Direct Mail versus Social Media Marketing

Many companies are getting switched on to the merits of social media marketing. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter offer a completely new way to communicate with the people who make up your customer base. They offer a direct line to people when they are surfing or socializing on line and can draw visitors to sites. The ability to levy the word of mouth from friends, relatives or colleagues can make this form of marketing extremely influential.

However, social media is only part of the puzzle. It also requires consistent effort, the right tone and the ability to show users that your company is worth engaging with on a personal level.

The goals by which you measure the ROI of this medium are different to those of traditional marketing. Without awareness of this, ROI may be hard to see or perceived as non-existent. On top of this, recent studies have shown that business owners need to commit at least 6 hours per week to social media in order for it to have any positive impact- not something that is always possible, especially in a small business.

Engagement

Social media is about establishing and maintaining relationships with customers. Twitter is an excellent way of keeping an ear to the ground. You can perform searches on the company name and identify people talking about your product to reply to compliments or smooth over complaints. You can offer your followers special deals that are only available to them.

You should set longer goals with social media. Although, some people encountering your page on Facebook may be so delighted with your product that they click through to your site and purchase, this is not always the case. You could set goals of increasing email letter signups, or blog comments, thereby increasing engagement. This will in turn bring better exposure for your site and product, which should increase conversions on a secondary level.

On the other hand, social media is not as much use for people who do not already know your product. Unless a friend has already joined your network, how will they even know your name? How will you connect to people who are not regular users of the internet? Moreover, what about in situations where a direct, immediate response is required? “Renew your car insurance now by returning this form, and receive a 10% discount” is not the sort of message you can post on a wall.

Immediate Response

Direct mail companies have the answer. Each letter that lands though the letter box, to find its way into the recipients hand is a real, physical entrance into someone’s life. Social media is not reducing response rates – people will still answer letters addressed to them. Letter are perceived as more formal than emails.

Direct mail allows businesses to communicate their messages to the consumers quickly and efficiently. In the case of membership renewals, or appointment reminders, direct mail has some of the effect of a post-it note- plus it is highly personal. After all, not all conversations are suitable to be aired in public, immortalized on the internet. Also, because it can be designed to “convert” there and then, and it uses an address list of people already familiar with the product, direct mail enjoys one of the highest ROI rates of all mediums.

Rounded Communication

The lesson is that social media and direct mail work together, and should be part of an integrated marketing mix, with SEO, email campaigns, PPC and great customer service. After all, what better way to expand the address list than by encouraging people to sign up via Facebook? And what better way to introduce more people to the Facebook page than by contacting them directly- even using a QR code to the page? Today, it’s a mix that every brand should have.