Ok, my title is a bit misleading..it’s not a competition and you can, and possibly should still market both online and off and in any other way you see fit depending on who, where and what your potential customers are. But I wanted to convey an important point I heard at a creative workshop I attended recently. I’ve talked about the virtues of online versus print marketing before but never included this particular angle. Print marketing is still relevant especially here in Leitrim where there are still plenty of people without internet access or even computers and where the local newspaper still has a decent circulation and where everyone seems to know everyone else however, there’s one important other thing print ads can’t do that online can.
No matter what kind of print ad you see whether it’s a glossy flier, banner stand or 2 lines in the yellow pages, the ad is static and paid for with no referral or organic value, ie – no one to say this is the company you need, they are the best. In a list of ads for companies offering the same service in the yellow pages for example, no one ad stands out above another unless the advertiser pays a premium for a fancier add or bold title. Organic Google ads for example on the other hand will put the best and most relevant results first based on your search term. Google will usually place at the top of the search results list the companies with the best website presence, ie – the one with the best traffic, most links in, best social media presence, etc.. It may be safe to assume in most cases that a website with all of the above has got to number one because of conscientious business owners and it should be a company you can trust to do a good job.
It’s this online dynamism versus the static nature of print ads that is perhaps the single most important benefit online has over offline marketing especially now that more and more people are turning to online reviews and referrals to help them choose the right company.
Leon