I’ve touched upon the importance of integrating print media into successful online marketing strategies in the past, but there is far more you can do with it. It occurred to me recently during a conversation with a potential client that there is often a direct correlation between how people use print media and SEO.
To be honest, when this person started talking about some of the things his company is trying, I was very skeptical. Then I looked at the numbers. “This is what happened after we optimized our business cards,” he said. “…and this is what we saw after adding just one element to our trade show banners.”
I was both shocked and amazed until I figured out why. Those of us who have been at the SEO game for a while still associate the process heavily with desktop and laptop PCs. Here’s the thing, though: We are living in a mobile world right now with mobile devices taking over the game very rapidly.
Before long, it will no longer be enough to have all our on- and off-page SEO bases covered. We need to integrate mobile markets into the equation. With the advent of smartphones, savvy business owners have begun to see the need for smart marketing campaigns. Today, I want to give you a solid foundation upon which you can build a smart campaign that not only increases engagement but also boosts SEO.
#1 – Start with Engaging Printed Content
The first step to merging a prospect’s offline interest with online engagement boils down to the same thing successful online campaigns do: great, engaging, relevant content. You want all of your print media to be top quality, visually appealing, and well branded.
This is especially true if you are marketing a product or service that is similar to other local competition. Your job with any type of content is to attract attention to your brand and create associations in the customer’s mind between that and the product or service.
Don’t be afraid of low-tech methods, like sign-up sheets or contests. Everything a potential customer touches should have your logo or other relevant branding visuals. People are still much quicker to fill out a form if someone is handing it to them than they would be to type their email into a pop-up on a webpage. Our natural tendency when someone hands us something is to take it, so take advantage of the psychology of print.
#2 – Make a Direct Connection
One of the things my client does with his promotional materials is make it easy to connect with his website and social channels via print media. He does it by making sure that relevant URLs are displayed prominently in all print materials and that he uses short, easy-to-use URLs for everything. There are plenty of free, customizable URL-shortening services out there, so there is no excuse for using long, seemingly random strings of textual gibberish in marketing materials.
I had heard (and written about) these types of things before, but it was all just theory until I saw it in action. I recall months ago recommending the use of QR codes and other like methods of connecting people directly with your website via print, but I never realized just how powerful that one little addition could make until I saw the numbers for myself.
This guy was growing his email list with a pad and paper and following up with a brochure and business card. He was even encouraging people who stopped by his booth to scan the code on the banner to enter a drawing for a gift certificate good at about 20 local restaurants. The QR code brought them to a squeeze page where, after they opted in, they were entered automatically into a weekly drawing. It was simple, yet insanely effective. That brings me to my next point…
#3 – Utilize the Power of Simple Calls to Action
My client made the best possible use of every tool in his box whenever he was out among people in the real world. He outright asked for email opt-ins. He directed attention to the URLs and codes on his promotional material. If the person already had his or her phone out, he would grab a business card, hold it up, and say, “Go ahead and scan this code.” There was no promise of anything – not a prize or reward, no explanation; just do it…
…and people just did it! If you take the time to strike up a brief conversation and establish a little rapport with someone, it is easy to get him or her to do things for you, especially when it’s something as small as, “scan this code.”
It really was that easy. He just started talking to anyone who made eye contact with him, gave his best elevator pitch, then followed his nose when it came to how to merge the offline contact with online resources. Older people preferred pad and paper; younger people just wanted to use their phones. Some liked to type the URL; some liked to scan the code.
The Effect on SEO
Real numbers do not lie. This guy was killing it, and it’s not that hard to figure out how. Every time someone scanned a QR code, there was another unique site visitor. Every time someone signed up for his email list and clicked through to a blog post, there was another. Every time someone typed in that short, eight-character URL on a phone while standing in front of his booth, there went another.
Of course, there is more to it than that. Consistent numbers do require consistent engagement with your audience, but he had those bases covered, too, using many of the methods and strategies I’ve discussed in the past right here. The point is that your printed promo materials are there to create a bridge between your offline activities and your online ones. The more people you get to cross the bridge and interact with your content, the more it boosts SEO, particularly local SEO.
For many with brick-and-mortar businesses vying for those high page rankings, optimizing print for SEO is a vital and worthwhile first step, as is seeking the help of a company that knows SEO and provides top-quality SEO writing services, like Beez.