Social Media Strategies: Don't Remain 'Anti-Social'
"Very few print owners have the creative writing skills—or the time—it takes to research, write and edit an active social media marketing program," explains Stevens. "They let us do it for them."
To those that question the value of social media, Stevens answers, "the next generation of print buyers just doesn't 'like' social media, their lives exist around social media." He believes that as younger professionals enter the workplace we'll find that many of them can be best reached through social media networks. "It is insane for any printer NOT to develop a good social media marketing strategy. The market is moving there whether we agree or not."
Julie Shaffer is Vice President, Digital Technologies at Printing Industries of America. She heads up the Digital Printing Council (DPC), as well as the Center for Digital Printing Excellence at Printing Industries headquarters in Sewickley, PA. In her position, Julie plays a lead role in developing programs and tools to help members grow their businesses with digital technologies.
Known for her graphic production expertise, Julie has a 20-plus year background in pre-media and print. She is often called upon for training, presentations and to provide on-site consulting throughout the industry on diverse range of topics, including PDF, color management, digital printing, social media and Web-to-print implementation. Julie is co-author of several books, including "The PDF Print Production Guide" (1st, 2nd and 3rd edition), the "Web-to-Print Primer" and the forthcoming "Field Guide to Social Media."
