In marketing, one hot potato issue is whether quality or quantity has a bigger impact on the returns. The debate has been raging for a while, but perhaps one big reason why is that, as there are merits to both, you shouldn’t wholly overlook either of them. You need a happy medium.
Now, you’re perhaps thinking that the usefulness of digital, rather than print, marketing for achieving that balance would be a foregone conclusion – but the true picture could be very different.
The quality vs quantity debate
If your marketing efforts are entrenched in the digital sphere, you probably agree with many of the points made by marketing expert Chad Pollitt in a Social Media Today article about the importance of high-quantity content. After all, the more articles you publish, the more traffic you can attract.
With each new article you publish, you get a chance to take up an extra position on the first SERP (search engine results page) Google produces in reply to a target customer’s query. Google says that the average consumer must be “touched” about 18 times by content to become a customer.
However, it’s easy to see how your content could perform above average if it is carefully written to be especially appealing and informative. Conversely, if you produce just one piece of great content, few people could end up reading it and so discovering just how good it is.
Pollitt warns that most marketers can’t just cling to the hope of their article, however amazing, going “viral”. He reflects that this has never happened with any of the 1,000-plus articles he has published.
Why print marketing could break the deadlock
As we can see, then, you can’t simply fall back on either quality or quantity; you need elements of both to unlock optimum success with your marketing. However, you could be surprised by how easily print marketing helps you to do that.
Your own email inbox is probably bombarded with marketing emails. Still, how many of those do you actually open and read, assuming that they aren’t simply redirected to your spam folder, where they probably never even get seen? This is where print can make a big difference.
Digital Doughnut points out that, these days, digital formats are “flippant and temporary” compared to print, which it describes as “tangible – the physical form of a brochure, guide or catalogue is untouchable and lends an enduring advantage”.
Printing technology and techniques have evolved over the years
Admittedly, this is probably news to you if your business largely abandoned print marketing a while ago. However, it’s been busy in your absence; for example, modern catalogues are much smaller than their large, often phonebook-like precursors, not to mention easier to design attractively.
Print materials can also easily be produced in high volumes thanks to printing machines from Duplo International, therefore taking care of the quantity side of the equation. Yes, with print, you really can have your cake and eat it – provided you know how to bake that cake.
One of the Editors for Tech on the Go, I love covering mobile tech and social media. I also manage the reviews we cover so all the writers stay on my good side!
