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Why is print the perfect digital partner?

By 27/07/2015August 20th, 2015Full Fat Blog

In recent times, many businesses have made a switch to a fully-digital marketing and advertising mix. They have been promised all of the rewards that come from being active on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and their website has now become their main hub of activity.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, many businesses are putting all of their eggs in one basket, when the truth is that the two can – and should – work together hand-in-hand. In short: Print is the perfect digital partner.

The print world has heard all of the naysayers talking about its steady decline and imminent demise, but this couldn’t be further than the truth. Many businesses are simply opting to use both digital and print strategies in order to get their products and services out into the world, and here are a few reasons why:

Digital can be ignored, whereas print makes an immediate impact

Think about the last time you have entered a theatre, cinema or art gallery. There will undoubtedly been dozens of posters, flyers and other promotional materials around for you to collect and read. The reason that people are still producing these is because they make an instant impact on potential customers, and if they are placed in the right locations (e.g. a theatre production flyer within a theatre, cinema or art gallery) they are far more likely to convert interested parties into paying customers. You can throw as many promotional Tweets into the web as you like, but nothing works as well as having something out there that catches the eye and can be held in your hands.

News Flash: People still read print

Print Week reported recently that independent research partaken by Toluna – from 500 UK consumers and 1000 from the US – found that:

  • 84% of UK respondents agreed they retained or used information better when reading printed words
  • A total of 79% said they felt most relaxed when reading print, and
  • A total of 78% said that they would prefer to read on paper if given a choice, compared to 30% on a computer screen, 24% on a e-reader or tablet and 17% on a smartphone

This is by no means saying that your digital activities should be lowered. It simply highlights that abandoning print is not the right course of action, particularly if your business is aiming for an older audience. Although the elder generation are using the net in ever increasing numbers, they are still more likely to purchase a newspaper or magazine than head to Facebook or Google for their news.

Print asserts an image of quality

Branding is important for a business, and beautifully designed, high quality print is likely to establish your brand as one that cares about its image and brand positioning, whilst the digital side of your business can concentrate on delivering news and being the first point of contact. If you were to ask the majority of business leaders, they would want the first impressions of their business to be based on a piece of high quality print work, but their lasting impression is likely to be based on the content they deliver via their online channels.

The digital world is getting extremely crowded, as is to be expected. A digital marketing campaign can be delivered at very little cost to the company and can be changed at the drop of a hat, whereas a print strategy will take time and money to be delivered, and any changes would have to be carefully considered before they were actioned. However, if you focus your efforts on delivering the best of both worlds, you will find that print is the perfect digital partner. There are so many businesses taking the online digital approach, but one great piece of printed content can often have twice the effect on a customer who is used to seeing everything online and has forgotten the power of print. Make sure your business doesn’t do the same. You’ll be missing out on a powerful marketing tool.

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