It’s the Digital-Age-old question: Should you invest in digital or print marketing?
The answer is both!
Print marketing has an undeserved disreputable reputation. And digital marketing has an undeserved glorious reputation. There are heavily-weighted pros and cons to both, which is why the best return on investment (ROI) is to spend time and money on both.
“But digital is so cheap! And it’s everywhere! And people look at their phones all the time!”
We understand that these facts make digital advertising seem like the clear winner. But advertising isn’t a battle of budget and trends; it’s a battle of lasting impressions. So you’ve got the facts on digital advertising: it’s affordable, easy to initiate, easy to track, quick to reach your audience, and trendy.
But can you hold an online advertisement in your hand? Can you tuck it into your wallet and see it again the next time you pull out your credit card? Do you have to touch it and think ‘What is this?’ in order to throw it into the recycle bin?
Print marketing is a tangible moment between you and a potential customer. It’s a handshake, a keepsake, a personal greeting. Post cards and flyers go into the mailbox where your client-to-be has to
at least glance at it while they sort through the rest of their mail. Online ads are easy to miss with everything else that pops up on the screen. Business cards are a keepsake, whereas a Google search result is there one moment and gone the next. Brochures and catalogues are easily browsed, no need to scroll down or find the zoom button to get a better look at the products. Then there’s swag. Print materials include t-shirts, water bottles, bookmarks, lanyards, hats, Frisbees, shot glasses, stickers, calendars, pens, USB drives, flags, posters, banners, binders, magnets…if you can think of it, someone will print your name on it.
Are your competitors using print media? If they are, then you aren’t a major competitor and it’s time to change that. If not, then get ahead of them. It’s a myth that you can’t prove ROI with print. Track your distribution with codes, or medium-specific offers. And print is trendy: online retail wizard Amazon opened a brick-and-mortar bookstore this year. The people’s shopping habits have clearly spoken.
Print and online advertising are equally weighted in price and product. Just as you can set a budget with your Google Adwords, you can set a printing budget. Shop around for the best price, or hire The Marketing Multi-tool to benefit from our printer-to-business relationship (a.k.a discount!). Where you want to invest your money in print advertising is the same place you are for your digital marketing: Content! Spend money on graphic design and writing. Spend money on marketing and sales experts. Which begs the question: Since you’re already spending that money for your digital advertising, why AREN’T you adding a print-run to your marketing strategy?
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