In the early 2000’s, it was predicted that print would die. It was “old school” compared to the nanosecond immediacy available via computer desktop. Digital resources were, and still are, seen as faster, cheaper, easier to track, and the wave of the future. Or are they? Now, marketing is coming full circle as advertisers realize the power and potential a of a more personal communication they can hold in their hand. But here’s the twist: The old-fashioned print mailer now has the capability of driving better search engine placement and keyword analytics in the digital realm through Converged Marketing.
Converged marketing is a comprehensive, multi-channel marketing program that creates a unified customer experience between digital and print media that are connected connected via strategy, a constantly learning feedback mechanism and metrics. Here’s why it works. Let’s say you have a website with a good keyword density, and are getting good results with your SEO efforts. Now let’s say you take those keywords, purchase a list of about 5,000 people who match your demographic target and purchasing behaviors, and then generate a direct mailer that is filled with those keywords. The mailer drives the reader to a Personalized URL, or PURL, where we can track what keywords they focus in on and what triggers made them respond to our message. The PURL would feature products they’re interested in and a personalized welcome, even in the URL. For instance, a person would be directed to visit TheCreativeStable.com/jennifer, where he or she would be welcomed and the message would be tailored directly to their online browsing behavior.
Based upon their interaction with the PURL, we can then further fine tune the keywords optimized on the website. So digital drives print and print drives digital — two seemingly unlikely partners just a few short years ago.
By comparing the weekly SEO metrics and the PURL metrics, we can match what interested that particular prospect and fine tune our optimization strategy. This is also a good way to break through the digital clutter, as studies show that direct mail response rates are up 14% from 2004. We can even use variable imaging to “show” someone in their direct mail piece exactly what they were interested in online, making it even more personalized.
Plus, this methodology keeps the brand consistent across all channels so that you are easily identifiable by your targets. It’s a happy marriage between the unplugged welcome of reading a print message with the instantaneous satisfaction of researching something someone wants to buy online.
The key is a well-planned strategy, well-executed creative, and having the foresight to go “old school” in a whole new way.
If you’d like to know more about Converged Marketing, give me a call.