One disadvantage of internet marketing is that not all people go to the internet. And the fact that those who don’t have the potential to take notice of your products and services is one main reason why offline marketing is still being used today. Those who do have internet but don’t use it that much due to time constraints or lack of inclination could make use of a hard copy of what they see online, even for the short while that they got connected.
So what particular medium can they use? It’s pretty easy to remember – PDF. Now before your mind starts to wander, PDF is the short abbreviation for Portable Document Format. The word ‘Portable’ pretty much tells you everything, but the benefits of what a PDF document can is not limited to portability. We’ll get into that as we move along.
What is a PDF Document?
A PDF Document is a file format created by Adobe Systems that can be downloaded off the internet. This file can be shared for distribution as hard copies of the original file after being printed but still remain self-contained – packing text, graphics, even hyperlinks into a single file. You can use Adobe Acrobat for creating PDF files and view them through the use of the Adobe Reader.
How does it translate to Offline Marketing?
Once a PDF file has been downloaded off the internet, a client can print multiple copies for offline use. It gets distributed into many hands and can be perused at the handlers’ own convenient time. These files can often be left unattended and fall into the hands of the curious – and if found useful, get reprinted and redistributed again. The best thing about PDF files is you automatically integrate online and offline marketing.
The time you spend creating the document and uploading it on your website is a small price to pay in exchange for the limitless possibilities the distribution of the hard copies can achieve. You won’t be spending a single cent for the fact that the prospective clients themselves are the ones who have to pay for distribution. You can achieve so much without your wallet taking a big hit!
Why not use MS Word instead?
Using MS Word cannot guarantee that your document is protected. Other online marketers can simply alter an MS document for their own purposes, and worse, use the edited version as a means to ruin your reputation. Employing a read only password is no guarantee either because it can easily be saved under another file name after some alterations. Adobe Acrobat does give options to configure some security settings for editing, password, copying and printing – then you can encapsulate those settings into your PDF document.
Your PDF file can be Googled!
Files with a .pdf extension are now compatible with search engines, making it easier for the website containing your PDF file to get hits! People have a particular thing in mind when they type the key words on a search engine box, so make use of your knowledge in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) upon uploading your PDF Document on your website.