Facebook And The Truth About Direct Mail

Did you know that Direct Mail was the number one planned marketing channel for 2012?
In fact: within the 18-34 year old demographic, Direct Mail is the most “trusted” choice of brand communications in many industries.The digital generation is actually telling us that they have more faith in an offer they receive via Direct Mail over other media channels — including the Internet. This key demographic underline the importance of avoiding assumptions made about the viability of print in marketing.
During a Live Conference in San Francisco, attendees were shown a Direct Mail campaign that is currently being sent out by Facebook to over 500 CEO’s from various companies. Whilst this is by no means a huge Direct Mail Campaign, it does make you wonder…if the largest online social network company uses Direct Mail as a means to market themselves, then maybe we all should.
If you’ve been contemplating a Direct Mail campaign, it’s worth considering these five key advantages it has over other marketing channels:

It’s Private.
It’s actually against the law to open someone else’s mail, and because of this, Direct Mail provides an offer of exclusivity to the recipient.

It’s Reliable.
Ever heard of a spam filter for your letterbox? No, that’s because it doesn’t exist, meaning you can be sure your mail piece will arrive at its intended destination.

It’s Guaranteed.
You’re guaranteed 5-7 seconds of the recipient’s focus when sorting through his or her mail. On average, that time jumps to 2-3 minutes when using personalised mail – marketing content that has been designed to be as interactive as possible.

It’s Tech-savvy.
By leveraging today’s technology—using QR codes, PURLs, and GURLs —you can closely track your campaign while it’s in progress and make necessary refinements along the way.

It’s Tangible.
Paper is sensory and tactile, and for humans, it’s easier to have an emotional connection with something if we have a kinetic reaction to it.

In today’s information rich multi-channel marketplace, Direct Mail is far from obsolete. Rather this old school familiarity when combined with current technology is even more powerful and versatile than in the past. And, when pooled with the next big innovation—computing Big Data—the life of Direct Mail should extend long into the future.

Resources:
(1) Client Marketing and Transactional Document Survey, SourceLink 2012.
(2) 2011 Channel Preference Study: The Formula for Success: Preference and Trust, Epilson Target, 2011.

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