Does Print Marketing still work? The short answer is “yes”. The long answer is that it works when you leverage it correctly with other marketing channels. Print marketing is not enough to replace the need for digital marketing channels, but it’s a great way to work symbiotically with it. The types of print marketing that will be effective and profitable will vary by industry and should be strategized wisely. Print marketing includes newspapers, magazines, books, brochures, posters, flyers, directories, direct mailers, postcards, billboards, signs, etc.
Here, we are going to briefly outline the most common benefits that print marketing provide:
Engagement
Think of what possibilities print marketing can still do that digital marketing cannot. If you’re going to leverage printed materials, chose strategies that give you something different than what you can get from your other marketing channels. Print advertising can engage the senses. There’s a smell, a feel. It fills a tangible need that many consumers still have. If you are in an industry where you chose to include an image of yourself or an important member of the business in your ad, this creates trust. Having your consumers see this regularly makes a single personality as the household name as your brand. That association is very valuable as trust leads to loyalty and more long-term spending.
Branding
If you’ve strategized your branding correctly, your logo and designs will look great in print media, not just your website. When consumers see this branding consistency, gives you more credibility. Branding is everywhere, or at least it should be. If you’re looking to expose your brand to a specific, or new, audience, using print marketing (correctly) can achieve that with great results.
How consistent is your brand?
Although most people use the internet, don’t underestimate the power that print marketing still holds for branding. Keep it consistent, keep it creative, and keep it cohesive. If you remove the symbiosis that should exist between the two, you lose the power of print.
Sales
Though it’s becoming more of a rarity, many companies out there still offer print catalogs for ordering items. Not everyone is willing to use an e-commerce platform. The day is coming when there will be no printed goods at any time, but that day isn’t coming anytime soon. Depending on your target audience, you may want to leverage product catalogs. Don’t panic if you have a lot of items, your catalog doesn’t need to be the size of the Sears Wish Book. Just enough to promote your highest margin items and draw people to your website, or your sales team.
Call to Action
No print marketing is complete without a call to action. The reason print is still relevant is that there are many consumers within generations that prefer print. There’s still a lot of people without social media. Your target audience may not be the type to search you on the internet first, if at all. Always have a strong message to drive consumers to want to purchase, learn more, or further engage. For some businesses, it may be a paper coupon or a free offer. Others it may be a printed testimonial or a phone number.
Always create a CTA to engage your audience. Consider promoting your brand digitally as a CTA.
I like to use a CTA that promotes social media use. Like creating an incentive to “like”, share, rate, hashtag, etc. Carefully consider your target audience and strategize your print marketing accordingly.
Thanks for reading!