Just as Mark Twain once commented, “The report of my death was an exaggeration,” reports of the death of direct mail have been wildly premature. When combined with special effects screen printing, direct mail response rates are 30x higher than email marketing and allow you to engage with Millennials and other target demographics.
3 Seconds
Direct mail remains an effective channel for delivering messages largely because, unlike digital approaches which can be deleted without ever being opened, the recipient of a mailed piece must pay attention to it for at least three seconds. That is how long it takes the average person to decide to keep it or toss it. Those three seconds offer an opportunity to connect with your target. When paired with advances in special effects screen printing and UV coatings, making the most of that time has become much easier.
Direct Mail Innovations
For example, today’s special effects now allow you to digitally print RFIDs onto a postcard or brochure. Direct mailings can also be designed to incorporate Near Field Communication (NFC) and QR codes. The emergence of video-enhanced print also allows for paper-driven experiences, including the use of live streamed content through printed pieces. Simply printing textures, scents, scratch off or glitter can also increase engagement, by appealing to more than one of the target’s senses and standing out from the rest of the mail.
Millennial Social Media Engagement
Our proprietary SnapShot special effect encourages Millennials and other recipients to take a flash photo of the direct mail piece to see if they’ve won a prize. To redeem it, they then have to share it on Instagram, Twitter and/or Facebook with a hashtag. This is an effective way to engage a younger audience and to promote your brand on social media.
Response Tracking
Much of the latest technology also makes tracking a target through their buyer’s journey possible. This creates a mother lode of data, that can help you fine tune your messaging and narrow the path you are leading prospects down to boost your conversion rates. It can also help you focus on each customer’s needs and preferences to improve your relationship with that client.
30x Response Rates
In fact, direct mail has been found to deliver 30 times the response rate of email and offers the highest return on investment for all consumer marketing. When included in an integrated campaign involving email, web and mobile, direct mail has increased response rates by 45%.
5 Direct Mail Tips
To get the most out of your direct mail’s three seconds, be sure to incorporate the following into each piece you create:
- Use technology to personalize each piece, personalized URLs in particular, improve measurement rates
- Be clear about your offer and call-to-action and include them on both sides of a postcard
- Support mailings with other channels—social, digital and your website—can improve response rates
- Make sure the piece looks, feels and smells like your brand
- Contact H&H Graphics to get started!
We can help you harness the latest in screen printing innovations to be Anything but Ordinary and increase response rates for your direct mail campaigns and increase social engagement.
