LEARNING CENTER

Organic Growth? SMS? ROMI?  The Digital Marketing world has no shortage of acronyms and jargon. Here's a few of the more common terms to help you make sense of all the 'marketing techie talk'.

Ad Server – Database driven software that assists in the placement and management of advertisements on websites.

Auto-responder – A message (normally Email) that is pre-written and automatically distributes when triggered by some sort of activity. One common application of an auto responder is an order-confirmation sent to a consumer upon purchase from an e-commerce platform such as Amazon.

Recently, PrintInTheMix, published the results of a study detailing the influence of “Print, Digital, and Social [Medias] on Today’s Purchase Decision”.

The study broke the purchase decision process into three parts;

Quick, which item do more Americans use on a daily basis than a toothbrush? Here’s another hint; most of us have one of these within an arms reach 80% of our day. There’s probably one of these in your pocket or on your desk right now. You may even be reading this post on one. I’m talking about mobile phones.

The proliferation and advancement of mobile technology over the past several years is astounding. The amount of computing power we can hold in our hand greatly surpasses the amount of power contained in an entire building just a generation ago. Mobile devices (especially “smart phones”) are changing the way we communicate and interact with the world around us.

Oh the times they are a changin’

“Well I guess this digital thing isn’t just a trend,” I overheard "Fred" say as I walked the floor of Graph Expo last week in Chicago. For those who don’t know, Graph Expo is the biggest annual Print and Graphic Communication trade show in North America. For "Fred" and other career printers like him, this year’s expo must have been a total cultural shock. Certainly, the past two years have not been easy on the printing industry. However, what was glaringly obvious is that out of that struggle has emerged a bright new digital future for the industry.

Forget One Piece... Have the Whole Pie

Something happened to me the other day; I received a piece of direct mail. Now normally this would not be a momentous occasion. After all, we all receive piles of direct mail every day. However, what made this particular piece of mail extraordinary was the sender – GOOGLE!

When it comes to Internet giants, Google stands out as greatest behemoth of them all. The company is pervasive in our daily lives, and its brand name itself has become a verb (“google it”). So what does an innovative, online company like Google do when it wants to market a service or offer a special promotion? They send out a printed direct mail piece!

Social Media as a Tool for Business

Everyone has at least heard of the “social media” buzzword. Things like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs have become an everyday part of life for many of us. For most, it’s a terrific way to waste time while at work. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. At its core, social media offers an easy and effective way for business to connect with customers. However, don’t expect a Social Media campaign to “ring the register” right away. In it’s purest form, Social Media is about building relationships. After all, the heart of any marketing strategy is just that – building stronger relationships with your customers and your community. A well-run Social Media campaign will then in turn help turn those relationships into sales.