PRINT IS DEAD! PRINT IS DEAD?????MYTH!
According to the largest digital and marketing community in the world, Digital Doughnut, PRINT STRATEGY IS STILL A HUGE PIECE OF MARKETING STRATEGY. The digital marketing debate has dramatically increased in the last couple of years with the rise of ever-developing, innovative video and digital media platforms and strategies. I am not here to argue that these strategies do not work. Captain Obvious would agree.
But here are 3 branding tips that work NOW, in addition to tips about what type of PRINTs most powerful.
TIP #1: MAKE SURE TO BE ACTIVE AND PRESENT IN NETWORKING
YES, digital and video content ARE tremendously important, but thinking of redirecting ALL of your marketing efforts to digital? Think again! Better to diversify.
Invest some time and money regularly networking live with other people, and be consistent if you are not already. Get to know others in your field and professionals you may be able to partner up with. Listen to carefully in these networking groups and attend events regularly. Find the networks that work for your schedule and industry within the markets whose problems you want to help solve. And you will also find those will can help you tremendously as well. This way you are able to get to know other business owners and/or professionals. Timeless marketing strategy. Some good networks to try out may be your local chamber of commerce, a tech group, a CEO group, a BNI group, a network led by a business coach. If you are regional, national, international, it may be a trade show or a conference. Don't know about you all but I am missing these live events. We need people to organize some, safely of course. You may even decide you want to serve on a board of your favorite charity to help people in your community, which is always a win-win for the community and your brand. Be open to new networking opportunities, be a regular participant in the ones you join. Do not expect excellent results immediately. Be patient and the relationships you build will pay dividends over time both ways.
TIP #2: REPETITION
Remember that branding is a lifetime strategy, so good branding campaigns get the brand out in front of potential buyers with GREAT REPETITION. This builds TRUST. This idea is all-too-often forgotten. We want results NOW! Profit NOW! Instant gratification! But good branding does not always happen in a month or two or six. Think of branding as a lifetime strategy. Think about brilliant marketers such as Coca Cola, Red Bull, Geico. Think in terms of getting in front of potential buyers 24, 36, 48 times with a campaign, rather than 1, 2, 6, or 12. Yes, there is a cost to this. Know your numbers. Know you budget. Take action and do what you can afford. A lot of companies do not think long-term with a vision in mind for their business for the next 5 years, but this is key. Be a long term thinker and brander. Show your audience you ain't going anywhere because of our fortitude, quality, and show your authority in your industry! And do it in a creative, engaging way, and emotional way!
TIP #3: SOCIAL MEDIA IS A BROAD TERM. CONSIDER ALL THE POWERFUL FORMS OUT THERE.
Social media online helps build top of mind awareness for your brand, and depending on who your connections are, is very effective. It is important to realize there are more forms of social media than just apps and platforms that are web-based. For instance, have you ever considered that certain forms of niche print are also fantastic forms of social media, especially when you MICRO-TARGET A TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY. There are various amazing options on the market today. Be open. In 2017, the print marketing response rate skyrocketed by 190% with 43% more customers responding to direct mail than 2016. (According to Digital Doughnut) That is astounding.
No, you can't click on print. You don't get vanity metrics like on LinkedIn, etc. But, you can hold it, pass it around, share it, and put it on a table and come back to it, rip out a page, write on it, highlight something with a highlighter. Think of publications as tangible social media, at least the ones that highlight local people. Becoming a sponsoring of niche print may serve as the very catalyst behind the organic search of your business online by a potential client, which CAN lead to closed business that would NOT HAVE HAPPENED OTHERWISE. Print has also long been known as the most trusted form of medium, and one that gets people talking. No offense to Google Ads, but those seem to often get in our way and become a nagging annoyance we wish we did not have to see on our way to see what we are searching for.
Niche print media (not the old paradigm of mass-media print) is an incredibly potent branding medium, and it’s actually in the middle of a major resurgence right now. The great thing about niche print is you know exactly who your audience is since you are targeting a specific niche group. Look for the ones that are hyper-local, that highlight people the audience KNOWS or MAY KNOW. Look to target the niches that you believe will best be served by what value your business can offer.
TO WRAP UP
Diversify your branding strategy. Be an active in networking. Do things that enhance the chance people will see you out there and getting in front of them in multiple ways that help bring top of mind awareness about you and your business, and do this OVER AND OVER. BRANDING IS FOR LIFE! Remember that the centuries old marketing strategy of PRINT is tangible - the physical form of a magazine for instance, a brochure, or mailer has a lasting advantage over digital formats which disappear since they are present temporarily and then replaced with refreshed content the next time you look. This is not to say a strong and engaging presence online is not not needed, because it is TOO! Come on! It's 2020!
Feel free to comment with questions or comments. Reach out anytime for a chat!
-Joe Fricano
Publisher, Entrepreneur, Life-long Learner, Coach of Branding, Spanish, History, Fly-fishing