Combining Print and Social Media



Combining Print and Social Media
Without thinking too long about it, what is the opposite of print media? There could be several things. The one thing that comes to mind right away is social media. Social media deals with the internet and online communication. It’s the one force that is thought to be putting print out of business. A different story can be told of these two seemingly polar opposites though. It turns out these two media platforms can work quite well together. How? I’ll give you a hint, you’ve seen it more often than you realize. 
As visual as social media can be, it’s easier for people to remember something like a poster or flyer. Tangible things resonate more with people and they’re more accessible. People don’t need wifi to read printed material. Adding social media icons to a poster or flyer indicates that their business has a social media presence, like a Facebook page or Twitter account. Print is a great way to advertise for social media. 
Print is also a great way to incorporate social media on paper. QR codes and clickable paper are growing in popularity. QR codes or, quick response codes, are two dimensional barcodes that can only be read by smartphones or devices equipped to scan QR codes. Clickable paper is a cross media service, similar to QR codes, that require an app to scan any printed surface dedicated to the use of clickable paper. The app brings up access to multiple links for online sources like photos, videos, websites, and social media platforms. 
Direct mail is still a strong component of marketing and it can lend a hand to social media marketing. Creating direct mail offers and alerting your social media followers can build anticipation which may lead to a higher chance of them responding to your offer or promotion. Direct mail can also contain social promotions that can be specified towards new social media followers. This can encourage people to follow your social media and the direct mail can make them feel like an appreciated customer. 
Taking advantage of hashtags in print is another way to combine print and social media. Informing customers about unique hashtags gets them more involved in your company. Hashtags are used to share photos and experiences. Adding this aspect to flyers or direct mail is a great way to get in touch with a younger audience as well. 

There are many ways that print and social media can work together. Social media can be implemented into print media just as easily as print media can be implemented in social media. Because the two seem like polar opposites they end up working together well. It’s like the old saying, “opposites attract”.  

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