Are we are getting tired of staring at our screens?
Since the pandemic, a huge amount of time that was previously spent talking to people face to face has been replaced by screen time. There’s been a big increase in online meetings, both for business and for time with family and friends.
Many people are becoming tired of it. They now wish to spend time away from their screens. One result of this is that they are more appreciative of alternatives to digital marketing – and physical materials are having more impact.
Print is a welcome alternative
Print stands out because, these days, it is unusual. And it gets results. This article shows that, on average, each piece of addressed mail is looked at 4.2 times. That’s four opportunities to appeal to the reader. The average piece of mail also lasts nearly 10 days in the home. That’s rather better than the instant DELETE that happens to so many e-mails.
According to JIC Mail, an audience measurement stated that impressions from door-drops have risen by 4% over recent months. It appears that, as more people are home-based, they are spending more time with direct mail.
There is another big advantage of print
You can send a printed piece of marketing to someone without their explicit consent. Recipients must opt in to your e-mail list but you can still send them the same message in physical print without jumping that hurdle. You simply have to show “legitimate interest” All this really means is that the recipient should not be surprised to receive your piece of mail.
Print also works for the younger generations
There are numerous studies that show that millennials love print. And they don’t just love it: they engage with it. This US study shows:
- 50% of Millennials ignore digital ads but only 15% ignore direct mail
- 90% of Millennials think direct mail advertising is reliable
- 57% have made purchases based on direct mail offers
- 87% of Millennials like receiving direct mail
Print works for business as well as consumer prospects
As home working has become more commonplace following the pandemic, people are more prepared to share their home addresses. Reach out via e-mail to offer prospects something useful for them to receive by post. The majority of people will give you their address details. You are then able to share marketing with them.
E-mail is less effective than it used to be
Of course, as print providers you would expect us to say that! So let’s look at our leading e-mail provider, Mailchimp’s 2022 email statistics. By their own admission, in some sectors, fewer than one in six people open marketing e-mails. Many unopened emails are deleted based on subject-line alone. Click through rates can be as low as 1.67%.
If this has helped persuade you to really promote your brand through print, please get in touch for our advice on the best ways to do this.