INFOGRAPHIC: Content Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing

When we talk about multichannel marketing many marketers fail to include direct mail in the mix and concentrate only on the digital world. However, as we can see from the article below, this approach is flawed. While incorporating online channels into your marketing efforts is vital, we can't overlook customer preferences, many of which prefer to receive printed materials over email for some types of communications. By simply cutting print entirely and forcing the consumer into an entirely online relationship you may end up cutting off communications with some customer's altogether.

While email does have its advantages, for both marketers and consumers, we can't overlook the fact that more email than ever is being sent to consumers, clogging their inbox's, sometimes causing your message to be lost in the crowd. Consumers will only open emails that are relevant to them and that are from trusted brands. One way to build that brand trust is to offer customers a choice of what they want to receive and how they want to receive it.  The key is to ensure that your message is consistent across channels and relevant to the consumer you are targeting. By offering customers a choice and delivering on it, you will maximize your marketing dollars by increasing your ROI.

Direct Mail Dominates as Customers' Preferred Information Channel

Though considered outdated by some, direct mail holds an emotional connection, making it the favored mode of brand communication for U.S. and Canadian consumers.

By Anna Papachristos | Published 12/20/2011 in 1to1 Magazine

Just like a gift at the holidays, receiving a letter in the mail brings with it a childlike sense of excitement. But now, with the technological revolution afoot, much of our mail arrives electronically, becoming a nuisance rather than a pleasure. However, when it comes to brand communications, U.S. and Canadian consumers continue to prefer "old school" direct mail above all other forms of contact.

According to Epsilon Targeting's 2011 Channel Preference Study, "The Formula for Success: Preference and Trust," 60 percent of U.S. consumers and 64 percent of Canadian consumers enjoy checking their mailboxes each day, signaling an emotional connection with direct mail. The study, which polled 2,226 U.S. consumers and 2,574 Canadian consumers, also reveals that 50 percent of U.S. respondents and 48 percent of Canadian respondents pay more attention to postal mail than email. Additionally:

*Thirty percent of U.S. respondents and 50 percent of Canadian respondents said they're receiving more direct mail that interests them as compared to a year ago.

*There's a perception that reading email is quicker than sifting through postal mail. However, only 45 percent of U.S. respondents agreed with that in 2011, down slightly from 47 percent in 2010, suggesting that clogged inboxes are increasingly a time drain.

*This year saw a 66 percent increase in consumer product information research and review via Facebook. Yet, 33 percent of U.S. consumers and 31 percent of Canadian consumers said that they don't find advertisements on social media sites useful.

*Thirty seven percent of U.S. respondents and 29 percent of Canadian respondents use television to get consumer product information daily, down from 43 percent and 35 percent, respectively, in 2010.

*The least trustworthy channels are social media and blogs, garnering only 6 percent and 5 percent of U.S. and Canadian trust, respectively.

*Of those who prefer email over postal mail, 34 percent of U.S. respondents and 42 percent of Canadian respondents cited saving on paper as their main impetus.

 Key takeaway: Acting on customers' contact preferences facilitates customer trust because customers then feel that they're in charge of how and when they're contacted. To convey brand communications in an effective, successful manner, marketers must first come to understand which channels appeal to which customers during various points of the purchase cycle. This will allow marketers to build a cross-channel marketing strategy that reinforces information shared offline and vice versa.

Article: TechCrunch, January 15, 2012 - by Joseph Puopolo 

Amy Jo Martin, founder of Digital Royalty, gives us her top social media trends to watch for in 2012. 

1. Social TV Integration

Many shows have already begun to integrate social TV, either through polling or integrating social elements within the show. Social media played a pivotal role in the last presidential election, and it will likely be more integrated into political broadcasts.

As each news channel fights hard to keep their viewers engaged, networks like CNN and Fox have made significant strides to engage their audience, although some would argue that this social media integration has come at the expense of hard-hitting journalism and analysis.

2. TV Is Going Online in a Big Way

2012 will be the first time that the Super Bowl will be streamed live to the world. Since the Super Bowl is generally viewed as the mother of all advertising spectacles, it will add a new dynamic into the digital component to advertising and social media integration.

3. Facebook Credits Take Center stage

Facebook in 2012 has the potential to project its power and truly take Facebook credits into a viable currency. Amy puts it quite well when she says "they're building an online destination we'll never need to leave, and my guess is they're only about 8% of the way through their product roadmap."

4. Big Business Has Woken Up

The way corporate entities approach social media is shifting. Many companies realize that setting up Twitter, YouTube and Facebook accounts is not going to cut it as their social media strategy. Brands will need to seriously shift their perspective by treating social channels more like communication channels and less like an advertising channels in order to make a difference. From my perspective this transition has already occurred, judging by the extent to which brands' Twitter accounts are now used as channels for CRM and customer support, managing pissed off or happy customers in near realtime.

5. ROI Is Still Huge

ROI will remain a key metric to any social media strategy. The concept of engagement is now becoming more and more an excepted metric. CEO adoption of social media is improving, and more CEOs are recognizing the benefits of humanizing their brand by taking to Twitter.

Customer service, research and image branding could all be considered social media intangibles, yet all three are obviously important in business. Social channels impact every single aspect of business from human relations to finance, sales, operations and legal. It's important for everyone to understand how social media affects their role and responsibilities. Opposite of television, social media is a dialogue vs. a monologue and if a brand is able to collect opinions real-time in high volume via social channels like Facebook polls, they can save a great deal of money on formal research studies.

There have been a lot of discussions about social media fatigue and whether brands refuse to play for that reason. With over a billion people on social media it's irresponsible for any brand not to have some sort of presence. 2012 will be the year for brands to go beyond cookie cutter campaigns and really determine how it not only adds value to their company, but how it adds value for their customers. 2012 will be crucial for companies and social media. For those who don't see a direct correlation between social media and sales consider:

"Social media is an ideal tool for moving people up the fan ladder, from being a casual fan of a brand to a loyalist, because the communication channels allow people to build stronger emotional connections with brands."

In response to the continued excitement about transforming digital and social media channels into marketing communication vehicles, Lyris has put together a comprehensive marketing guide outlining 22 Tips to Cross-Channel Success through the eMarketer FYI newsletter. This complimentary guide, found at http://lunar.lyris.com/lunarlanding/default.aspx?source=4632 provides interesting statistics, examples, best practices, and tips for marketers that are interested in reaching their audiences where they live, work and play.

If you look at the staggering statics swirling around social media engagement it isn't difficult to see why marketers are looking to take advantage of these opportunities. I personally loved the idea of signing-up for all of your competitor's Twitter accounts so you can see what they're up to, and be prepared to react to what's happening in the market.

This guide describes the importance of Social and Email, shows how they work together to drive business, tells you how to integrate the channels together, and what tools you can use to build towards quantifiable ROI when measuring Social, Email and overall Cross-Channel campaign success.

Check out the link to see what you can do to improve your customer engagement efforts.

Twitter beats Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging and YouTube as the social network du jour for business to business (B2B) marketers, but it's LinkedIn that generates the most leads, says a new study.

Marketing automation software provider Pardot surveyed B2B marketers on their social media habits, and found that while 91 percent were using Twitter as part of their media arsenal, only about 15 percent were generating leads from the platform. And while that was good enough to edge out Facebook, LinkedIn, while used by marginally less marketers, produces over twice as many leads.

Pardot's data ranked LinkedIn as the number one lead generator amongst all media tools, rating 32 percent, ahead of blogging (27 percent) and Twitter (15 percent).

This article originally appeared on mediabistro.com, Written by Shea Bennett on December 1, 2011 8:00 AM

CMO's have traditionally focused their marketing efforts on what has worked for their brands in the past, with little change to the marketing mix. These traditional one way communications are no longer enough. Today consumers expect that brands communicate with them how they want to be communicated to. This includes a mix of both traditional and non-traditional marketing methods. Communication with customers is no longer one-way, it's a dialogue, brands need to use all forms of media including social to talk not at, but to, their customers.

It is increasingly important that CMO's find partnerships with agencies that help them speak to their customers using all channels and then bring all the tracking and measurement into one dashboard in order to:

   *Monitor and measure each channel

   *Find meaningful insights from the data

   *Measure ROI

If CMO's cannot find a way to seamlessly integrate their communications across all channels and then measure the results in a meaningfully way they will not succeed in this new world of the multi-channel consumer.

This video summarizes IBM's survey of CMO's and the challenges they face in today's multi-channel, data rich world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZDMNU9q5DY

Most conversations about multi-channel communications typically lead to an over-simplified analysis on 2 demographic groups……the "old" generation likely prefers traditional channels such as paper and the "young" generation favours digital/electronic communications.  The obvious conclusion is that electronic communication will ultimately dominate all channels as the years move on.  This article is really interesting because it highlights a recent study showing that this young generation - called "digital natives" actually prefer traditional (print/mail) channels for some communications over digital.  Interesting….

What this suggests to me is that we (as marketers and communicators) probably shouldn't make a lot of channel assumptions.  We might think that one demographic group favours one channel while another demands a different channel.  We will never know.  And even if our assumptions are right, should we really be talking to "groups" or individuals?

We believe that all the energy that goes into "guessing" about channel choice should be redirected to delivering solutions that let our customers choose - and then honouring those choices by providing all communications across all channels!

Electronic Media vs. Print: Digital Natives Strongly Prefer Paper

In a recent survey, a new generation of Digital Natives show strong preferences for paper - still the favored medium of all age groups for reading and safe keeping of documents, according to a report. What does this mean for the world of high volume transaction output? Share your comments at the end of this article.

The research was conducted by IPSOS - in association with industry organizations Two Sides and Print Power - who interviewed 4,500 European consumers who declared their preference for paper based media in a digital world.

"In an exciting multimedia world, with mobile devices setting the communication agenda, it's perhaps surprising but reassuring that paper based media is still widely trusted and preferred," said Martyn Eustace, director of Two Sides, an organization dedicated to promoting an understanding of print and paper's environmental sustainability. "Publishers of books, newspaper and magazines will be delighted, I'm sure, to know that, for their readers who can now choose to read many different devices, print on paper is still a favorite."

In brief, the survey shows that in Europe:
The 18 - 24 year old age group, the so called Digital Natives, lead consumers in appreciating paper based media:

---83 percent of 18-24 year olds, (80 percent of all consumers), believe that reading from paper is nicer than reading off a screen.

---78 percent of 18 - 24 year olds, (74 percent of all consumers), say that compared to other media, print and paper is more pleasant to handle and touch.

---63 percent of 18 - 24 year olds, (58 percent of all consumers), prefer to keep important documents on paper

And when it comes to the environment:

---57 percent of 18 - 24 year olds, (54 percent of all consumers), believe that paper records are more sustainable than electronic storage of information

---63 percent of 18 - 24 year olds, (68 percent of all consumers), believe that print and paper is based on a renewable resource.

But there are clear signs that consumers require more information about the environmental sustainability of print and paper media.

---80 percent believe that forests in Europe have remained the same or decreased in size over the past 50 years. (In fact, according to the UN FAO, forests have actually increased in size by 30 percent)

---Most consumers believe that about 20 - 40 percent of waste paper is collected.

(In fact, according to the European Recovered Paper Council, ERPC, the European recycling rate for paper and packaging is 69 percent. The industry is one of Europe's leading recyclers)

"The message here," says Eustace, "is that whilst consumers are still showing strong preferences for paper, we can do more to tell them about the industry's great environmental record, particularly on recycling and the very positive development of Europe's forests. We don't want consumers feeling guilty about using print on paper; it's a fantastically powerful and sustainable way to communicate."

Two sides will be using the results of the survey to plan its continuing campaign, to create a better awareness, it says, of the great environmental credentials of paper and print media.

What are your thoughts on electronic media's impact on high volume transaction output? Views on this survey? Share your thoughts and comments below.

http://info.outputlinks.com/insights/bid/67681/Electronic-Media-vs-Print-Digital-Natives-Strongly-Prefer-Paper

I was reading a report this morning on the most recent business results for United States Postal Service and it made me think about how this is the real bellwether for multi-channel.  USPS lost over $5B dollars over the last year as customers change their preferences from physical mail to electronic mail - and their purchasing habits towards the internet.  The overall results for USPS were dire but there is a silver lining:

Letter volume declined - Total 2011 mail volume declined by 3 billion pieces, or 1.7 percent, from 2010.

But package volume increased - USPS Shipping Services revenue, which includes Priority Mail and Express Mail, increased $530 million in 2011 (6.3 percent)

A USPS official stated "The continuing and inevitable electronic migration of First-Class Mail, which provides approximately 49 percent of our revenue, underscores the need to streamline our infrastructure and make changes to our business model."  He continued " The increase in Shipping Services revenue was driven by strong growth in the Parcel Select and Parcel Return Services, due to increased mailings of packages, as customers continued to use the Internet more often to purchase products."

I think that we are still before the tipping point of electronic delivery vs. physical mail delivery.  With annual declines of only 1.7%, there is still substantial preference towards physical mail - but most anticipate this conversion to accelerate.

We find that our customers often struggle with the "optimum" layout for customer statements. How do you fit in all the information you need to convey to your customer in the most eye pleasing way? The article below sheds some light on this mystery exploring statement layout using the golden ratio.

Golden Layout for a Customer Statement

Why do some things look aesthetically better than others? Very often, it is the proportions that make it attractive.  

In the early ages, Phidias, Plato and Euclid  noticed that the ratio of 1:1.618 (known as Phi or ф) had 'magical' properties. They found that many things (such as snail-shells) tended to expand following roughly this ratio.

But of more importance to our discussion many crafts-persons found that this ratio worked wonders in architecture (like the Pyramids), painting, sculpture, etc. Most relevant to us, book-makers discover that this was the perfect shape for a page in a book. Photographers use this ratio extensively, referring to it as the 'rule of thirds.'

Our most striking example of the beauty of this ratio can be found in the 'A' paper-sizes, which are used around the world, except in those three mega-powers: the USA [1], Canada, and Tonga (we Canadians are ready to switch as soon as the Tongans say the word).

Paper size ratio

Although not a perfect PSI ratio (it's actually 1:1.41) A-size papers can be folded or cut in half to create the next level of the paper: A paper cut in two becomes A1, A1 becomes A2, A2 becomes A3, A3 becomes A4, etc. When you bind pages into a book and allow for the gutter, you end up with a printed space that follows the golden ratio.

Whether or not you print your statement of A4 paper or 'letter'-size paper, you should try to enforce the PSI ratio in design the logical page. Here are some key page objects that should follow this ratio:

The logical page

This is the area in which type and the mast-head will appear. Usually, one would leave a ½ to 1 inch margin around the logical page (which is approximately x to y centimetres). Because paper sizes do not follow the exact ratio, you are left with wider margins. Most designers move the logical page slightly to the right and use the extra space (the gutter) for production barcodes (usually placed on the right side of the reverse page).

Work with the folds

Most statements are tri-folded. The unfolded statement will have three very visible partitions. To exploit this, most good statement designers follow the photographer's rule of tree, dividing the document into a matrix of nine rectangles and then use the matrix to line up columns and tables.

For example, they use the top third of the first page to present virtually all key 'reference' and help information as well as the key corporate branding.   The following two-thirds will contain the account summary information, usually in table format.

The vertical lines are used to position the major (used for tables) and minor (used for 'point-of-need' messages) columns on a page.

Phi within page objects

Designers try to use the golden ratio even in sub-components of the page. For example, a business graphic usually sits within a space with the golden ratio. The masthead will often have components or combinations of components in the golden ratio.

The sum is greater than the components

Art historians (including Tom Hanks) are quick to point out how Da Vinci employed the golden ratio numerous times within the Mona Lisa. They argue that the brain subliminally searches out these symmetrical shapes, delivering pleasurable responses as they are discovered. If this is true, then employing the ratio in statement design will have the same pleasurable effect on the client as the review your document.

[1] Ronald Reagan declared this the official US paper size as part of his Star Wars defense program (actually it was part of a forms standardization initiative during his administration).