These days, whenever you have something to say to customers, you are often presented with a question. Should you use print or electronic media? Do you print out a flyer/brochure? Or do you put the newest sale details on your website? Too often companies defer to one choice or the other. The truth is, no customer can be reached purely by electronic media or print media. You need to create a cohesive combination of the two that play together smoothly and generate a solid message for your consumers. Assuming you are prepared to create a holistic advertising/marketing strategy, the following tips will help you decide which content to put online and which pieces to print color copies of.1. Readability. Does your new content need to be read as a whole, or can you insert it into several small capsules of information posted on your website? Do you want the red pill, or the blue pill? Is the content best viewed as a whole story from beginning to end, or do you think that people can look at a piece of it now and another piece tomorrow, and still understand your point? If you need the content to be viewed as a whole, then print is your choice.
Think about how your content is best read and absorbed. Web content is short and often required multiple views. If you need the content to be read in one sitting, go for print.
2. Searchability. Let’s face it the best part of web content is that is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Potential customers can find it with a simple Internet search at the exact moment they want it, even at 2 a.m. in their underwear! This makes web content extremely powerful. So, if you have content that needs to easily searchable and quickly accessible, then you have to include it on your website.
When content needs to be highly searchable, put it on the web.
3. Interactivity. Sometimes, you need your content to be highly interactive. But, interactive can take on two distinct feels. For example, content like a promotion, that you need people to connect with in order to get more info, may be best for your website. However, content like step-by-step instructions for completing a task, may be best for printed collateral.
Know how you need people to interact with your content. Click on material is best for the web, but on the job interaction probably is best suited to printed collateral.
4. Usage Model. How will your customers use the material you are presenting them with? Usage models are key to understanding what type of media to use for your material. If the user is going to be sitting next to his or her computer doing Internet searches and pulling up documents then the web is a huge asset for you. If however, your target user is sitting in a warehouse without a computer terminal or next to a cash register, you need to provide them material that they can have printed and in front of them.
Use print for content that people need to access when they are not next to a computer screen.