It has been predicted at various times in the past about the ‘Death of Print Media.’ The first question that comes to our mind -Is Print Really Dying?
Enough research can be cited to argue that print media is still alive. Before we go into the brief, lets first discuss What is Print Media? And why Print Media Adverting is still important?
What is Print Media?
Print Media is a means of mass communication in the form of printed publications. It comprises of magazines, newspapers, books, circulars, journals, pamphlets, and periodicals. Print Media is an incredibly important part of the marketing mix and can help businesses to engage their target audiences and extend their reach to potential customers by investing in it.
What is Print Media Advertising?
Print Media Advertising is a form of advertising that uses physically printed media such as newspapers and magazines to grab the specific target audience’s attention and reach potential customers.It’s still an effective way for marketers to stand out from their competitors and attract target audiences.According to Marketing Profs, consumers trust print advertisements 34% more than they trust search engine ads while making a purchase decision.
With more companies focusing on digital marketing than ever before, it’s easy for your target market to become saturated with online advertisements, but the print isn’t dead. Different types of print media advertising can showcase your business in the best light reaching your prospects.
Newspaper
Newspapers are the most popular form of print media to explorer your brand. You can choose from a wide range of different types of newspapers, including national, regional, or local titles published weekly, daily, or Sunday editions, to cater to different target audiences.
Newspapers target different readerships with a mix of content, including current events, entertainment, business, sports, fashion, politics, etc. Advertisers can place different types of ads in newspapers from classified ads, public notes, to Types of ads placed in newspapers, including display ads, classified ads, public notes, and preprinted inserts with the flexibility in advertising space size.
Magazines
Advertisers can use magazines to target specific market segments. It offers extensive readership choices with a mix of content, including food, sport, hobbies, fashion, health, and current affairs. Many magazines provide coverage of specific industries that are published weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. Audiences can be reached by placing eye-catching, simple, and elegant ads in magazines with well-defined geographic, demographic, or lifestyle focus but costs a bit more.
Brochures
Print media like brochures are a great source to showcase your product offering to new customers and clients. It is a fantastic way to offer people detailed information regarding your services and products and encourage them to read or interact with the material almost immediately. If not read immediately, the information will still be available to use later for reading. Brochures generally consist of two or three folds of colorful glossy sheets that are more likely to create a lasting impression in the customer’s mind.
Business Cards
These little cards can go a long way to communicate and promote your company’s brand. Having a pocket-sized card that showcases your logo, business name, and contact details is more likely to stick in somebody’s head, and there’s more chance to get passed to some else.
Billboards and Posters
Advertisers can use posters and billboards advertising to reach consumers on the move. Posters or billboards in buses, stations, airports, malls, popular locations of the city can help reach large groups of consumers as they’re walking, shopping, or driving.About 71% of consumers look at the messages on roadside billboards, which is very beneficial to sales conversion.
Banners
Banners are an effective print marketing tool to advertise new offers and deals of your business. Banners are light-weight and flexible and can be used repetitively at various public events and meetings, reaching a wider audience.
Although digital marketing has exploded quickly, print media advertising is still innovative in today’s digital age. According to Forbes Magazine, print media offer a brand experience that can’t be recreated online.Advertisers who make print media advertising a part of their marketing mix can significantly increase their response rates. Here are some reasons why print media advertising is still an important part of your marketing efforts.
1. Credibility –
We have probably heard the saying, “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet”, there is something about print that gives a sense of legitimacy. Print publications offer reliable content that develops credibility and advertisers can easily leverage this credibility. As an advertiser, you can have the best of both worlds by combining the credibility of print with the wide reach of digital in your next campaign, which makes generating leads and sales much easier.
2.Tangibility–
Publications, posters, brochures, and other types of printed materials can stay in circulation over a longer period. Magazines and newspapers can stay in offices or homes for months or even years while internet ads come and go quickly. Banner ad across the top of the page is gone forever once you refresh the page. Print media advertising holds tangible beauty about them.
3.More Engaging–
Printed materials create more engagement between the customer and the brand, unlike websites, which are often skimmed in as little as a 15-second visit. The Nielson Global Trust reported that 65% of print readers typically take some form of action after viewing a newspaper ad. Studies even show that 80% of people never clicked on a banner ad.Think about it: how frequently have you picked up a brochure or browse through a magazine while holding up in line at a store? Most likely a lot more times than you’ve liked an online ad.
4.Target Marketing–
Print media can direct your advertisements to a specific audience much easier, whether it be a niche market or the general public. By leveraging the data of demographics, you can strategically place your brand in the right place at the right time, make the material relevant and appealing in front of the right audience that is most likely to buy your product.
5.Branding–
Print ads are excellent for solidifying your brand identity. Studies show that over 55% of all consumers trust print marketing more than any other advertising. This makes it essential that your ads must have a consistent aesthetic in terms of colors, fonts, texture and images to establish brand recognition.
6.Higher ROI–
Print media advertising has a higher return on investments than any other form of marketing media. Print publications have a longer shelf life as people keep them in their homes, offices, or you can see them in public spaces and will be seen by more people.
7.Reach Multiple Generations–
People think that younger generations aren’t interested in print advertising as they are so addicted to technology in this digital age. But studies show that younger people are reading print almost as much as older ones. According to Folio, even though they’re obsessed with their screens, they will still read magazines for about an hour every week.
8.Millennials love it –
Despite being a digital generation, studies have shown that 50% of millennials pay attention to print ads. Millennials love their digital information, but they are one of the largest proponents of print. 89% of millennials said they “consume print for educational and professional content,” so a company targeting millennials will separate themselves with print advertising.
9.Less Print, Is More For You–
Online ads have more competition, with more companies relying solely on the internet for their advertising needs. With more and more businesses taking their marketing efforts online, the publications are less crowded, allowing more room for your ad to shine and possibly less expensive for that promotional space.
10. It Can Link To Digital Campaigns–
If marketers want to be unique in this competitive environment, they can optimize their marketing campaigns linking paper to online content.Digital and print media advertising can help you get bang on results as studies show that sales can increase by up to 10%. Placing QR codes on printed paper or referral to a website for more information or to make an online order are some of the excellent ways to bridge the gap between print and web.
In this digital world, it becomes necessary to use online platforms when it comes to advertising for your company, organization, or business to reach your target audience, but it isn’t the only one. The best way to market your business is to utilize as many channels as possible but finding the right balance between various media is important. Print media advertising has its benefits and there still exist those who revel in the glory of the printed page and it’s important to reach them. Print Is Not Dead as people still exchange business cards, brochures are still used for promotion, flyers are still being distributed, signages are still being used in retail stores to improve the customers shopping experience.