5 Ways to Use QR Codes for Print Marketing

When it comes to print marketing, you can use dozens of tricks to embellish your designs and grab your customers' attention.

Some available details, like using embossing for letters or using textured paper, are already promoted by many printing companies. One newer option that you should consider for your next print project is using QR codes.

According to Statista, 75.8 million people in the U.S. with smartphones scanned a QR code in 2021. They are increasingly popular and create more opportunities than you might realize when it comes to your print marketing.

Read on to discover tips for incorporating QR codes into your next print campaign.

5 Ways to Use QR Codes for Print Marketing

1. Get Creative with Color

When you think of a QR code, you probably think of the traditional black design on a white background.

You might not know that QR codes have become much more customizable!

Use your brand's signature colors, or create your company logo within the design for the code. This will make the QR code pop out from the rest of your print material!

2. Increase Visits to Your Website

One of the best ways to engage with your customers is by sharing information through your website!

But sometimes, sending them to your site in the first place can be difficult. Including a QR code on one of your print marketing ads can intrigue customers into scanning it and visiting your site!

Plus, by printing that QR code on brochures, posters, or stickers, you can showcase your company's info to a broader audience.

3. Engage Customers with Special Offers

A tried-and-true way to connect with your customers is by offering them special, personalized deals on your products and services.

Put a QR code poster on the door of your store offering a sale price reward for shopping in-person, or print one on a direct mail piece that will lead them to a unique coupon code.

4. Track the Effectiveness of Campaigns

One of the first things you should get set up to make sure you're making the most of your QR codes is tracking channels using the codes.

An urchin tracking module (UTM) can be applied to any URL, which would be the URL the QR code opens when scanned. 

You can use UTMs or other tracking methods to see how many people visit the webpage linked to your URL, specifically by scanning the QR code. In this way, they're one of the most straightforward ways to measure your print campaigns' response rate and effectiveness. 

5. Use QR Codes to Encourage Reviews

Customer reviews are essential to building your audience's confidence in your brand!

One creative way to encourage and remind people to add reviews for your company is by creating a QR code with a link to a site where they can add a review and print it on your direct mail.

Otherwise, for an even more immediate connection with existing customers, it could be printed on the bottom of your receipts or included on a special thank-you mail piece after customers make a purchase.

Incorporating QR codes into your print marketing can be a game-changer. Don't miss out on the endless possibilities they offer! Contact us today, and let's take your marketing to the next level.

 

 5 Statistics That Show Combining Direct Mail with Email Really Makes a Difference

The combination of direct mail and email can be a powerful marketing strategy.

Not only does it help you connect with more potential customers, but evidence suggests that combining the two forms of media can even increase response rates.

Here are five statistics that show just how effective this combination can be:

1. Direct mail is six times more likely to result in a purchase than email alone. (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration) 

2. Direct mail response rates are 10-30 times higher than sole digital marketing campaigns. (Source: Amsive)

3. Combining direct mail and email can increase response rates by as much as 50%. (Source: Epsilon)

4. 72% of potential customers enjoy interacting with brands via several mediums before purchasing. (Source: Lead Forensics) 

5. Marketing campaigns integrating direct mail and digital media hold 39% more of a customer’s time than digital campaigns alone. (Source: Canada Post)

What are the Advantages of Combining Direct Mail Initiatives with Email?

Utilizing both direct mail and email can help your business create a comprehensive marketing strategy to reach a wider audience and generate more leads.

Combining these two channels also allows cross-promotion, improving visibility on both platforms and raising brand awareness.

Here are some of the advantages of putting both direct mail and email to work for you:

Longer Shelf Life 

Direct mail boasts a longer shelf life than email, meaning it can be intercepted and influence potential customers even after receiving their email campaign.

More Memorable

Consumers are more likely to remember the messages they receive through direct mail, increasing their engagement with a brand.

Trustworthiness

Direct mail is considered more trustworthy than email or other digital forms of communication.

By utilizing both mediums, you build confidence in your target audience. 

Optimize Your Marketing Budget

Combining direct mail and email can help you reallocate resources and optimize your designated advertising funds, allowing you to make the most of a limited marketing budget.

What are the Most Effective Ways to Link Direct Mail Campaigns with Emails?

There are several ways to link your direct mail and email campaigns. Here are some of the most effective methods:

Personalized URLs

Use personalized URLs (PURLs) in your direct mail campaigns linked to targeted landing pages associated with an email campaign.

QR Codes

Include QR codes on physical mail pieces that link to online content or offers.

Special Offers

Offer discounts, coupons, or other incentives in direct mail campaigns that can be redeemed online.

Social Media

Incorporate social media links into physical mailings so recipients can easily connect with your brand on various platforms.

Call-to-Action

Include a call-to-action or other prompt in your direct mail campaigns encouraging recipients to visit an associated website or sign up for an email list.

Using these strategies, you can create powerful integrated marketing campaigns that maximize physical and digital media.

In doing so, you’ll be able to maximize your reach, increase response rates, and build stronger relationships with your customers.

With the right strategy, combining direct mail and email can be a powerful tool that produces tangible results.

By leveraging the strengths of both media types, you can create effective campaigns that reach more people and promote conversions.

Are you looking to drive your business growth? Integrated marketing campaigns can be powerful and practical tools. Reach out to our team to get started on yours!

5 Ways to Get Qualified Leads for Your Business

 

In business, a lead is someone who hasn’t used your products or services YET.

And there are many of those out there, just waiting to be introduced to your business. 

So, how do we grab them and turn them into customers?

5 Ways to Get Qualified Leads for Your Business

1. Personalize with print

The ability to personalize is one of the aspects that makes direct mail so effective in generating leads. 

People are more likely to respond when they feel you are communicating with them directly. 

You can customize dozens of data points, including name, age, or geographic location, and QR codes that lead them to a personalized landing page on your website.  

2. Attract attention with email

Use email marketing to attract new customers and re-engage old ones. 

Whether the email invites customers to return to their shopping cart or promotes your new product offerings and business statistics, emails are one of the best ways to retarget your customers. 

Make your email even more effective by combining it with a print campaign. Research shows that marketing campaigns that utilize email and print experience a higher response rate than email alone. 

3. Get buzz with influencers

Influencer marketing is one of the most popular new forms of online marketing, having more than doubled since 2019. 

These people will promote your business and stir up the talk so that you will also get organic praise.

4. Speak at events

Position yourself as an expert in your field, and you will be able to share your insights with others. 

This can also bring you more speaking gigs and more leads. Everyone wants to hear from an expert, and you will open doors if you advertise your services.

5. Attend trade shows

Hosting a booth at trade shows is a great way to generate leads.

You can maximize your potential to generate leads by offering a giveaway. Collect their contact information, and they can win a prize in exchange. 

Be sure to give them your business card, then follow up with regular postcards, brochures, and catalogs.  

There are many ways to promote your business, but these should help you find more leads. We are here to help you reach your potential. Contact us today to get started!

How to Set Smart Goals for Your Next Social Media Campaign

 

SMART goals help you identify areas you'd like to improve and clarify your objectives for a successful social media campaign. They act as a guide to data collection and help your team know which tasks to prioritize. 

SMART Goals

SMART is an acronym for… 

• Specific. Use statistical values to narrow down what and how much you'd like to achieve.
• Measurable. Attribute values to non-numerical indicators of success, being precise in how you'd like to measure. 
• Achievable. Look at past campaigns and use them as a base for how much you think your business can achieve.
• Realistic. Similar to achievable. Make sure your goal is relevant.
• Timely. Set a date for when you'd like the goal to be completed. 

Setting SMART goals acts as a base for your social media campaign.

Create a Social Media Campaign With SMART Goals

SMART goals help create a stellar social media campaign that works for your company. 

Step 1: Set a goal using the SMART goal method, making sure it's specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Determine what metrics are best to measure. 

Step 2: Determine your target market. This will guide decisions, including which social media channel(s) to use and content to put out. Make sure it all ties back to support your goal. 

Step 3: Create a content calendar. Plan out your content using a calendar. Make sure everything is spaced out, and posts build off each other. 

Step 4: Manage the campaign. Actively engage with customers by replying to comments and answering questions. Adjust your strategy as needed. If you're not in line to meet your goals, then try new tactics to boost engagement.

Step 5: Analyze the results. What went well? What would you do differently? Why? Use what you learn to create a better social media campaign next time. 

Using SMART goals as a guide can help you get the results you want in your next social media campaign. 

SMART Social Media Campaign Goals

Sometimes, determining what goals to set can be challenging. Here are two ideas to get you started. 

1. Increase brand awareness 

If you're running a social media campaign, this is a great place to start because it's the top reason marketers use social media.

To set a SMART goal, answer these questions: 

• Who do you want to increase brand awareness with?
• How will you measure this? Through followers, views, likes, or shares?
• Once you've determined how you're going to measure your campaign, how many followers, views, likes, or shares do you want? Is this goal achievable and realistic? Do you have access to past campaigns to use as a benchmark?
• When do you want to reach your goal? 

By effectively increasing brand awareness, your business will increase sales and traffic. 

2. Improve customer service

More and more customers are looking to social media for customer support. 

One in five people says they use social media for customer support.

To set a SMART goal, answer these questions: 

• How many people reach out via social media for customer support?
• How fast is your current average response time through social media?
• How fast would you like your response time to be? Is this realistic?
• What is your customer satisfaction score for those who sought help via social media? Where would you want it to be? 

Your business can increase revenue, customer satisfaction score, and customer retention by having good customer service available through social media. 

Having goals, especially SMART goals, improves performance and happiness. Setting SMART goals for your social media campaigns can have a significant impact. 

Social media is one of your business's many avenues to reach customers. Effectively reaching a variety of customers requires an omnichannel approach, including online and offline marketing.

As always, we're here to help you with whatever print needs come your way, including print campaigns that help boost your social media! 

5 Self-Mailers That Help You Stretch Your Budget

Everyone wants to save money. But we also wish for success. So how do we achieve both?

Self-mailers are the answer. It's a tried-and-true method of marketing that gets readership and results.

Research shows that mail is one of the most effective ways to connect with customers personally. The options are endless, and they are read more often than an email.

When physical mail goes into your mailbox, you know it's intended for you, and you take notice. One benefit of a self-mailer over a traditional envelope is that a self-mailer can be creatively designed with attention-grabbing text and images.

Direct mail achieves a 3.7% response rate with a house list and a 1.0% response rate with a prospect list. Compare that to: Mobile 0.2%; Email 0.1% for a Prospect list and 0.1% for House/Total list; Social Media 0.1%; Paid Search 0.1%; Display Advertising 0.02%.

5 Self-Mailers That Help You Stretch Your Budget

1. Newsletters

Newsletters hold essential information about your business and how you can help your clients. In addition, it allows space for articles on several things.

Make your newsletter monthly, and people look forward to seeing it in the mail and reading it.

Keep your reader in mind, however. Don't just tell what is new at your business. Instead, show them how important it is to do business with you. And include a call-to-action, so they know how to get a hold of you.

Also, incorporate your logo, pictures, graphics, and white space. But don't pack it too full.

2. Postcards

These clever little items let you transfer a thought or solution to your customers. Use it as a teaser, announcing that something big is coming. Or use it to promote a new item.

Show a picture of how it helps your customer, rather than just a shiny item. Use a standard size or extra-large postcard.

Either way, it's a quick read and will capture your client's attention.

3. Brochures

Use these comprehensive pieces in the mail, around town, or wherever you do business. They are perfect for trade shows as well. These are easy to take with and affordable to mail.

People look at brochures containing pertinent information, attractive pictures, and graphics. The text is usually broken up by panel and allows for an easy read.

Always include your logo and a call-to-action so that guests will contact you.

4. Tri-Fold Mailer

Try a tri-fold mailer to get optimal results while saving money. These are typically six panels that open up to be an oversized postcard about 6" X 11."

These are great for promoting sales, adding coupons, and a tear-off business card.

5. 6-Fold Mailer

These are similar to the tri-fold but with a little more space. Again, you can use these mailers vertically or horizontally.

Self-mailers are creative and get noticed. 

We're here to help you create your next budget-friendly, eye-catching self-mailer. Contact us today to get started!

5 Best Ways to Combine Print and Social Media

 

Print and social media go hand in hand.

Promoting your business online is great because it doesn’t cost much and helps track customers.

But people still shop at stores and go to companies in the flesh. You must be ready for people when they stop at your business place.

So here’s the best way to combine the two ways to market your business: print and social media. Take a look.

5 Best Ways to Combine Print and Social Media

1. Post on Facebook.

Post regularly to actively reach your audience. It doesn’t have to be much, but it will keep your name at the top of everyone’s mind.

For example, try posting an inspirational quote, or try your hand at writing a short article on where your business excels.

2. Don’t forget Linkedin.

Another great social media tool is Linkedin. This reaches specifically to other business people, and it doesn’t have to be a long post.

Still, it’s the perfect way to spotlight your products and services. Let people know what you offer and how you can help them.

Use testimonials to let the public know you have helped others succeed.  

3. QR codes are making a comeback.

Adding a QR code to your printed materials will combine the two worlds, online and offline.

Link it to a coupon or sale just for them when they scan the code. This will take them to a specific site that will inevitably help you track what they are looking for.

4. Create giveaways.

Run a promotion using printed materials to engage customers and offer something exciting.

Use rack cards or flyers with all your contact information and a call to action. Even though this method uses direct mail and printed items, it proves worthwhile.

Research consistently demonstrates that direct mail outperforms other marketing tactics regarding response rate.

5. Use hashtags.

Hashtags help you tie everything back to your brand and make it easier for you to track mentions of your campaign, event, product, or business.

This enables you to use both the printed word and online in a combined effort. For example, Indiana University leveraged hashtags as part of a brilliant admission promotion.

The simple use of the hashtag #IUsaidYes on bright, bold red envelopes produced a viral social media campaign when students began posting selfies with their acceptance letters.

Whether you prefer—online or offline marketing—you need both in advertising.

We are a part of your success because we offer quick, reliable service.

Need something soon? Check us out today!

 

5 Do's and 3 Don’ts of Print Marketing

We all know how much the internet is used today, but some people forget that print marketing still works wonders.

The Do’s of Print Marketing

1. Do update your logo.

Make sure your logo is updated and reflects your image appropriately. You want to ensure the logo looks up-to-date, attractive, and professional.

Unless you employ a graphic artist, it’s best to hire one to help with this part of your image since it will be used on everything, from online to print.

2. Do communicate your identity.

Have a corporate identity in all you do. This broad term encompasses your brand’s values, purpose, and design elements.

Set your business apart from the competition with a consistent corporate identity in your letterhead, business cards, envelopes, brochures, rack cards, and more.

3. Do use both online and offline marketing together.

This is a tried-and-true strategy. However, when you isolate your marketing to only using one of these, people won’t respond as positively, and you won’t get the desired results.

It’s critical to have digital elements, such as a website and social media accounts, but print collateral is equally essential.

Try adding a technical aspect, such as a QR code or a link to your website. Then, offer a coupon or special deal when they go to that online location.

4. Do write a compelling headline.

No matter what you are writing, the headline gets read most. So make sure it’s an attention-grabber.

5. Do know your target market.

Reach prospective clients through appealing colors, images, and text.

The Don’ts of Print Marketing

1. Don’t use outdated materials to save money.

You will gain more respect from the public if your marketing materials are fresh.

2. Don’t forget to have a call to action.

If you don’t ask your customer to take the next step, they might not. So you need to be diligent in asking them to visit your website, call you, email you, or do whatever you want them to do next.

3. Don’t forget the 4 P’s of marketing. 

Product, price, pace, and promotion are essential to any marketing effort. Make sure your include mention to all four in your marketing efforts. These are considered to be the pillars of a strong marketing program.

These are some simple tips to keep your marketing healthy and robust.

We want to help you when you require the printed word. We work with your marketing team to create up-to-date, attractive marketing materials to keep your customers noticing you.