of different mediums. From magazine ads, leaflets and brochure printing to direct mail and billboards, there is an array of choices for you to pick from. Every business is different when it comes to which combination will work best, so you’ll need to do some research.
Brand continuity
Brand continuity and its level of interconnectedness is one of the most important factors of a successful campaign – no matter what the medium is digital or print. Building your brand up with specific values, colours, tone and style is worthless if you don’t keep it consistent across all of your marketing and customer service channels. Print marketing is great for making your business more personable. Print media is a reminder that you’re the face behind the curtain, particularly if you include photographs of yourself or your team. Couple this with online digital marketing such as Google Adwords and you are accessing the potential consumer at various touch points which increases the likelihood of purchase conversions and builds upon the brand awareness. Brand continuity allows brands to be easily recognised, it also lets you put across your values, what you stand for and who you are – instilling trust with your audience.
Distribution
The distribution of your print media requires a little more thought and effort than digital media. Think beyond the standard direct-mail approach and look into trade shows, events and other places you can get your message out. There are a lot more eCommerce businesses employing print marketing and media than you might think. If you have ordered from large online companies, you’ve undoubtedly received the ultimate mark of power where print media is concerned: a printed brochure.
Printed brochures command an impressive amount of online profit, due to the convenience they afford in terms of browsing, and the overall experience they provide. Shoppers can easily make note of any items they like, then pop online when they’re ready to order. The addition of handy apps to the process makes this even easier, with shoppers able to quickly enter item numbers from the brochure into their smartphones to order.
Tracking success
It’s essential that you define your goals (what you want the result of the campaign to be) and how you’ll measure it before enacting a campaign, that way you can see what is and isn’t working.
Brochure printing can do wonders for your web traffic, but if you’re unsure it’s right for you, start with a small digital print run of brochures. Test the waters. See what works and what doesn’t, and adjust accordingly. You don’t need to create doorstop catalogues to benefit from this form of marketing! Ensure to use online discount codes to track your print marketing performance and through Google analytics measure your pre-marketing stats i.e. web traffic, conversion rates, bounce rates etc… and compare with your post marketing campaign stats.
Good luck with your cross media marketing endeavour and if you would like any help along the way please get in touch with a member of the team at Print UK