Have you ever thought of using print media to promote your website?
Once upon a time not that long ago it was left to expert marketing professionals to promote your business brand through newspapers, magazines, radio and even television. These days many SMEs rely on staff with multiple skill-sets that blur the lines between the traditional roles once held in most companies. Most marketing staff now combine their knowledge of IT, social media, email and print to formulate winning marketing strategies and campaigns that are all strongly linked together. Below, we discuss various examples of how you can use print media to promote your website.
Believe it or not, print media is still a crucial part of effective brand marketing within major businesses. Savvy companies use printed media to influence people to visit their websites on a daily basis without them really realising it. Just like these major companies, you too can successfully use print media to promote your website.
Sky TV example
Let’s take a look at digital satellite TV supplier SKY TV. Through the use of direct mail shots Sky engaged with their existing customers to help promote their brand to new customers.
Sky understood how effective personal referrals were for driving sales, so created a special offer for their customers to pass on to their friends and family to encourage them to sign up via their website. People will often take up an offer through a trusted family member or friend so Sky knew their offer was more likely to spread further this way. Referrers were also rewarded with the chance to win an iPad mini as an extra incentive, so this made it easier for them to refer a friend.
Their results? The cost per acquisition was the lowest seen from any previous Referrals communications and total sales reached a Referrals record level.
Cunard Line example
Cunard Line used a perfect example of how to use print media to promote your website. The company used personalised printing to prompt recent customers to re-book via their website soon after they had disembarked from their holiday.
Holiday companies know that they need to engage with their customers soon after their break had ended while the memories of their experience was still fresh in their mind. Cunard created a ‘Welcome Home’ mailing that was personalised to each returning customer. Evoking positive memories and feelings from their recent trip, Cunard encouraged them to return to their website to swiftly re-book.
The results? Repeat bookings from first time cruisers increased by 10% over and above the control generating incremental revenue and an ROI of £43.15 for every £1 spent.
People keep hold printed media for longer
Whether it is a business card, flyer or direct mail letter, people place a higher perceived value on printed material. In fact recent data from Kantar Media’s TGI survey uncovered that 80% of adults have kept some mail that companies had sent to them in the last four weeks. To you this could mean your printed invitation for them to visit your website will be a lot more prominent to them than a simple link in an email.
Clever brand marketing in printed form can give you a recognisable name and introduce your product or service to the world. You can use print media to promote your website, encourage people to visit your social media pages, as well as generally raise your profile amongst your target audience.
Professional Presentation
You would never enter a network marketing meeting for the first time without having a professional way of presenting your business. How would it look to potential investors or prospective business partners if you walked in empty handed? If you do not have a professional presentation, those people who may be interested in investing in your business or franchise will not take you very seriously.
Here is an obvious situation where you can use print media to promote your website. Handing out your business cards and flyers for your new contacts to take away with them is almost expected at network meetings. Make sure you are prepared by having lots of professionally printed information that includes your company website address details.
Your professional presentation has a direct impact on your image and how your business peers perceive you. This is important not only for potential investors and business partners, but also for customers and clients too.
Glossy Brochures
Using high-quality paper and print in the form of a company brochure is a great way to use print media to promote your website. You can use this as something tangible, solid and exciting to tempt people into visiting your website to find out more about your company.
Brochures can be used as a teaser for your website, especially if you have a very large and comprehensive site chocked full of useful information for your visitors to discover.
Franchise owners can build a real sense of excitement and opportunity around their business with the use of printed brochures. They are a great tool for giving a snapshot of your franchise opportunity and a bit of background information. You can include testimonies from other successful franchise owners and encourage potential new owners to visit your website to read more success stories.
QR Codes to promote your website
With the growth of smartphone and tablet technology, interactive print media is now poised to revolutionise the way we promote the presence of our websites. QR codes printed onto business cards, flyers and other printed media is now used to quickly connect customer smartphones directly to your website.
The great thing about QR code printing is that it can be customised with different colours and patterns that can reflect your company branding and logo designs.
No matter how much modern technology evolves over the coming years, there will always be creative ways for you to include print media within your marketing strategies. The use of printed QR codes in recent years goes to prove this and is already a very useful way for you not only to get people to visit your website, but to also connect to specific pages and play videos from your site.
We wonder what is coming next to help your customers to explore all of your exciting new developments? No doubt there will be an important role for print media to play for years to come.
We’ve done the research, so you don’t have to:
- Mail is Kept – Mailmen
- Print’s Not Dead: Print Marketing Will Thrive in 2014 and Beyond – Marketing Profs
- Cunard – Mailmen
- Sky – Mailmen