Print and Online Marketing. A match made in heaven?

Most online marketing "gurus" will tell you that print is dead. As a smart marketer it is important for you to get the facts to make an informed decision on your marketing mix. What many poeple in our industry fail to do is recognize the difference between specialty print (like magazines) and daily metro news papers.

According to the Pew Research Center for the people and the press, newspaper readership has fallen 14% over the past four years. Although that number may be much smaller than one might think, compare that to magazine readership which has faired much better.

From 2009 to 2010 magazine readership actually has risen by 1% (according to GfkMri). Although those are not significant gains, the past five years have shown magazine readership not only to be stable but to grown in total audience. In fact 4 out of 5 adults read magazines.

The reason why this is important for internet marketers is that it is important to know that magazines rank No. 1 at influencing consumers to start a search online – higher than newer media options. (Source: BIGresearch Simultaneous Media Usage Study) Therefore, it makes sense for many industries to use print media to drive more traffic to their website.

Jeffrey Wotton, 5/5/2011

Spectrum Marketig Group is a multimedia based marketing firm located in New Bedford, MA. We specialize in development and implementation of print and online marketing strategies.