We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – print is not dead.
Sure, it’s changed in many ways in order to accommodate the rise of digital marketing, but print not only has a special place in our hearts, but also a special place in your business’s marketing strategy. There’s something about a really good piece of printed material that simply can’t be replicated on a screen. Have you ever walked past a table of flyers and had to pick one up because you simply had to know more? The deluge of content that exists online means that it can be pretty hard to capture that feeling in the digital world. To combat it, brands are turning to things such as video, GIFs, and infographics to capture their audience’s attention, but even these have the potential to lose impact as more and more brands hop on the bandwagon.
Integrating print and digital in your marketing strategy is a great way to ensure that you cover all bases, expand your reach, and appeal to as much of your audience as possible. We’re not talking about investing in unnecessarily complicated solutions like QR codes – integrating print and digital can be much simpler and much more effective than that. Here’s just a few ways you can integrate print and digital in your strategy.
Branded print
This is a really simple tactic that might seem obvious to some, but not so much to others. Consistent branding across all your material is a key element in creating a cohesive, truly integrated design. That means that when you hand someone a business card that matches your website, your letterhead, your Facebook header image, and everything in between, they know exactly who they’re dealing with and what to expect. Simple, really, but undeniably effective.
Request an information pack
You might have seen charities use this – think of the starter packs you get when you adopt a donkey or sign up for a charity race. Asking to send a starter pack or information pack is a great way of getting data from your customers and prospective customers while giving them something that they will find useful or that will remind them of you when they see your printed materials on their coffee table.
Redeeming a prize or gift
This is similar to the above, but in reverse! Handing out vouchers or flyers that allow your audience to redeem something online is a great way of capturing data, directing customers to your website, or signing them up for a free trial. For example, I recently received a voucher from Now TV which gave me access to Sky Movies for a month for free! Pretty tempting, right?
Launch a magazine
Content, content, content – we’re always talking about digital content. But what about print’s O.G. (that’s the original gangster for those of you aren’t embedded in the hip hop scene like we clearly are)? Printed content offers an opportunity for you to send something exclusive to your customer base. Instead of an email, why not get your audience to subscribe to a small printed magazine on a quarterly basis? Obviously it will take time to put together and there’s the cost of print involved, but if you’re looking for a unique way to communicate with your audience, this is a great way of doing so!
Get creative
These are just a few ways you can start integrating print and digital in your marketing strategy – a good old fashioned brainstorm will unearth a whole host of things you could try out. What about paper VR headsets to use with an app? Or a print book that opens up to display a video inside? Perhaps a treasure map that leads to some online content? The great thing about paper is that you can get as creative as you like – after all, it’s what they make art on, right?
