Print will always have its place as an essential part of business communications. However, there’s no denying that we live in a digital world. Marketing via both print and digital channels is essential for establishing and growing a business — and we’re here to help you make these tactics work together.
The most effective way to move the needle with your marketing is to make sure that customers are seeing your message repeatedly and via multiple touchpoints. Using print and digital tactics in tandem opens up many opportunities to regularly reinforce your messaging with customers and make your campaign as effective as possible. Seeing a single advertisement may plant a seed in your prospect’s minds, but it likely won’t take root until they’ve been exposed to more of your messaging.
Make sure that your primary message stays consistent throughout your campaign. Focus on the same product or service and use matching design elements to ensure that your customer immediately recognizes your business and connects the message with ones they’ve seen before.
In addition to forming a well-rounded campaign, using both print and digital tactics can actually increase the effectiveness of each. Don’t think of the two as separate, but rather, brainstorm how they can work together. Play to the strengths of each type of media. Print is great for catching attention, giving your business a sense of credibility, and creating a more lasting impression. On the other hand, digital media allows for an interactive experience and enables you to share more detailed information.
Technology like QR codes helps you connect the dots between these two forms of media. For example, you might send a postcard advertising a few featured products with a QR code linking to the full catalog on your website. Additionally, you could advertise a special in-store offer (like a discount or a free gift) available to people who follow you on social media. QR codes make it quick and convenient to link your digital presence to real-world interactions.
Digital tools can also be a very practical way for tracking the ROI of your print marketing. Create a unique landing page or add a UTM code to a URL for a specific campaign that you want to track. Then place this URL (or a QR code directing to it) on your print materials. By tracking the number of visitors to the site compared to the volume of material you distributed, you’ll have a clear picture of how your campaign performed.
Different messages are appropriate at different phases of the customer journey. Use this to inform the timing of your online and offline tactics. An effective print and digital marketing campaign might look like this:
1. Initially capture a prospect’s attention with a bold sign outside your storefront. Let’s say you own a framing shop. They see the “Custom Framing” sign as they’re walking past, then go home and remember the poster they’ve been meaning to get framed, still sitting in its cardboard tube.
2. A few days later, thinking of the poster, the prospect goes online and searches “picture framing near me.” A pay-per-click ad pops up for your store. They recognize the message and remember passing your shop the other day. They click the ad to visit your website and look at some examples of your work in your online gallery. Impressed, they sign up for your email list.
3. Weeks later, your prospect still hasn’t gotten around to bringing the poster in for framing. They receive an email from your store advertising a big sale. For a limited time only, they can save 20% on custom framing. Not wanting to miss out on the deal, they stop by that evening with the poster and get it framed.
4. Several months later, the prospect (now a customer!) receives a postcard in the mail from your shop. They remember how pleased they were with your service — and now they have a few more pieces of art that need to be framed! They stop in again.
In this example, you’re first capturing attention with bold signage and a simple message. Then, because you purchased digital ads that echoed the message on your sign, you were able to draw the prospect in to learn more. You used your website to tell your brand’s story and show examples of the quality work you do to earn their trust. Next, you shared a compelling and time-sensitive reason to make the purchase with the sale email. Finally, you stayed top of mind with a mailer aimed at driving repeat business.
Most likely, any of those tactics on their own would not have won over your customer. But by reaching them with the right message, at the right time, via the right channel, you just won yourself a new client who may be bringing you business for years to come.
Ready to launch your next print and digital marketing campaign? PostNet is here to help you plan your campaign and print everything you need to round out your digital efforts. Stop by your local center today to get started!
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