Digital marketing is one of the easiest ways to get your brand out there, but how effective is it when it’s competing against an entire sea of digital campaigns just like it? While digital marketing has its benefits, direct mail offers its own unique advantages amidst a world overwhelmed by online content.
Is direct mail making a comeback? The answer is a resounding yes, and we’re here to tell you why. Keep reading to discover how direct mail cuts through the clutter, offers some of the highest return rates in the industry and gives you the competitive edge that you’re looking for.
After scrolling through social media for more time than you’d like to admit, can you remember any of the ads that popped up? In most situations, digital ads are fleeting. People scroll through, see an ad for a second and keep on scrolling. Sometimes, they might ponder your ad more if it’s incredibly relevant—maybe they might save it. But ultimately, you don’t get them to act immediately in most cases, and a majority of consumers won’t remember the ad itself.
That’s due to digital overload, or digital fatigue. Digital overload is what happens when someone spends too much time consuming media via screens. The more information that’s consumed, the more distracted, anxious and fatigued they feel. As a result, focus takes a hit. Information overload occurs. Memory wanes.
The fact is that there’s a lot of information online, and most of it goes in one ear and out the other. With so much content available, the average consumer is often overwhelmed and your ad goes unseen. Whether it’s a social media ad, a well-timed email or any other digital campaign, it’s competing against, well, everything. The result is that your campaign gets diluted, you might experience low open and response rates, and your digital ad is often forgotten.
Enter direct mail. Since everyone and their mother is using digital marketing right now, it leaves a huge opportunity for direct mail and print marketing. With fewer people using this marketing method, it means that your efforts work even better—especially when the channels are used together.
While physical mail and print marketing efforts work extremely well to cut through the noise, you might be wondering why. It has to do with how “sticky” mail is, the higher engagement and the lack of competition.
Physical mail offers the uncanny ability to “stick” for a long time. While digital mail is fleeting (a mere moment, a single ad of many), direct mail “sticks” around, lingering for as long as the consumer leaves the ad out. One of the biggest perks of print marketing is that the consumer doesn’t flip past it, only getting a mere second of exposure. Even if they immediately throw it away, the ad lasts as long as it’s in their hand.
However, a lot of people will often set their mail on their counter, in their car or in their purse or wallet for later, where it gets unbelievably effective view times. Even if the consumer doesn’t engage on their first impression, it gets them thinking about it (unbeknownst to them), already enhancing the brand’s credibility and the consumer’s trust.
What print marketing and direct mail offer that digital mail doesn’t is a real, tangible product. It’s not just a digital moment—it’s something you can hold that offers a lasting impression. This real product means that your consumer can touch your ad, smell the paper and ink and visually see it for as long as they choose to.
The combination of senses involved in direct mail and print marketing means that your brain is on overdrive. While digital ads often check off the visual and sometimes auditory senses, direct mail equates to a little of everything. You can touch the mail, smell the ink and paper, see the ad right in front of you and hear the soft whisp of the mail shifting in your hands. Mail is a sensory gift that leads to a better memory and greater retention of information and your brand.
With the mail directly in front of your consumer, the open rate is incredible. While many emails go unread and ads are skipped past, mail is immediately there and impossible to ignore. Oftentimes, the consumer will glance at it, maybe even read a few lines. That in itself is a win. Even if that’s all they do, it’s still creating instant awareness of your brand and can subtly enhance trust without the consumer even being aware of it. The next time you send direct mail, they might even recognize your brand, product or service.
With so many businesses primarily using digital advertising, mailboxes and direct mail offer an even bigger opportunity for brands to cut through the noise and surpass their competition.
The fact of the matter is that most brands don’t use both digital and print advertising. Simply utilizing both marketing channels unlocks a huge advantage for companies—because a lot of businesses in your industry aren’t taking the extra step.
Using direct mail and the right print partner ensures your engagement rates can be astronomical. There’s a higher chance of consumer engagement and print mail has the incredible benefit of lasting so much longer. It’s not there for only a second, like emails or other digital ads are. Direct mail lingers in your consumer’s mind.
The next time your audience needs a specific item at a grocery store, an oil change or they’re looking for somewhere to eat, your print marketing will be top of mind compared to your competitors. Utilizing mailboxes for maximum ad visibility and even more campaign coverage ensures you’re always a step ahead of your competition.
Digital marketing offers a widespread, global reach while print marketing appeals to a more niche, local audience. While digital is everywhere, print marketing is arguably just as powerful. However, it doesn’t come down to whether you should use digital or print marketing. To produce the highest quality campaigns, the best approach is to combine both. Neither channel should be a standalone marketing tactic.
Together, digital marketing and print marketing offer a more trustworthy, expansive brand that a consumer can fact-check and see for themselves. The multichannel approach helps achieve both global and local awareness while encouraging direct engagement and responses. Some of the best campaigns utilize both channels by adding personalized URLs and QR codes to direct mail, creating applicable landing pages, and creating campaigns that use multiple dimensions to appeal to consumer emotions. That way, campaigns aren’t disjointed and create more trust, higher brand recognition, and greater success.
Related Content: Print Marketing vs. Digital Marketing
With digital marketing already being utilized, print marketing and direct mail are the extra steps your campaign needs for even greater success. Direct mail is making a comeback and is one of the most efficient ways to stand out among your competitors. The combination of tangible mail and digital content can help put your brand on the radar so you can start seeing the effects in real time.
Here at Signature Graphics, our expert team offers comprehensive print marketing services that include design, print, finishing, shipping and delivery. If you’ve never given direct mail or print marketing a chance, you might be surprised by the positive results and long-term effects it can have on your brand. Curious to see how print marketing can make a difference in your next campaign?