What Is Marketing Collateral?
How to Make Print & Digital Work for You
Simply put, marketing collateral is the collection of materials you use to inform customers about your business. In the past, marketing collateral only existed in print formats. However, digital media’s rising popularity has opened new channels that offer many new opportunities for businesses. In this post, we’ll outline the differences between print and digital and how you can use them together to create a unique, cohesive brand identity.
Digital Marketing Collateral
Popular forms of digital collateral are;
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Websites
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Blog posts
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eBooks and eNewsletters
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Social Media tiles and graphics
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Promo videos
Benefits include;
1. A Wide Range of Engagement
Digital marketing provides a diverse range of ways people can engage with your business, and they can choose for themselves how they want to view your content. For example, some people will choose to read your blog posts, while others might watch promo videos on your socials pages.
2. Broader Reach
Digital marketing allows you to reach a much larger audience – you’re able to interact with an international customer just as easily as a local one. You’re also able to focus your marketing on different demographics, e.g. location, age, interests, income level etc. – helping you be more efficient with who you target.
3. Cost-Effective
Businesses can reach a larger audience at a lower cost with digital marketing to get in front of customers. Brands that use SEO and create engaging social media content can reach an even larger customer base for cheaper.
Digital marketing also gives your audience the ability to opt-out, which strengthens the quality of interaction people have with your business and prevents them from being bombarded with content – they may prefer something a little more self-guided.
Print Collateral
Leading forms of print collateral include:
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Business cards
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Postcards and brochures
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Posters and flyers
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Newsletters
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Notebooks and stationery
Advantages of using print material are:
1. Being Effective On The Ground
Printed media can help you reach your customers more directly. It allows you to both reach people on the street and people who visit a particular store or office. It’s also effective for small local businesses as it creates local brand recognition and can lead customers to your physical location.
2. Building Connections
The hands-on nature of print material taps into a person’s ‘touch memory’, a lasting form of emotional connection. Print collateral can provide a personal feel and create a greater sense of value. And your customers can keep it longer. If you design a great brochure, your customers can save a copy they engage with again and again.
3. Easier to Process
Recent studies have shown that print marketing is better at connecting with our brains and requires less cognitive effort to process. Print media can often also be easier to understand and more memorable than digital media.
Using Them Together
Here are some practical ways you can use your digital and print materials together:
1. Postcard to Website
Promote your website via direct mail products with a postcard/brochure/flyer showing your most popular products or services. You can use these to direct customers online to view your entire offering and add extras (like a discount code), allowing you to track response and conversion rate.
2. Email Newsletter to Print Brochure
Many people who receive your print material may not be interested in your business. To ensure the brochure only goes to interested people, you can set up an eNewsletter subscription on your website that promises a free info package in exchange for your customers’ details. This means your valuable print material will only go to customers who’ve already expressed interest in your business.
3. Business Cards To Social Media
Business cards will always remain an effective marketing tool. They’re personal and an excellent opportunity to encourage customers to connect with you on social media. Focus on one social media profile and choose the one that is most relevant to your target audience.
Your marketing collateral is invaluable to your brand, so it’s crucial to work with a great graphic designer, web designer, or brand development specialist to make sure your vision comes to life. The difference between well-crafted marketing materials and an unprofessional attempt can cost you missed sales and lost leads (not to mention a heap of nice paper).
In today’s business landscape, companies need a creative approach to set themselves apart from the competition. At Simple Media, we offer a range of creative services, including logo design, branding, visual, and web design, to cover all your design needs. Curious to know how it all works? Get in contact today.
