Adapting Print Marketing to a Digital World

The world has gone digital. Everyone loves technology – even kids! It amazes me how much kids know about technology when they are only toddlers. I think having a toddler computer is a little ridiculous, but that’s just me. My point is the world is going digital in all facets.

I don’t remember the last time I wrote a check. Read the “real-life” newspaper – the offline version? Not recently. Went to the movie store to rent a movie? Got Netflix for that.

With everything, including marketing, going digital, the best thing to do is to adapt print marketing to the digital realm. People still like to read printed items like magazines and newspapers. It’s much easier to tote around a brochure or postcard instead of sitting down at a computer to print out the brochure info while you’re shopping. Then again, there’s nothing that says you have to even leave your house to go shopping anymore.

Expert Opinion #1
Two experts weighed in at DMNews.com about the subject. Pamela Girardin, President of Q2 Marketing, says the print industry has many advantages – notably, the touch-and-feel advantage. That’s part of the reason why I like my magazines so much – I like feeling the pages. I like smelling the perfume samples. I like being able to take my magazine on the plane, to the beach, or wherever I want without having to worry about Wi-Fi access or a laptop battery running low. Plus, looking at a computer monitor all day would hurt my eyes. She says the biggest hurdle for the print industry is rising costs.

I agree with her that rising costs are a factor. I would also note that as more consumers are becoming more “green” and concerned about the environment, the print industry needs to take note and offer more green options. Many printers already offer recycled paper and soy inks, which is a great start. I think a key to integrating print into digital is to offer people a choice: do they want the online version of a brochure or a print version? Do they want to get their bank statements by email or by regular mail? I think that giving people a choice will help to integrate print and digital.

Expert Opinion #2
The other expert that gave his two cents at DMNews.com was Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Wildfire Marketing Group. He says that technology has reduced the need for print jobs, but marketers can use printed materials to follow up with people that clicked thru to your Web site. He also mentions that people love customized products geared specifically for them. He advises to use short-run printing and customize marketing materials for specific clients.

I think that he has a good point of using both digital and print to market to the same people. I don’t think people will see a postcard and an email as being too “in your face” because they are different media. You could follow up sooner with an email or postcard than you could with another email or another postcard the following week. I think using all the different media available could really be successful when integrating print marketing in a digital world.

Designing Brochures

Brochures are the paper ambassadors of your business. They represent your company, your products, and your brand on your behalf. With that in mind, the design and layout you choose for your brochures becomes essential.

There are a few fool-proof methods for designing brochures that you can use to your benefit. The father of modern print design, David Ogilvy, put as much emphasis on research as he did the artist side of layout. His tried and true methods can serve as a blueprint as you design your brochure.

Pictures
The first thing that people look at when they pick up your brochure is the pictures. As Ogilvy notes, the eye finds the graphic elements the most interesting and typically goes there first. You can use this to your advantage by doing two things: use pictures and print in color. Just because you do not have a picture on your brochure does not mean that a customer will not look at it, but using pictures will only help. Knowing that this will be the first place customers look will aid in selecting pictures that guide the customer through the rest of your presentation.

Captions
After the pictures, the customer will look at your captions of the pictures. Captions can be omitted, but using captions to highlight features of products or to emphasize key points of the brochure will only help to drive your ideas home. Keep captions short and to the point. Make sure they also are relevant not only to the images but also to the brochure as a whole.

Headlines
The next place that Ogilvy states the customer’s eye will go is to the headline and sub-heading. Headlines should always be included any time there is more than a few sentences of copy or content. This helps the customer decide whether or not they want to read the “fine print” or details of the brochure. Headlines should highlight the main point of the following copy in a few words. Sub-headings give you the opportunity to expand on the headline and divide the content into smaller pieces.

Copy
The last thing a customer will read is the copy. This is not to say that the actual descriptive text is unimportant. Unless the other elements of the brochure (pictures, captions, headlines) guide the customer to the copy, then the customer may never get to the point where they actually read what you have to say.

How Cross Promotion Can Work For You

Many moons ago a cavemen probably agreed to tout how warm his friend’s woolly mammoth furs were. In return, his friend would tell everyone about the sharpness of the shark’s teeth he was hawking. Hence was born the first cross promotional arrangement.

Today’s interactive world obviously entails far more sophisticated arrangements. However, the core concept remains the same. Your company has a universe of customers. Another company has a different grouping of customers. Both sets could have the proclivity to buy products from either company. Assuming you are not direct competitors, it becomes a win-win situation to leverage each other’s customer base.

Being an exchange, the arrangement takes up neither party’s cash flow. Enhanced marketing exposure with no corresponding expense is a rare opportunity that should not be passed up.

As with all relationships, it is important to be careful of the company you keep. Assume you own a commercial printing service. You probably would not desire to host ads advocating the increase of postage rates. That would most likely not sit well with your customer base.

Like always, do your research. Know all the details of the cross promotion arrangement you are about to sign. Assure you are dealing with reputable partners. Done right, cross promotional arrangements can bring your company to the next level.

Find a Niche, Help Your Business

Many aspiring Internet marketers waste precious advertising dollars using a shotgun approach causing their message to fall on many deaf ears. After researching and fully understanding your target audience, the next step entails deciphering where they hang out. Are they on social networking sites? Or, are they beyond that age demographic? Would they be more interested in the Super Bowl or in a figure skating championship?

Without this knowledge it is impossible to even craft, let alone effective communicate, your company’s brand and message. Once you are fluent with the thinking of your audience it then becomes necessary to know where to find them. Small markets within larger markets are called “niche” markets. Your customers fall into many such niche markets.

Let’s say you are selling a new environment friendly paper product. Which niche markets would contain members of your target audience? One thought would be those in the business of greeting card printing. Another might be the organic section of a restaurant supply web site. You very well might be the first vendor to sell “green” menus.

If you try to speak to everyone, then you end up speaking to no one. You must focus in on your audience following them to the other niche markets in which they tend to reside. Niche marketing allows for far more productive use of your marketing dollars.