Print and digital advertising are two of the most effective forms of marketing techniques that can be used to reach different demographic groups. In trying to decide which marketing strategy is best for your brand or product, it’s worth exploring how the two forms of advertising match up on the grounds of impact and effectiveness.
Let’s look at how incorporating both print and digital into paid media is an effective marketing technique, and consider their advantages and how to balance them based on the campaign and goals.
Print Media
Print media is commonly referred to a traditional media and includes physical, tangible mediums, like newspapers, brochures, banners, magazines, billboards, posters, and flyers. While not every type of print media is ideal for all marketing campaigns, print media offer specific advantages to a marketing strategy, including but not limited to:
Allow Targeted Marketing
In advertising, print media is typically aimed at a specific audience that have a solid interest in the product or topic being marketed. The placement of ads in print mediums like newspapers and magazines allows for targeted marketing in a particular geographical area or a niche market. For instance, if you are trying to reach people in Alabama who have a common interest in fishing, it’s ideal to place your marketing content about fly fishing in a southern magazine that is read by anglers.
Cost Effective
With print media, you select your desired space for advertising, which allows you the freedom to be efficient and effective in managing your marketing budget. This means you can reach your target audience less expensively, and with the decline in the demand for print advertising, it may be possible to negotiate a lower price than presented in the quote.
Engaging
Print media engages an audience in a more impactful way than the internet. With the average audience spending typically under 15 seconds browsing a website in a single visit, print media has a leg up with consumers spending 14 minutes on average reading a magazine.
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Digital Media
Digital media combines technology and content, and includes internet platforms, including websites, whitepapers, blogs, podcasts, eBooks, social media, emails, display and search advertising, content syndication, videos, and more. Marketers can combine different kinds of digital media to reach their target audience. Digital media provide certain advantages, including:
Allow Scalable Campaigns
Digital advertising allows ad campaigns to be more scalable. Marketers can diversify their digital marketing strategy and expand the overall reach of their messaging with the use of different internet platforms, from social media to emails. This could save time and money.
Digital Media Can be Interactive
Many of today’s consumers are on the go, and interactivity is useful in engaging a particular audience. A simple video clip or short flash game that is sponsored by, and highlights, the advertiser or product can be impactful in educating the viewer and leaving a lasting impression on them.
Enable Measurable Marketing
With digital media, marketers can measure their success through digital analytics. This can be done in real time, and the result can be used to guide the adjustment of your marketing tactics if required. You can make improvements to your campaign and achieve greater success.
Incorporating Both Print and Digital into Paid Media
Digital marketing enhancements can be achieved by incorporating print and digital into paid media. This can produce powerful results by not only bolstering your ability to reach people, but also allowing a company or product to be a dominant force in its market space. What’s the best way to combine both media types to create two-pronged tactics and still achieve balance?
Carve out an Audience for Print and Digital Media
Identify the audience that you want to reach to determine if both print and media will engage them. Consider demographics, such as age or income, because knowing your target audience is crucial in promoting content.
Establish Marketing Goals
Develop clear marketing campaign goals that will help to shape your budget and messaging, and also help to connect you with your target market. If your marketing campaign will take on a local focus, print mediums like flyers and brochures are typically more effective, but in a digital age, social media platforms like Facebook can complement print media and engage more customers.
Consistent Messaging
When using both print and digital media, marketers should standardize their messaging across both mediums. The message should be consistent in elements such as tone and tagline. Treat print and digital media as two halves of the same entity with the same goal.
Incorporating both print and digital into paid media is an effective marketing technique that can garner greater audience engagement and market presence. Both mediums need to complement each other, and campaign goals and strategy should be clear and tied to both. Capture the best of both worlds in your marketing campaign. If you’re looking to get started, contact our experts at Ironmark and see what our team can do to help you reach your campaign goals.
