Is Direct Mail more powerful than Social Media?

Tweet me. Friend me. Fan me. Yeah, I get that. I'm the first to hop on and try Google+ and check in on Foursquare. Social media is a game changer for sure.

But have we forgotten about it's older (and kinda uglier) big sister: Direct Mail??

Yes, this is the epic battle: In this corner, the New Kid, young and nimble, loved by all, give it up for SOCIAL MEDIA! And his challenger, former champion and come-back kid, Mr I-Still-Am-Worthwhile DIRECT MAIL!

Everyone is quick to praise how you can target exact people with your Facebook ads, but direct mail just sprays your message to whoever happens to see it. Twitter lets you accumulate followers who WANT to hear what you have to say and all you have to do is SAY IT, but Direct Mail takes more effort to get that list and keep it fresh.

So is there ANY value left for Direct Mail?

My Recent Experiment:

To publicize a listing, I bought a localized list, (1 mile around my listing, renters only). Then I designed a cute little card and sent that out , just to see what would happen.

I mailed 785 pieces. Studies show that you can expect 1-2% ACTION return on a direct mail card (they call the number, go to the site, etc). My goal was 10 calls. 

After a week, 6 people called me and another 2 mentioned that they got my card when I was making my daily calls (they actually RECALLED getting the card and we talked about it!) Further, the cards brought 2 extra people into my open house (sidebar: when I got the calls I invited them to an 'exclusive' open house this weekend just for the people who got the card with some unpublicized special offers from the sellers). One couple is considering purchase from that open house. 

Thanks, Direct Mail.

Plus, that is the first step to building a brand-awareness through NON-SOCIAL media. Here's how I'm thinking about it:

Everyone was on the DIRECT MAIL playground having fun, playing catch, running around every day. It was exciting! Then, SOCIAL MEDIA moved in next door with a new flashy playground and everyone left their toys and went over there to check it out. I think the smart marketers will quietly go back to that playground and start talking to people in that old way because there is less competition for voice there right now. Hmmm, interesting. No more screaming over the crowd when you're one of the few guys there talking.

So, my point (thanks for finally getting to it, Jay) is to be careful not to abandon what has worked in the past just to go play with the new toys. Sometimes your message can be heard better when there are fewer people around to drown you out.

Make it a great day! (and at the risk of sounding too hypocritical, why not Fan my little Facebook page over there in the right column? I sure would appreciate your endorsement and engagement!!)