Hello out there in CMYKland! Today I want to ask you guys a favor. Well, maybe not a favor so much as I’d like to get your feedback on what I believe could be an exciting opportunity for the commercial printing industry.
It’s no secret that yours truly appointed herself print ambassador to the digital marketing set. I’m on a personal mission to bridge the gap between printers and online marketers. It’s a twofold mission in reality—I’ve taken it upon myself to help other printing companies learn about inbound marketing (SEO and social media/community management in particular) because our industry won’t thrive without incorporating online channels effectively. The second part of this quest involves educating the inbound crowd about print’s role in brand communications. Some folks in the digital space cling to the misguided belief that the internet trumps all other forms of advertising and outreach. That’s not just stinkin thinkin; their anti-ink attitude means tons of missed opportunities for their clients!
Hopefully you see where I’m going with this:
Source: http://www.rudebaguette.com/assets/Get_252520Along.jpg
The image above conveys my core message that we’re all playing for the same team. Marketing professionals of all stripes share the common goals of building relationships, raising brand awareness, and of course, growing business in the process. So far I’ve been proselytizing to a fairly limited audience, but I have a chance to educate the inbound marketers in their natural habitat—MozCon 2014!
Why printers should care about MozCon
By now you’re asking yourself what the heck is MozCon? Another social network I have to train my staff to manage? Nope, MozCon is one of the largest events of its kind wherein many of the brightest marketing minds gather in downtown Seattle to share knowledge and plan for the future. Printers with in-house SEOs may recall their employees begging for a ticket to this 3 day inbound extravaganza. Staff members groveling aside, printers should pay attention to what goes on at the big online marketing conventions, such as PubCon, SMX, Inbound Marketing Summit, and more (click here for a complete list) in order to stay on top of the trends.
Surely you follow the major printing conventions (DScoop, GraphEXPO, Print14, etc.) as well you should. And you pay attention to inkhead events to discover new technology, improve workflow, and explore growth avenues. You’ll find a few seminars about online marketing at printing conventions here and there, but nothing compared to the first hand exchange of ideas at an event like MozCon. Sure, a lot of the stuff will go over your head. Even I find myself confused when the true data geeks dig into the really wonky stuff. The point is that you don’t need to absorb every single detail to walk away a better marketer. You’ll hear plenty of actionable tips you can apply right away, and you’ll feel inspired to focus on your company’s progress.
Send a printer as a MozCon community speaker
Now that we’re on the same page, let’s talk printucation. We should do our best to send at least 1 representative to speak at the internet conventions. It’s our job to make sure that digitals see the value of print and its ability to generate online traffic as well as conversions. MozCon would be the perfect place to start because they have a program for community speakers already in place. They’re also quite print-friendly in that they’ve printed their adorable mascot Roger ( a robot I consider a close, personal friend) on lots of promotional products over the years. Guest speakers take the floor for 15 minutes, which gives us enough time to school the crowd on a few main points and leave them wanting more.
Long story short (too late) I’m going to apply as a speaker and I encourage you to do the same. I’ve got a couple of presentation topic ideas I’m kicking around in my head, which leads me back to the favor I mentioned at the beginning. The Moz team is looking for proposals that cover subjects not already on the as yet unpublished agenda. From the looks of the presenters, print won’t be on the menu. So I’m asking you this: what’s the biggest misconception digital marketers have about print media? Before you jump to the “PRINT IS NOT DEAD!” mantra, remember, we want to show them how they can use print to get results on the web.
Ready? GO!
Set the record straight in the comments below!