When it comes to advertising, it does pay to keep up with the trends. But so is sorting the facts from the myths. Here are three facts that can change the way marketers think about branding and advertising:
1. Promotional Products Still Make Sense
Companies should not let go of their promotional shirts and bags yet. They are still valuable marketing tools and explain why a screen-printing business is still a lucrative opportunity.
According to Fully Promoted, over 82% of customers still want a promotional product with a message. Among this group, 85% will like to buy a product or take advantage of service from the company. These promotional products also don’t lose their market value quickly. More than half of those who received them tend to keep these goods for as long as four years.
When it comes to brand recognition, these promo items remain effective. Almost 90% of the recipients can still remember the company even after two years. Most of all, this advertising strategy is just as effective as the others by 44%, yet they don’t cost as much.
2. Email Marketing Can Still Be More Powerful than Social Media
With over a billion members around the globe, no doubt, social media is a handy advertising tool. Marketers know that as not less than 80% said the likes of Facebook should be part of the branding strategy. It doesn’t mean that it’s about to replace e-mail marketing, however.
Optinmonster.com decided to analyze the growth and outcomes of both e-mail and social media marketing. It covered three years since 2016. Based on their results, e-mail marketing won, hands down. E-mails generated a whopping 21% return on investment (ROI) than social media at only 15%.
The report also showed that 58% of online users were more likely to check their e-mail first than their social media. About 91% used e-mails daily compared to 57% for Facebook and 14% for Twitter. Over 76% of marketers preferred e-mails for permission-based messaging while 44% of users checked their mail for deals.
3. Direct Mail Marketing Is Not Dead
The good old days of sending catalogs straight to the mailbox are alive and well. This is despite the growing popularity of digital and even mobile marketing. According to the data from Marketing Sherpa, 54% of consumers preferred to receive their promotions through the mail. Email marketing came in second at 49%. About 8%, meanwhile, did not want to get any publicity.
Small Business Trends also revealed that over 145 million direct e-mails arrived in the mailboxes while 42% were able to read or scan them. These customers then redeemed not less than 2 billion coupons. Even more surprising, in spite of living in the tech age, the younger generation tends to prefer the old-fashioned method of advertising. About 36% of those below 30 years old checked their mailboxes daily. Even 95% Generation Z, or men and women born after 2000, loved to receive letters and personal cards.
There’s no question that businesses need to ride with the times. They should spend money on online marketing strategies. They, though, should never forget not everyone is online. Some of them might even prefer the old marketing methods. Balance, therefore, is one of the keys to winning branding and marketing.
