Books on Digital Marketing. A Worthy Investment of Your Time and Money?

Books about digital marketing are a tough sell. Here’s why.

Digital marketing books can offer valuable insights. But with issues of accessibility and relevance, are they worth buying?

Like any specialist subject, books about digital marketing are certainly in demand.

The success of books like “Digital Marketing for Dummies” (Deiss and Henneberry) and “Epic Content Marketing” (Pulizzi) is easy to evidence.

But it’s impossible to deny that the world is changing. The internet is updating and shifting every minute. It’s altered the way that we think. Our reading habits have changed.
In fact, 24% of adults say they haven’t picked up a book in the last year. They are focused on fast-paced content.

Particularly when it comes to content marketing, you’ll find a wealth of material readily available online. We’re talking articles, blogs, email and advertising campaigns, social media sharing.

More people are reading blogs than books.

Why is that?

What does online marketing content offer that marketing books do not?

• Brevity
  • Blogs/articles/posts are shorter form than books
  • A blog/article/post offers a reader near-instant gratification
  • In such a busy world, brevity makes a real difference

• Relevance
  • The internet is instant
  • Information can land in front of you moments after it’s known
  • Updates to published content are a lot more difficult to make in print than they are online

• Participation/Interactivity
  • Online content offers comment and sharing options which invite global participation and conversation
  • The internet exists primarily without gatekeepers or borders
  • Our post from Bristol could inspire a response all the way across the world in Melbourne.

Despite this slate of offerings, 67% of people voted that books were better than the internet in a survey conducted by Debate.

Although information is more readily available on the internet, credibility and accuracy are not a guarantee. Books, especially within traditional publishing, tend to be checked by numerous sources before publication.

We provide content marketing solutions to all kinds of Bristol and London companies. In our work, we’ve seen first-hand that different things work for different people.
So, what about the flipside?

What do books offer that online marketing content does not?

• Stand out appeal
  • Many companies are now investing solely in the digital world
  • Putting something on paper can help you stand out against the rest

• Relaxation
  • People value an opportunity to disconnect from technology
  • Reading books offers an important space of time in which people can unplug from their devices
  • In such a digital world, print can feel refreshing

• Ease of access/long-term enjoyment
• • Unlike online blogs and articles, a book is not a momentary read
  • You can fold down the page you’re on and go back at any point, while a website URL might more easily get lost in the shuffle.

We think there’s room at the table for everyone. Our biggest takeaways?

Digital content is immediate and able to make itself continually relevant. Books offer a wider breadth of information and are simpler to return to.

If you’d like to find out more about our digital content marketing, please take a look at the services we offer.

Alternatively, contact us at our Bristol-based office for a friendly chat.