Marketing collateral can come in two formats: digital or print. There has long been a debate between which one is the best but we will look at the advantages of each and what each one entails.
Digital marketing
- Digital marketing is quick to change. When you create digital marketing and you identify an error in it, it can be relatively quick to correct with minimal resources wasted.
- Digital marketing is easy to share. When you have finished consuming the marketing material it is easy to move on to the next step in the sales funnel by clicking on the call to action or by clicking on the social media links to share a blog which you may have found particularly informative.
- Digital marketing has a larger exposure. If you have a website on the internet anyone who has internet access is able to connect to your website. This is great if your product is a universal product.
- Digital marketing is more effective when it comes to calculating your return on investment. There are many tracking methods installed in social media pages and email-sending software that can track your open rate.
When we think of digital marketing we are looking at: e-newsletters, emails, blogs, websites, e-books, email signatures, explainer videos, and press releases to name a few.
Print marketing
- Print marketing grabs your attention. This is because there is less print advertising being sent out so if you do land in someone’s post box you may be the only one there. Whereas if you send an email the customer may be seeing many different types of sales emails and simple delete yours if it doesn’t grab their attention.
- Print marketing is good for your customer’s brain. A neuroscience study in Canada showed how it was easier for a person to recall a brand after they had interacted with a direct mailer then with an email.
- Print marketing connects with your audience. With print marketing you tape in your customer’s haptic memory which creates an everlasting connection with them. This happens due to the tactile nature of print marketing.
- Print marketing is evolving. With the development of technology, print marketing is become more interactive with augmented reality. Also with the advancement of print technologies the pricing of printing documents has been lowered and you can also print documents with variable data so that it is easier to personalise your marketing for each of your clients.
Examples of print marketing are business cards, flyers, product catalogues, posters, pop-up displays to mention a few.
But you may be asking yourself which one is best for your business. This is dependent on the product or service you sell and where your target audience hangs out. It is important to note that digital and print marketing can be used in collaboration with one another. Another crucial option to consider is to use print with your digital initiatives. You can include links to social media pages, your website and any hashtags that you want your audience to use.
Proudly brought to you by the NSBC.