At OneTouchPoint, we talk a lot about the power of multichannel marketing campaigns to increase brand awareness and turn browsers into buyers. We know consumers expect to interact with their favorite brands across a variety of digital and physical channels, and we know the importance of ensuring consistency of design and message across all those communications. But how, exactly, do these disparate marketing channels work together to drive marketing ROI? Let’s look at three examples, using one digital channel – social media, and one traditional channel – direct mail.
1. Leverage Social Media Marketing to Increase Brand Awareness ahead of a Direct Mail Campaign
One OneTouchPoint client saw a marketing ROI increase of over 200% when combining their direct mail and Facebook campaigns. Why? Because social media marketing breeds familiarity, and familiarity is the first step toward trust and, ultimately, purchase. Recent surveys from Pew Research found that social media users spend over two and a half hours on social media every day.
This is where, between status updates and news articles, consumers are introduced to countless brands and what they have to offer. And, with so much time spent scrolling, consumers are primed for introductions to new brands that pop up in their newsfeed, building that first level of awareness that means, when they see your postcard in their mailbox, they’ll be more apt to pay attention. This initial familiarity – brand awareness – from social media leads to a higher response rate once the direct mail arrives.
2. Use Social Platforms as A/B Testing Ground
With marketing budgets smaller than ever — and marketers on the hook for showing how every dollar spent adds value to a campaign — it’s critical to reserve print marketing spend for just the right postcard design. And if you want the best performing collateral possible, social media marketing can help. Test your postcard’s copy and visual elements – such as your design and imagery – as social media ads first, and then study the engagement analytics.
The insights your social posts will provide as to which images and copy perform best will help you make a confident, data-driven decision when it’s time to commit to a final postcard design. Not only will you have conducted an effective A/B test with little to no additional marketing spend, but you’ll have introduced potential customers to your campaign via social media so, as we discussed above, it’ll be familiar to them when it hits their mailboxes in postcard form.
3. Use Social Media to Prime Your Audience for Incoming Direct Mail
Finally, when you’ve got an important piece of print marketing ready to send, you can use social media to prime customers to look out for it. Use social ads to tease your summer catalog or your big annual sale. With ads that say things like, “Our spring catalog is coming to your mailbox this month.” Or, “Our best deals ever on your favorite services are coming straight to your door.” You’ll build anticipation that has consumers actively keeping an eye out for your print marketing materials — and ready to act on them when they arrive. (You might even find yourself starting the sales ball rolling before the materials hit mailboxes with teasers like, “Can’t wait for the catalog? Subscribe to our online newsletter for early access to our biggest summer line yet!”)
In terms of how digital and print marketing work together to increase awareness, engagement, and sales, these three tactics are just the tip of the iceberg. And you’re not limited to social media and direct mail for these strategies. Social ads can prime audiences to click on an email, where emails can serve as A/B testing for print collateral.
At OneTouchPoint, we help our clients create effective, dynamic multichannel marketing campaigns. We pride ourselves on powering brand engagement through on-demand marketing execution, supply chain management, and local digital marketing for brands and organizations. We invite you to contact us to learn more, or request a quote on your next project. Our experts will provide insight and ideas to deliver phenomenal results at a great price.