Why Marketing Experts Still Choose Print over SEO

Is print marketing dead? With the advent of the internet and the growth of various ecommerce tools in the past few years, it may finally seem like print marketing is finally a thing of the past. Companies now have tools such as SEO, SEM, PPC, social media and mobile apps with which to tap into the rapidly growing online market.

This also coincides with the rapid growth of the online market in the last few years which make printing seem almost irrelevant. A large section of the consumer population is increasingly using online tools in order to search for the products to purchase and transact online. All these have threatened to turn printing into an almost outdated advertising technique.

In fact, some businesses have accomplished a complete migration into the print channels while completely spurning the printed channels of advertising marketing. This is often the case with those companies that sell digital products such as the domain registrars, hosting companies, security certificates and many others. There are more mainstream businesses that are also increasingly spurning print and embracing the digital media more wholesomely.

But companies regarding the print media as dead media could be making a very serious mistake. According to recent statistics, most consumers have not necessarily moved on with the digital trends and a significant portion of the consumer market still prefers to receive information in the print formats.

The best way to approach your marketing is to achieve a seamless integration of these two advertising forms. Print has shown its potential as a potent tool that can still be used to attract customers to your business and to expand the base of your market. Not all your customers are online and some of those who are online still read printed materials. Used as a complementary marketing channel along with your digital channels, print has the potential to deliver incredible results.

There are plenty of tangible benefits that you will generally derive by marketing using digital printing services. These have been discussed in detail below:

Print marketing is tangible

Tangibility is one of the winning qualities of marketing using the printed matter. Unlike the online channels, print is physical and there is way in which that impacts the consumer psyche when making buying decisions. When you advertise using brochures and product catalogs, these can always stay with the buyers over the long term. They can keep them and view the ads repeatedly over the long term whenever they read the catalog and the product brochure.

The online ads, on the other hand, will disappear almost instantaneously. They will last only as long as the companies budget can sustain them.

Credibility

When you choose print marketing, you will be able to carry more weight than online marketing. There is something about the print media that gives them a sense of credibility. Perhaps it is the conservative streak in consumers but buyers are more likely to trust an ad that appears on the print media than that which appears on online media.

Part of this is accessibility. Print media works with ad buyers and thus there is a sense of trust developed that whoever is advertising must be a real person with a real product or service to sell. Due to the relative low barriers to entry for the online marketing channels and the prevalence of the online scams, not many buyers will trust an online ad at face value.

With risks such as scam, phishing, viruses and various malware, many online users have a sixth sense not to click at just any ad that pops up. This can be a real handicap as will be losing lots of potential buyers. In print media, buyers do not really have to worry about scams. They can take time to read and understand your ad before giving you a call.

Branding

While online media tools also make for powerful branding channels, it is in the print media where you can really solidify your branding experience. Companies that have spent a fortune in brand building can really ink it down by opting for the print marketing techniques. By consistently expressing your brand colors in print, you will be able to develop powerful brand equity over time.

Target marketing

While this can also be said of online marketing, print marketing really takes target marketing to a whole new level. There are plenty of specialty catalogs or niche magazines that target particular customers. They are still widely popular and consumers subscribe to them throughout the year. For example, there are specialty magazines on topics such as parenting, motherhood, home and living, gardening, luxury living, luxury travel, interior decoration, shopping, men’s health, beauty, women’s health, food and cuisines, engineering, real estate and so much more.

The people who buy these magazines are generally well-heeled and ready to spend on something nice if only they can spot it. By advertising in these magazines, it will be possible for you to find really hot leads that will give you a call immediately if you can brand yourself effectively inside these magazines. The best thing is that these niche magazines will allow you to target the audiences that you would generally have a difficult time targeting when you are marketing online via the SEO or PPC channels.

Print is more engaging

When you do your marketing using digital printing channels, it will be easier for you to build a very engaging customer experience. Again, it could be our conservative streak but consumers are generally more engaged when reading print material than when reading online material where we usually have an attention span of only a few seconds. Using print marketing services allows you to really catch the attention of a consumer.

Less print ads, more opportunity

The case can also be made that as more companies shift to the internet and more wholesomely embrace the online marketing forms such as SEO and SEM, they leave the advertising space more open for you to dominate the marketing using digital printing channels which still have a significant reader-base.

Consider a scenario where you are involved in travel services and you are the online travel provider advertising your travel deals and promotions in a digital medium. You will undoubtedly capture the whole reader market interested in your services! This is the case for using print marketing services; as it diminishes, it presents an opportunity for the companies that see the silver linings in the clouds.

Because the publications will be less crowded when you choose print marketing services, you have more opportunity to make your ads really shine. Additionally, you will be able to get lower rates for your ads as competition for the ad space diminishes.

The power of the QR Codes

There is a way also in which print marketing is converging with the online media marketing channels. A case in point is the use of QR codes when using print marketing services. Companies can choose print marketing but also incorporate technology that makes these ads accessible to online or mobile users.

When these QR codes are scanned using smartphones, they will take the user to a web page where they can access the ads, promotions or items being advertised. The QR codes will always link to a special offer page where a user can grab the best deals.

In conclusion, it is important to incorporate a marketing approach where these marketing channels will complement one another. For example, print marketing will have its strengths in certain places and the online advertising can complement it where it is lacking. The ultimate winner will be your business because you will be able to tap into a vaster market base than a competitor, for example, that is not using both channels.

When you choose print marketing and also make use of the online marketing channels such as SEO and SEM, each of these will complement the weaknesses of the other. With the print, you will gain the key advantages such as the tangibility, the credibility, the brand recognition, and the superior levels of engagement that it offers to consumers.

With the online advertising channels, you will also gain advantages such as the online tracking of the reach of your ads, a large customer base that is tech savvy, more durable online content that will always be there, lower advertising costs, the ability to integrate the various online assets and synchronize your marketing and the ability to beat your competitors by simply working on your SEO. In the online market, you can control if you will be on the first page without necessarily expending a large amount of resources.

Integration means that you will be able to always stay on the top despite wide-varying changes in the media and advertising landscape. Print marketing is widely evolving and blurring the lines that exist with the online advertising channels. New technologies are emerging that will make your print experience truly enjoyable and almost seamless such as the on-demand printing and variable printing technologies. All these spell out a potential boost of your business fortunes into the future.