Print v Digital marketing: The pros and cons

Print v Digital marketing: The pros and cons

When it comes to the print v digital marketing debate, it can be hard to decide where to spend your money. It may seem confusing, but what it really means is that, as an advertiser or business owner, you now have more choice than ever!

One could easily be forgiven for thinking that digital marketing has overtaken the printed magazine or direct mail campaign, and while it’s true that people are reading more online, they are still paying more attention to print.

Perhaps that’s because it’s is easier to process mentally. In fact, it requires 21% less cognitive effort to process a direct mailer than it does digital media!

Here are just a few pros and cons when it comes to print v digital to help you make up your mind which is better suited to your specific purpose.

Print pros

  • With printed materials, you have so much choice. From direct mailers to fact sheets, brochures, and flyers, there are so many different ways to get your message across
  • No aggressive call to actions or fear-mongering: perhaps one of the reasons people prefer print marketing is because it’s not so ‘in your face’. You don’t get fear-mongering headlines, instead you get useful information delivered in a credible way

Print cons

  • Print marketing may seem dated in a digital age, but as long as you can seamlessly integrate your printed materials with a website or the chance to digitally connect, you can jump this hurdle

Digital pros

  • Low cost
  • People are glued to their phones: whether it’s email or Facebook, Google ads or popups, people are constantly primed to receive advertising
  • Reach more people: over a billion people use Facebook, and with clever targeting you can reach your target audience

Digital cons

  • Consumes a lot of time: if you want to run an effective digital campaign, you could end up spending a lot of your working day managing your efforts
  • You’re attempting to cut through a lot of competitor noise, and unless your message really stands out it can be easily scrolled past
  • Open yourself up to negative responses: even if you are delivering your message to the right target demographic, a digital campaign opens up your business to negative responses which are out in the public eye

The answer, of course, is to run an integrated campaign that consists of both print and digital marketing activity. At Hague, we can help you decide on the best printed materials for your marketing campaign.

Get in touch and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss what you’re looking for in more detail.