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The Truth About Social Media?

-Everyone uses social media.

-All successful businesses use social media.

-Using social media = lots of money.

-Social media provides high ROI.

Social (online media) vs. Direct Mail

• 25% of consumers think a lot of online information can’t be trusted.
• 20% are more trusting of information received in the mail than through e-mail.
• 53% of U.S. adults say they are more likely to pay close attention to information they receive by postal mail than e-mail.
• 79% enjoy the ability to read information whenever it is convenient for them.
• 66% like the ability to refer back to information when needed.
• 46% appreciate the ability to take mail to different places to read.
• 36% agree information is more private when sent via postal mail.
• Only 8% of Americans use Twitter.  Meaning 92% of the United States population do not use Twitter.

Not all of the Fortune 100 companies use social media.

I don’t run a Fortune 100, and I’m going to assume that you don’t either.  So, my goal is to share specific ideas you can use to promote your organization that will yield high ROI – and I’m not convinced social media is one of them.

One of my personal favorites is direct mail.  Yes… snail mail.

Before you laugh too much, let me share a few stats with you:

A survey of the 79 largest non-profits in America who received over $2 billion in revenue from over 38 million donors in 2009 found:

• 78% of the donations were received as a result of direct mail.
• Only 9% of the donations were received from internet, 3% from telemarketing, and 10% from other methods.
• Direct mail was also responsible for 89% of all new donors.

Okay, but do consumers make purchasing decisions based on direct mail?

• 94% of consumers reported taking action on offers and coupons received via direct mail.
• 70% reported renewing a severed or inactive business relationship because of direct mail.
• 40% reported trying a new business because of direct mail.

But do consumers even read regular “snail-mail”?

• 85% say they review their USPS mail daily.
• 52% report greater satisfaction in reviewing mail received through the USPS compared to e-mail.
• Two-thirds of the consumers surveyed say they are examining their mail more closely now for coupons and offers than they did a year ago.
• Half of all respondents say they have requested promotional mate­rials from companies in the past six months.
• 78% say they prefer to receive promotional materials through regular mail.

Now with a few statistics rolling around in your head, let me remind you of one of the most important principles in business that we’ve talked about before – you must get your business noticed.  With the current business craze -and shift- toward social media, many have abandoned their previous marketing efforts, making it the perfect time for you to get results with direct mail, all you need to do is to get Digital Content Creation Services.

Have you used direct mail to promote your business or organization?  What specific campaign has worked well for you?

In the next direct mail post we’ll discuss the core elements of a successful direct-mail campaign.