Is Social Media Print’s New Best Friend?

While print and social media may compete for your marketing dollars, they don’t have to compete for your customers. In fact, using them together can make your marketing more effective.  Let’s look at five ways print and social media can work together.

1. Print drives traffic to social media.  

How do you drive traffic to your social media sites? Often, it’s with print. Whether it is through direct mail, store signage, or company invoices, print is often your customer’s first exposure to your social media presence.

2. More channels help you reach more people.

Even in today’s tech-driven world, not everyone uses social media or uses it on a regular basis. Use print to ensure that you are reaching the largest swath of your audience as possible. As the old adage goes, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.”

3. Say it again . . . and again.  

Consistently, studies show that reinforcing your message through multiple channels increases brand awareness, heightens engagement, and boosts response rates. The combination of print and social media, along with other traditional and digital media, is more effective than any single channel alone.

4. Boost credibility.

Survey after survey shows that consumers still trust print more than they trust online media. A survey conducted by Ball State University’s Center for Media Design in coordination with ExactTarget found that even Millennials are more likely to be influenced to make purchase decisions based on communications they receive by email and direct mail rather than through social media advertising.

5. Print has staying power.

Your message on social media might stay for a few hours, then gets buried under the avalanche of other messaging. Print has staying power. Your direct mail piece might live on someone’s desk or bulletin board for weeks or months.

Using print and social media isn’t an “either or” proposition. Understanding when and where to use each channel is the key to getting the best results.

Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.


Share on LinkedIn

Got Customers? Now Keep Them!

Congratulations! You’ve gotten new customers through the door. But wait—you’re not done. Now you need to retain them. One of the best ways to do this is through personalization. Here are five ideas for engaging customers with personalized communications that will really help you to stand out.

1. Send a surprise discount.

Everyone likes to be appreciated. Send a coupon with a discount on your customer’s next purchase “just because.” It will surprise them and foster goodwill.

2. Help them remember.

Many companies recognize their customers’ birthdays, but how many help them remember the birthdays of their loved ones? Offer to collect important dates for special occasions for your customers’ friends and family and send gift ideas with unique insight from your area of expertise.

3. Give them inside access.  

People like to be in the know. Encourage customers to sign up for your newsletter or connect with you on social media, where you can give them sneak peaks of new products or offer them ways to use your products they might not have thought about.

4. Say “thank you” for loyalty and longevity.

If you know when your customer first began working with you, why not send a personalized thank you card and gift commensurate with the value of their business?

5. Ask their opinion.

Use personalized URLs or online surveys to ask customers’ opinions about your company, your offerings, or bounce new product ideas off them. People like to do business with companies who care about what they think.

The more you can engage your customers beyond the sale, the more you earn their goodwill and loyalty. So think beyond the initial purchase. Think about building a relationship for life.

Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.


Share on LinkedIn

5 Channels = 5 Ways to Help You Grow

Want to grow your business? Here are five marketing ideas to build your business.

1. Mail it!  Not only is the power of direct mail stronger than ever, but it gets around many of the downsides of electronic marketing. It doesn't require opt-in. It doesn't get caught by spam filters. It doesn't get automatically directed into folders with other marketing emails where it will never be seen.

2. Offer a webinar. Be the expert in your subject area by offering webinars. Be the one your customers trust. If you don't feel qualified, don't worry. As long as you know more about the subject than your attendees, you have something to offer. Even a 30-second webinar will do the trick. 

3. Write a letter.  How many people take the time to write letters anymore? Talk to your customers as you would to a friend. No sales talk! Brag about recent success stories. Talk about your company's community and charitable involvement. Offer ideas that are relevant to them. You don't see this often, and it's one reason you should do it.

4.  Let the sidewalk do the talking. It's easy to focus on broadening your reach through direct mail and email and forget about the power of reaching people right in front of you. If you have a storefront, use sidewalk displays, window clings, banners, and other forms of advertising to reach the people walking right by your door.

5. Host an event. Like webinars, in-house events set you up as a thought leader. Offer an educational seminar. Give a behind-the-scenes tour. Bring in an expert speaker. Attendees will remember you, and if they like you, so much the better. People want to do business with people they like.

These are five different channels, each offering something unique to help you build your business. The more ways you can interact with your target audience, the more engaged your customers will be. So pick a channel and use it - or better yet, use them all.

Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.


Share on LinkedIn