Why Print Advertising is Still Important in the Digital Age

The rise of technology has undoubtedly transformed the world of advertising. With so many digital avenues out there, there are now endless ways for brands to tell their stories. But with this digital shift, can we say that print advertising is dead? Surprisingly, the answer to this is no. With the right strategy, a combination of print and digital advertisement can be the most effective marketing campaign.

Here are some reasons that will convince you of the unbeatable power of print.

People Recall Print Better

Print mediums foster a more emotional connection with prospective customers. According to a study, paper-based marketing activates significant parts of the brain more than its digital counterpart. Print media can convey vivid images with tactile stimuli, making it crucial for brand associations and recollection. It allows you to highlight visual attributes such as font, colors, texture, and images.

Moreover, people spend more time reading print copies of newspapers and magazines than when reading them online. It accounts for the lesser distraction print media gives than online, where you can switch through websites at once. There are also technical issues online such as a slow loading time that can make people abandon reading advertisements.

Thus, it’s likely for people not to finish reading an advertisement online that they would normally spend time focusing on in print.

As a result, we place a higher value on products and services we’ve seen in print in our subconscious. This then ultimately leads to more effective customer conversion. Thus, we can conclude that print offers more significant buying decisions for consumers than digital advertisements.

Boosts Demographic Targeting

Do you have a specific customer base that you want to target? One of the most effective ways to reach out to your target audience is through print ads. You can do this by placing print ads in publications often bought by the demographics you’re targeting. Or, you can also do so by strategically placing poster advertisements in places they frequent.

For example, if you’re offering fitness products for women, you can place advertisements in women’s fitness magazines. Another example is if you’re offering tutorial services, you can distribute posters near schools to reach students.

This strategy helps you narrow down and target prospective customers specifically instead of random email and post blasts. Thus, you can boost the number of potential touchpoints your prospects have with your brand.

Print Builds Trust

Many consumers are wary and skeptical of fake advertisements and misleading marketing campaigns online. Because of this questionable reputation, many people lean towards print advertisements as a more trustworthy marketing information source than digital.

Print advertising has a straightforward method of promoting products and services. They don’t incorporate questionable pop-up screens that often happen with digital advertising. Thus, print has a more credible reputation that establishes trust among prospective customers.

In fact, according to the Direct Marketing Association, 79% of consumers act on direct mail more promptly. This percentage is far from the 45% of consumers who do the same with electronic mail.

It Bridges the Gap Between the Online and Offline World

As surprising as it may be, there are people who don’t use the Internet and are detached from technology. It seems impossible in this day and age, but it still holds for many, especially older people. While these people do not have a digital footprint, they are still consumers that you need to reach out to. Otherwise, you could be missing out on a great number of potential customers.

For instance, local newspaper advertising remains a powerful advertising strategy today. In fact, according to the Newspaper Association of America, newspaper advertising is the leading medium in making purchase decisions among consumers.

Use the Lesser Competition in Print Advertising to Your Advantage

Many businesses today rely solely on the Internet and digital media for their advertising needs. Thus, you can use the lesser competition in print publications to your advantage. When done correctly, it will help your product or service make a greater impact on your prospects than competitors. It will allow your ad to shine, and you’ll even pay less for the ad space.

Print Complements Digital Advertising

Additional advertising never hurts. The reasons stated above do not mean that you should completely abandon digital advertising. We all know the advantages and benefits of using digital advertising today, including accessibility, customization, targeting, etc.

But the thing is, entrepreneurs must learn how to take advantage of the unique properties of both print and digital. It’s not advisable to choose one over the other since they complement each other and make the other one more effective if done correctly. To illustrate this, it’s crucial to determine the unique strengths of the two forms of advertising.

Here are the different strengths of print advertising:

• Maximizes sensory appeal
• More effective in comprehensive information
• Can help relay information to people who aren’t digitally savvy
• Lesser competition

Here are the different strengths of digital advertising:

• Designed to avoid information overload to consumers
• It costs less and offers flexibility on the platforms to advertise on
• More advanced features on targeting customers

Implementing both print and digital advertising can help strengthen your marketing campaigns and make them more resilient. In many cases, learning how to complement the two can help you generate higher customer conversion rates.

Ways to Integrate Print and Digital Advertising

There are many various types of print advertisements you can experiment with. So the notion that print is a static medium is a myth. Especially today, you can integrate technology into your print advertisements.

To help you get started, here are two ways to integrate your print and digital advertisement:

1. QR Codes. One of the easiest and most effective ways to lead people to your website is through QR codes. You can integrate it into your local newspaper advertising or posters to help people learn more about your offer.
2. Social Media. For this, you can put your social media icons along with the tags in your printed materials to boost brand awareness. To complement this, it’s important to post engaging content on your online platforms regularly.

Print as a Medium Isn’t Dead

As you’ve seen, there are various reasons why print is still effective in the digital age. There are endless ways that print can work synergistically with other advertising strategies. The key is to be creative and really get in touch with your target audience. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll start seeing more valuable results for your brand.