The rise of the consumer internet and social media has turned marketing into a digitally-run world. This has made it easier for companies to test ideas to see what works. Engagement levels can easily be obtained from things like number of “Likes” on Facebook, or links clicked in an email.
Perhaps, this is why at CWD we’ve seen first hand that many businesses today spend approx. 70-80% of their marketing budget on digital mediums versus traditional print.
If you’re unclear as to where to spend your marketing dollars, we’ve answered the common question:
Should I spend more money on digital or print marketing?
Digital Marketing: 5 Reasons to invest in digital marketing
1) You can widen your reach . One post on social media, one email sent, and/or one blog post SEO’d, can reach more people in less time than what’s possible with print methods.
Not only that, people who would not otherwise find you from things like an article or from a postcard, can find you on the web. If you use tactics like SEO you can target the right audience. You can use search engines, like Google, to bring people to you. And research shows that warm leads are far better than cold leads.
You reach people all over the world. If you do business at a national or international level, you can interact with potential clients without physically being where they are.
2) You can track everything you do. Digital marketing tactics are more easily tracked than print, in most cases. You can see who is coming from where and who is clicking on what. Then, based on engagement levels, you can tweak your strategy.
Print marketing can be difficult to track. How many people a day see your billboard. Out of those people how many call you? Do you know? How many read your article? You can guess, but you don’t always know for sure.
3) You can automate systems. Sales expert, Frank Kern, says a sale only happens when a potential customer is ready to buy. They will go to you to buy if you position yourself correctly.
Using digital marketing tools, such as email marketing, you can make sure that they come to you at the right time for them. You can set up automated systems of emails that alert you to a contact’s engagement levels. The moment a contact shows they are ready to purchase, your system will send them an offer. This is how you make money in your sleep!
With automated systems you can also maintain a better level of customer service. You can automate follow up sequences.
Some great tools for automation: Infusionsoft for email marketing and Hootsuite for social media posting.
4) You can spend less and generate more leads. You could spend $5,000-$10,000 on a fancy billboard that you don’t know is effective or $500 per month on a sure fire way, like SEO, to grow your business.
SEO can range from $500-$2,000 per month based on number of keywords. And that can amount to thousands of leads for your business over time.
Advertising on social media is free if o do it yourself. If you hire a professional, who understands strategy and lead generation (highly recommended), you only need to spend anywhere from $250-$750/month, based on your needs.
5) You can easily and inexpensively test and tweak your strategies. One of the major advantages of digital marketing is your ability to test different ideas to see what is the most effective. It’s easy to do these without spending thousands of dollars. When you print a direct mail flyer, for example, you invest a great deal of money in a medium that you can’t modify. If you are not happy with the results, you have to spend much more money to make changes, and sometimes you may even need to get a loan.
Print marketing: 3 Instances where print marketing is still effective
1) You want to connect on a more personal level. A handwritten card goes a long way in an era where the Internet and email reign supreme. It can help you stand out from your competitors. It’s also a nice way to thank someone for their business and make them feel appreciated.
2) You want to make an impact. Direct mail gets peoples’ attention when properly executed. However, direct mail can be easily get brushed aside by the receiver, so it’s important to involve strategy with what you send out.
Master copywriting guru, John Carlton, suggests crazy tactics such as sending a dollar bill that can be seen through the window of an envelop along with your message. This entices the recipients and says: “You need to open this”. Other tactics involve blending in with other mail by writing a deeply personal and touching letter that simply can’t be avoided.
3) You are targeting a local market. If you run a housekeeping business in a residential area, a print advertisement in a local newspaper, for example, is not a bad idea.
At the end of the day, the leaders in marketing and sales always say: Diversify. Use many different streams of marketing. Track everything, so you can monitor your performance. When you know what is most effective, you can put more effort and more money into it.
If you’d like us to do a FREE site audit, so you know what you are doing well and where you can improve your digital strategy, CLICK HERE.
