Great Brands That Compete On Value: “Find Ways To Let Their Voice Be Heard”

If you read Strictly Business regularly, chances are you’ve noticed recently that I’m an avid reader of the Freeport Press blog and have been sharing my thoughts on how the topics presented relate to our local marketing landscape. I’ve found the discussion of digital in relationship to print particularly timely and relevant given the tendency to keep separation between the two platforms, even to the extreme of viewing them as mutually exclusive. In reality, their compatibility is such that it makes sense to include both in your marketing strategy, and for optimal results, in ways that the two are working harmoniously in support of one another. Today, there’s no better way to maximize your reach and influence, putting the odds of getting in front of your target audience so you can effectively engage them strongly in your favor.

With that in mind, I present to you this month:

Thanks, Digital Age, for Making Print Better

By David Pilcher

Modern print owes a debt of gratitude to digital, according to Francis McMahon, SVP of the Business Imaging Solutions Group at Canon U.S.A.

“With the ‘digital noise’ that clouds our everyday lives, businesses and individuals alike are being forced to find ways to let their voice be heard,” McMahon writes in Printing Impressions. “This can be seen in creative new print applications, especially in the marketing field, which has forced print professionals out of their comfort zones.”…

…Print also can thank digital for the rise in content marketing, which has opened up entirely new channels to communicate directly with consumers. Print holds a new role now; it’s not the breaker of news, but rather serves to expand the conversation in ways that digital can’t.

So what’s the takeaway for print? At the end of the day, consumers still reach for print as a companion to their digital consumption, finding in-depth reporting and long-form storytelling they aren’t interested in consuming online.

Digital is not the enemy here, as we’ve said before. As publishers, designers and editors, we need to understand this new juxtaposition of print and use the printed page to its best advantage – with creative design, insightful content and an imaginative approach to each and every piece.

With firsthand experience producing two print publications serving as traditional and content marketing hybrid vehicles, and then integrating digital platforms to enhance our principal offering, I can assure you that this takeaway is on point.

“Print holds a new role now; it’s not the breaker of news, but rather serves to expand the conversation in ways that digital can’t.”

The internet has revolutionized Strictly Business in three ways. First, a key objective of our marketing method is now to drive people to your website or social media. Second, Google bestows outstanding credibility upon our clients’ press posted on our website, giving them serious backlink power and first-page search engine results. Third, it has amplified the magnitude of what content marketing’s efficacy, making it even more powerful as we post our clients’ press online, appearing on our various platforms and available for our clients to share and post to theirs as well.

There’s no better way to set yourself apart, to get noticed and have your voice be heard, than to employ a “strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” That quoted statement is the definition of content marketing, our core competency at Strictly Business. Speaking as an authority on the subject, the potent combination of print and digital is the means to that end.

Let Strictly Business Magazine help you lock in your status as The Expert in your industry, utilizing print, the internet and social media. Find out how by contacting Paige at (402) 466-3330.