4 Ways Print and Digital Marketing Work Together

With each passing year, more and more businesses are going online to increase their exposure. Some are simply utilizing the web to gain foot traffic to their place of business. And others are actually setting up an eCommerce arm of their company. Whether you sell products and services online or are simply introducing your company and explaining what it is you do, you can effectively use printed media and digital marketing to increase your exposure. Here are three ways they work together for ultimate success in any marketing strategy.

1) Marketing Your App

There was a time when digital marketing was focused on reaching anyone with a computer and internet access. Although digital marketing is still intent on reaching the same audience, it has expanded now to reach anyone with a smartphone. Apps are the big thing these days, and if your business does any kind of commerce whatsoever through an app, you may want to advertise it with postcards or flyers and direct mailing. Introduce your app and explain what your customers can accomplish with it. Encourage them to visit your website to download your app. And you will be surprised at just how much traffic to your site increases. Not only will you be advertising the handy app you have available, but you will also be introducing your eCommerce site that many people might not even know existed.

2) Direct Mail to Website

Speaking of direct mailing, companies like Gotprint are constantly being called upon to print up thousands of postcards to introduce websites. While you can reach a large audience online with digital marketing, local businesses find that print media is one of the best ways to let their market area know who they are and what they do. Many small brick and mortar shops that also have a web presence are amazed at just how much their online traffic increases the very first day of a direct mailing campaign. Encourage your audience to bookmark your page so they can come back as often as necessary and when it comes time for your next mailing, pick different neighborhoods or cities to capture a new audience each time.

3) Print Media to Social Media

The truth is, everyone and their grandmother are on Facebook today, so why not let your local audience know you can be contacted via social media? Use everything from newsletters to direct mailing postcards to introduce your social media pages and see how quickly you gain a following. Use those little icons on your print media which would, of course, be the little ‘f’ for Facebook and that bluebird for Twitter and so on and so forth. This is perhaps one of the most effective ways to use print to enhance digital marketing. Everyone has gone social, and they will soon be your followers if they know how to reach you on social media.

4) Taking Your Website to the Next Level with PURLs

What many marketing pros suggest is that you use any kind of print media whatsoever to direct an audience to a personal URL, hence the acronym ‘PURL.’ A personal URL is actually nothing more than a personalized landing page that targets a current promotion, in most cases. Today’s consumer is often living life in the fast lane with little time to weed through extraneous information. Through print media, you can direct them to a PURL, and from there you can always direct them on to your main site. If they have time and choose to click through, they will. If not, they’ve found what they came for and can make a snap decision whether or not to hit the ‘Buy Now’ button.

Just because most companies now have an online presence does not mean there isn’t room for printed media in a marketing strategy. Remember, there still are people who like to pick up a newspaper every day, and there are those who wouldn’t take the time to search for new companies because they have been doing business with another for many years. It never hurts to increase exposure. So use print media together with digital marketing, and you will reach the widest audience possible. Make it personal, and you will have a loyal follower from this point forward.

A balanced blend of print and digital media can bring it altogether faster than you ever dreamed possible.

This article is written by Veselina Dzhingarova. She has long experience in internet marketing and SEO. She is passionate about blogging to share her expertise. Veselina is a regular contributor at many online publishers. She is the co-founder of Blogforweb.com and others. You can get in touch with her on LinkedIn & Google+.