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Friday Digital Roundup

The Friday Digital Roundup is a witty take on the weird world of the internet. With fun stories from around the globe, it’s the only email newsletter you’ll actually read and enjoy!

We do love writing it, but clearly not as much as people like receiving it - just look at the response we got when a technical hitch meant it wasn’t sent out on time!

@roisinduffyVA @roisinduffyva

@Spaghetti_Jo
Coffee and the FDR is how I start my Friday.
Do not engage until I have devoured both

Meschi Consultants @MeschiConsult

When it comes to the end of the week, there is no better way to start a Friday than with a run around the internet with Todd and Jo in the FDR. Just don't let them know I do it from the loo!

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@Spaghetti_Jo
My inbox is full of rubbish newsletters that Im constantly deleting😬 My VIP inbox is for 1 thing only- THE DIGITAL ROUNDUP🤠I dont read a Newspaper or the news online, I just wait for Fridays, when this lands in my inbox- then I know ‘The weekend has landed’🤗

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Friday 29th March 2024

Print ISN’T Dead, Says Social Media Marketer and Digital Agency Owner…

Content Marketing, Marketing, print, print marketing

Print marketing is dead. No one read magazines anymore. The Yellow Pages is a relic and if you’re in print, your business will fail at the feet of digital.

Really? Is print really dead? Do we not need printing in marketing anymore? Is it really a choice of one or the other? Can we only have print or digital?

I don’t think so.

A conversation I had with a printing company owner in our workshop recently made me look at print in an entirely different way…

Print ISN’T Dead Says Social Media and Digital Agency Owner…

Print ISN’T Dead, Says Social Media Marketer and Digital Agency Owner…

Print is different, and can cut through the noise

First of all: have you been online recently? Wow, there’s so much content out there. Facebook now limits us to seeing just a few hundred stories a day, as on average we’d be seeing around 1,500 stories if not. Total overwhelm.

Online is busy, just like your door mat used to be. But many have moved completely to digital and started Google Ads and Facebook campaigns. So is it time to make some noise elsewhere? Those leaflets and branded pens might just be coming back! (Not that branded merchandise ever really went away. Jo loves the stuff!)

 

When was the last time you sent a postcard?

Remember on holiday you had to send the postcards on the first day or you would beat the thing back to your country? Now of course you simply post your photos on social media and never send anything.

But think about your marketing. Think about standing out. Think about sending something totally different into your client’s space. Long after that tweet or YouTube video has been forgotten, your postcard could sit on the office cabinet or window sill. I still have one that Mailchimp sent me two years ago.

(Touchnote is a great marketing tool we like to use, and so does our coach Claire. Think about it…)

 

Did you ever think about making online work with print?

I don’t think it’s a choice; I think the best campaigns involve a partnership of the two.

But just like with all your content and marketing it needs to be joined-up. Your print needs to complement your digital and your social media needs to follow and mirror your postcards, leaflets, letters and promotional gifts.

Printing a leaflet with a free offer you have to visit a web page to get gives you a chance to capture them on a Facebook pixel can drive ads back to them.

Sending some direct mail and then following up on LinkedIn gets you in two places at the same time.

Posting some postcards and then making sure you have lots of content on social media in the places your recipients hang out joins it all together – and makes sure you’re working towards the elusive right number of touch points.

Keep it all joined up and consistent.

It’s frequent, consistent messages that work.

Your message needs to be the same though, and your branding must follow through on all of it. It’s the recognition that makes it powerful. Don’t push one message on one medium and another elsewhere. It needs to be obvious and purposeful to work its magic.

 

The thing about print is that it’s real and you can touch it. The great thing about social and digital is that it’s intelligent and trackable. 

Using the two together might just be the best way for print to make its impact on the marketing world once again.

Have you thought about combining the two? When was the last time you sent a letter? Was it handwritten?

I’d love to know what you think in the comments below…


Tags associated with this article

Content Marketing Marketing print print marketing

6 comments on this article

  • Diane at 18:35pm on February 21st 2017

    Totally agree with what you say Todd. Print to me is ‘real’ and comforting almost. Give me a book over a Kindle any time! So, I’m more likely to engage with the initial offer of printed material that may then lead me to online. But maybe that’s just an age thing!!!

    1. Todd at 10:32am on February 24th 2017

      It’s not an age thing. I just feel like digital is ‘The new thing’ and it really isn’t. It’s just a new way to get you message out. Using both is where I’m heading now.

  • Neil Duckmanton at 13:16pm on February 22nd 2017

    Print certainly isn’t dead – we put lots of jobs into print every week for our clients.

    Many initially moved over to doing all things digital and having flip-book style brochures and PDF downloads. However many have now realised that some printing of brochures or leaflets, even if only a smaller quantities, is certainly worth doing.

    Some marketing pro’s like to refer to it as ‘integrated marketing’ and some say that a campaign which mixes online, offline and, where relevant, backed up by a phone call (telesales) – can be very effective if done right.

    An online brochure for a new car for example, can have have fancy bells and whistles, animated stats, video, roaring engine etc. but there’s also something really nice and appealing about a nice brochure using nice materials and special print effects like die-cutting, spot varnishing and soft-touch laminates etc.

    1. Todd at 10:29am on February 24th 2017

      Completely agree with this. It’s an awesome time to re-think and change what we’re doing with all marketing!

  • Tony Herbert at 17:43pm on February 22nd 2017

    Great article, Todd.

    You really paint a good picture of how well an integrated print and digital campaign can work. We have seen the response rates for direct mail improve dramatically over the last five years. Digital marketing and print are natural allies in helping businesses communicate brilliantly.

    1. Todd at 10:28am on February 24th 2017

      I totally agree and firmly believe companies like ours should work together on projects. Direct mail still rocks and digital can follow on from it and surround it!

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