small business marketing in kansas city Archives

How Can Traditional Print Media and Social Media Work Together in Advertising?

January 16, 2023 admin

Social media has increasingly become a go-to method for advertisers who want to reach their target audience. However, the ever-lasting presence of social media is not an excuse for traditional print marketing to fade away. The fact is that traditional print media has the ability to capitalize on social media trends and incorporate them into the advertising process. Social media can provide an opportunity for print ads to go viral through sharing and interaction. Print advertising, on the other hand, can engage consumers with a more personal connection, allowing them to reflect on their own personal experiences and offering handy tips for new customers on how to buy better products.

1. Fuse Online and Offline Media

The convergence of online and offline media, which are constantly being updated in real-time, allows businesses to take advantage of both formats. Print advertising in Kansas City, MO, can still offer consumers a more personal touch and encourage brand-building. By providing users with a new layer of interaction and allowing them to produce content, print media can increase awareness while also becoming competitive on price.

2. Helpful Tips for New Customers

Print ads should be able to demonstrate how valuable the information they are offering is to encourage their readers to interact with their ads. The overall goal is to engage and delight customers, giving them good feelings which will lead them to remember and purchase products in the future. Print media also provides a more affordable option for businesses, as it can act as a complementary tool without irritating customers or looking cheap.

3. The Personal Touch of Print Advertising

Print ads can offer a more personalized take on advertising. Email newsletters, which can be sent out digitally according to specific customer profiles, can still offer a more personal touch through traditional print media. Online ads can provide consumers different options for interacting with brands and products. Print can complement this by encouraging them to write down contact information or post online reviews. Print ads can also offer product details that may be unavailable online such as ingredients or nutritional facts.

4. Outlets of New Information

Online ads can provide up-to-date information that can be impossible to find out through other means, giving consumers a direct and constant stream of new product information. Print ads can provide this information just as easily, allowing them to stay familiar with a customer’s needs to suggest products that would work for them. This can be combined with traditional print media, such as direct mail, targeting specific customer groups.

5. Boost Social Engagement With Current Print Advertising

Many brands still use social media as a self-promotion tool. However, printed ads can let the world know about new products or opportunities and can be better equipped to reach their target audience. In addition, traditional print media can offer users the option to share their thoughts on either a product or an advertisement easily.

It might be difficult for traditional print media to compete with social media for advertising power. Still, that does not mean we should ignore the merits of print advertising. Traditional print media can take advantage of the opportunities for personal communication and self-expression that social networks provide.

6. Consumers Want to Pursue Unique Options

Consumers are becoming increasingly picky about the items they purchase. To find a reliable source for good quality products and services, consumers will often search for information independently and seek out companies and products that meet their needs. Social media is a way for consumers to get in touch with the advertisements they are interested in and engage with them on the web. Advertising in Kansas City, MO, that is able to provide a personal touch and show off the quality of its products is going to be more successful than advertising that merely relies on the old cliché of “you get what you pay for.”

7. Traditional Print Media Is Affordable and Still Necessary

Many brands have become accustomed to combining print media with online advertising to offer customers a more complete content platform. Traditional print media works as an alternative to online ads as it can provide information that is either hard or impossible to find on a digital screen. In addition, other businesses that do not currently advertise via social media can still take advantage of the benefits of traditional print media. For example, direct mail can target customers based on their current location and demographics.

8. Print Customers Want to Engage with Ads

Most print customers want to take advantage of traditional print media’s opportunity to research services and products on their own and then make informed purchasing decisions. Therefore, stores must offer a well-designed advertising option that can provide quality content for potential customers. Consumers are willing to pay attention when they are offered interesting content, which is often provided by print media advertising in Kansas City, MO.

9. Make People the Focus

Higher-quality print media can offer brands a unique opportunity to connect with their customers on a deeper level. In order to make the most of this opportunity, businesses need to create ads that show people at their best and allow them to express themselves through enjoying what they have come across or engaging with the products being offered. This provides a way for print media advertising campaigns to tell a personal and captivating story to capture an audience.

10. The Long-Term Value of Print Advertising

When consumers are engaged with a brand or product they like, they will most likely share their thoughts and desires with others via social media and other online outlets. Personal recommendations can potentially have a long-term impact on the success of an advertising campaign. Print media is able to provide customers with an assurance that the content they are reading has been verified by professionals, which makes it easier for their friends and family to trust what they are sharing.

Print Advertising in Kansas City, MO

Social media and print media can work together in advertising in a number of ways. They can provide new outlets for information, new personal touch opportunities, and a great chance to combine the two methods. Print ads can still offer something that is lacking in social media–heartfelt interaction with brands that encourage interaction among friends and family members. Advertising in Kansas City, MO, should utilize the strengths of each form of media to build on what is already working and to develop new ways to connect with customers.

Leverage social media in your print advertising even more by choosing Coffee News. Your ad will get posted to our social media in addition to our weekly print publication. Your ad will run for at least 26 consecutive weeks and reach your desired target market. It will not be overlooked by larger ads run by bigger spenders either since all of our ads are 3” x 2.” You are also able to make edits to your ad free of charge. Contact us for more info today!

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Spice Up Your Print Media Advertising With These 15 Marketing Ideas

October 17, 2022 admin

Print media advertising has always been around, but what can be done to make it more effective? Here are 15 creative and inexpensive ways for you to improve your print advertisement.

1.) Create a Buzz.

Create a buzz for your product or service by creating one clever, humorous, or thought-provoking headline and making it the focus of your print advertisement. Then, use the rest of the space to support this main message. A buzz creates interest and gets your readers to read each word on your print ad. It also uses all of the space provided in the newspaper.

2.) Use a Picture.

Pictures can draw attention away from all the white space in your print advertisement and are often very effective if used properly. The key is to use a picture that immediately draws attention to your product or service by strongly establishing it as a key feature of your advertisement. For example, a small figure or symbol can be used to emphasize the importance of your product or service and make it seem more important than other features of your ad campaign.

3.) Make it Original.

Don’t use the same words and phrases to attract the same audience or sell the same product to different people. If you want to communicate with a varied audience, try using words and terms that appeal to many different people. If you want to sell a particular product, create an ad that is designed around its main features, benefits, or appeal.

4.) Create a Call to Action.

The call to action is a very important part of any print advertisement. It can be in the form of a question, a statement, or an action. It is designed to motivate readers to take action or make an exchange. Think about it in these terms: “How can I get this product?” or “How can I save money” or “Where can I find this information?” — These are all common phrases in a call to action.

5.) Use Headlines That Work for You.

A clever headline and good use of words will help your advertisement stand out from others and make it memorable for readers. Good headline writing takes time; however, you must use words that convey a certain message to make it work. A good headline is usually crafted around three words.

6.) Use Graphics for More Impact and Impact in Less Space.

Graphic elements such as photos, charts, graphs, illustrations, and sketches can add impact to any print advertisement without taking up too much space. Graphics make your message more persuasive, and persuasive messages are more likely to get a reader’s attention and make them read each word on your ad.

7.) Have a Coverline.

The coverline is the second paragraph of your printed advertisement (the first paragraph is the name of your business, and everyone knows that by heart). The coverline sets expectations for your reader about what the rest of your print advertisement will be about. A great way to make this second paragraph more powerful is to use keywords from the headline.

8.) Use Graphics and Photos with Plain Text.

Graphics and photos can give your advertisement a pop of color, but you mustn’t use graphics and pictures to the detriment of good-quality text. Many people have a very strong visual memory, so if you use graphics, be sure that you include good-quality text to provide more basic information about your product or service.

9.) Write for Your Readers.

Powerful language is persuasive language for readers, and powerful words are persuasive words in print media advertising. From your research, it is important to understand what words and phrases your target audience uses to describe your product or service and what you should use.

10.) Add a Quote or Your Name.

Giving something extra to your print advertisement can make it more interesting and powerful. For example, a quote from a famous person, even someone who has nothing to do with your message, can help sell the product or idea with more impact than just using the word “We” in an ad. Your name on the print ad can also motivate readers to read what you have to say about your product or service.

11.) Use Powerful Words and Phrases.

The single word or phrase that is used in the headline, body copy, and even on your call-to-action button should be a “call to action.” A “call to action” is designed to encourage readers to take action or make an exchange. Good words and phrases can be powerful in print advertising. How can you use this technique? For example: Save Money – Buy Today! or Call Now (our number is…) or Sign Up Today!

12.) Use Multiple Presses

Include 2–3 different colors in your print advertisements so that they stand out and can be used to accentuate the main message in various ways. This also helps promote a memorable campaign. It also adds a great deal of impact to your print advertisement.

13.) Use an Attractive Cover Page

A bright-colored, thought-provoking, creative, and eye-catching cover page will help sell any product or service in a very short time. A good cover page also respects the readers’ time by providing them with the necessary information to make an informed purchase decision or take action.

Creating the cover page can take time, but it does not have to be a costly and time-consuming process.

14.) Use Numbers in Your Print Advertisement.

Most people use numbers to help summarize data. In print advertising, numbers can be used to summarize the benefits of your product or service. For example: “four (4) great reasons to save money today with our product or service”. Use numbers in your print advertising for more impact and make it memorable for readers.

15.) Use a Variety of Fonts.

Using two or more different fonts for your text on your print ad is important because there are so many different fonts available. In addition, choosing a font or font style that is in sync with the type of product or service you are offering can help give it a stronger image.

Stand Out Among the Crowd

Print media advertising is a highly effective tool that can help transform any business into a success. It is a very cost-effective way of advertising and reaching customers, which can, in turn, lead to increased sales. Print advertising is, therefore, an important tool for any business to use as it plays an important role in attracting customers and encouraging them to become loyal customers. Print media advertising has also been successful at creating new customers because it offers the opportunity for brand identification, builds trust and credibility with prospects, and reduces the risk of losing them by offering choices.

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10 Ways That Print Advertising Can Help You Reach a Broader Audience

June 27, 2022 admin

There are many ways that print advertising can help you reach a broader audience when advertising your small business. You can distribute a printed document in many different settings, such as your doctor’s office, at school, on the street, and inside businesses. The audience is usually targeted depending on where the advertisement is placed. Most notably, print ads have a more personal appeal than digital campaigns because they are not easily ignored on social media. Below are just some of the many ways that print technology can increase your reach.

1.) Know Your Audience

The first step to maximizing the effectiveness of your print advertising is to have a clear idea of who your target audience is. The demographics of your intended audience should be determined prior to choosing a print media. Knowing who you are advertising your small business to will help you determine a proper message and design that will effectively communicate with them.

2.) Keep It Short

In most print ads, the information has to be able to fit within a small space. You will want to make sure that you keep it short and simple so that you do not lose your audience’s attention. When coming up with content for your print ad, you want to be sure that your title is impactful and catchy so that it draws the attention of the reader. However, it should still give a clear message about what is being advertised.

3.) Be Original

When you are putting together your ad, you should place yourself in the audience’s shoes. You want to be sure that your message is personal and will resonate with them so that they take action. The message needs to be clear and exciting, so it will get across quickly. It can also be encouraging if it feels genuine. You also want to make sure that you are telling a story about the product or service rather than simply telling a list of benefits or features about the item.

4.) Include a Call to Action

Many businesses try to sell without showing any sort of call to action button or link. This is a way to get customers’ attention, but it can be off-putting for the customer if he does not understand what to do next. However, with print advertising, you can place a call to action in the ad that directs your audience more clearly on what they should do next. You can also include a QR code or link at the end of your ad to direct people directly to your website.

5.) Make Print Ads to Be Interactive

Print ads have been around for a very long time, so there are many ways that print technology has continued to adapt over the years. Print ads now have the ability to include interactive features. Interactive print ads mean that your ad will not only be appealing because of its design but will also include valuable information. For example, you can add a barcode or QR code that will direct your readers directly to a web page with more detailed information. This is a great tool to use and makes an ad much more appealing.

6.) Use Social Media

The old adage that says “people won’t respond to a direct mail letter unless it is hand-delivered” does not apply to today’s world. With digital advertising, there are various ways in which you can create a direct connection with your audience. Social media is a great place to start. Add your print ads through social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter because people are more likely to see them there. Also, you can use Facebook’s ad platform to manage and review your ads.

7.) Keep The Branding Consistent

When creating your print ads, you want to be sure that your branding is consistent. This will help keep your brand identity across media platforms. Consistency will give a level of professionalism to your ads and keep them from looking cheap or unprofessional. If you are aiming for a more fun, lighthearted feel, you can still use consistency in the font or colors of the ad to maintain your brand’s identity.

8.) Break The Pattern

You will want to make sure that your message is straight to the point. Be sure that your title, copy, and design are clear and concise, so people can easily understand what is being advertised. The phrases you use in your advertisement should also be simple and catchy. You can also include a call to action at the end of your ad to get people interested in making a purchase from you.

9.) Align With A Single Message

You will want to consider who your target audience is before you decide which type of ad to create. When you have a clear idea of your audience, you can determine what type of ad to use. You should stay true to the point and keep things simple so that your advertisement does not lose its momentum. You should also try to stick with a single message for your entire campaign so that it is consistent and focused. If a new design is released, then you do not want it distracting from the message you are trying to express.

10.) Use Augmented Reality

In recent years, augmented reality (AR) has become more common in print ads. The AR experience puts the ad into your daily environment so that you can see the product or service in your actual space. This adds a level of interactivity to the entire campaign and makes it much more fun and appealing to your audience. AR is becoming a great way to attract attention by introducing new technology that keeps people interested in what you have to offer.

Wrap Up

Print advertising can be a great method of advertising your small business, but it is important that you are using the most effective methods. Print ads are not as effective as they used to be due to the rise of digital media, so you have to consider how print and digital can reinforce each other in your campaigns. Your print ad should be straight to the point and engaging so that it gives both a lighthearted tone and a more professional feel.

Need help? Contact us here at Coffee News today and we would love to help you with your ad campaign!

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The 13 Most Beneficial Types of Print Advertising for Small Businesses

May 31, 2022 admin

Each type of print advertising can be a different kind of investment. A good advertisement that is well-designed, however, will give you more than just one return on your investment. It can make your business a lot more successful as well as help you gain exposure to new customers, who are likely to be interested in the product or service you offer.

Take, for instance, a print media advertising campaign. The main goal of newspaper and magazine advertisements is to build brand awareness and deliver a message in as short a time as possible. The key to online and print media advertising is, therefore, to create an ad that sticks out and is easily understood by your target audience, who are prospective customers.

Here are some of the best types of a print advertisement that you can consider having for your small business advertising:

1.) Stickers

These are great for identifying your vehicle or business premises. Using custom stickers can also be a great way to promote your brand and even give you an added advantage of extra visibility. Stickers are easily accessible, easy to use, and they can be custom-designed according to your requirements. A lot of businesses use stickers as a unique way to promote your brand and get noticed in the local community.

2.) Posters

An effective way to promote a product, service, or event, posters are one of the most popular types of print advertisement around. They can be put up on walls, in your shop, or even distributed on a large scale to target your audience directly. A well-designed poster can be displayed in public places, allowing you to increase your business visibility and further attract new customers.

3.) Leaflets & Brochures

Forming an essential part of your direct mail marketing campaign, brochures and leaflets are used by businesses everywhere to offer information about products or services and promote a brand. These publications are usually passed out at trade shows and other events where they can be distributed to prospective customers. Brochures and leaflets are also a great way to gather business leads, which can be further used for sales follow-up.

4.) Business Cards

These are small and cheap but very effective in building a relationship with your prospective customers. You can also write information about your business and call to action (CTA) in these cards. The additional space helps you make an impression when handing out these cards over the counter or at the store entrance. There are many things that you can do with your business cards, like getting them printed on recycled paper, adding other elements such as QR codes, etc.

5.) Letterheads

Another inexpensive way to promote your brand and get noticed in the market, a letterhead is an important part of your business’s identity. They are available in different sizes and can also be used to include information about your company’s services or products. With letterheads, you can also include promotional offers and discounts that are different from your other marketing campaigns. These are a great way to capture prospective clients on the go.

6.) Stamps

A stamp on a letter is a great way to attract attention as it has the potential to be seen by thousands of people at every given moment. Stamps can be used for small business advertising, which will help your business make an impact on your target market. The cost of using these advertisement vehicles might be quite high, but the returns are going to be equally good in the future.

7.) Electronic mailing lists

A lot of websites and businesses use this vehicle to send out information related to their service or products either on a regular basis or only when they have something important to announce. You can also market your business through email broadcasting. For example, you can ask your customers to sign up for your electronic mailing list, which can be used to send out information about new products and services offered by your business.

8.) Bookmarks

Bookmarks are a great way to do your small business advertising. They are inexpensive and can be custom-made according to your requirement. You should let the people know more about your business through these bookmarks that should include all the necessary information such as an address, email, phone number, etc. People will be more likely to contact you if they find your business details in the bookmark itself.

9.) Calendars

Calendars are one of the most common yet useful and effective forms of the campaign. A lot of businesses use this vehicle to promote their brand, products, or service. The cost is not that high, and they can be printed in large quantities, allowing you to distribute them on a large scale and get noticed in the business community.

10.) Postcards

This is another advertising vehicle that you can use for your business promotion. These are also a great way to build your brand in the business community. You can select a design for your postcards either on your behalf or go for custom printing after you make the requisitions. These cards can be used by individuals to make direct contact with your business or sent out through a mailing list.

11.) Slogans

Using slogans on billboards and posters in your office can get you noticed more easily as well as make a huge brand statement. Custom printed posters and banners can be used to not only let customers know about your business but also give them information about the products that you offer.

12.) Price Tags

Price tags are usually used by airlines and hotels to show the cost of the services offered, thereby providing additional information on the items that you have listed on your menu. Price tags can also be used by your business to let customers know about their prices and also about special offers and discounts.

13.) Business Coasters

A very effective way to promote a fresh product being offered at a new restaurant or café is by placing some coasters near the cash register or behind the bar. Although there’s no guarantee that you will sell the coasters, it’s a very smart way to let your customers know about your restaurant or café.

Conclusion

The list of print advertisements discussed above should give you a clear idea about which ones to use and which not. If you are having doubts about any of the vehicles, you can get in touch with us for advice. We would be happy to answer any questions you have or help you advertise your business.

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5 Small Business Advertising Trends to Amplify Your Reach

August 20, 2021 admin

The ideas that we’re going to discuss in this blog post have worked incredibly well for small business marketing in Kansas City. Most of these methods should be viable in helping your business grow.

However, with that being said, there is no magic bullet marketing strategy. In the end, it’s all about connecting your business’s value proposition to the correct customer base. The concept is simple but can take on many different forms.

To know which of these strategies will help you amplify your reach, you must have answers to the following questions:

What are the demographics of your target audience? Where do they live?
What places does your target audience like to congregate online?
What process does your target audience engage in to find products in your niche?
Who are the online authorities they follow when it comes to making purchasing decisions related to your product/niche?

These strategies are:

Facebook Marketing
Google My Business
Content Marketing
Social Media
Email Marketing

Let’s get started with the elephant in the room – Facebook marketing!

1. Facebook Marketing

There is a good reason why over 2 million+ small businesses are advertising on Facebook; it’s relatively cheap and effective at marketing to almost any audience on the planet.

Facebook ads work incredibly well at advanced targeting. For example, you can target users based on their interests, sex, age, behavior online, and of course, their location.

Making a Facebook ad is very simple. All you need is a good headline, some descriptive words, an image, and a hyperlink.

Facebook Ads Manager also makes it pretty easy to test several different ad sets, which lets you discover the winning formula for yourself and become profitable, with no advanced technical skills required.

2. Google My Business

Ranking a Google My Business (GMB) listing is incredibly impactful for any business.

And, if you have a local business serving local clients, GMB will probably work best for you.

In many cases, when someone searches for something on Google, they will find a paid ad, followed by a few GMB listings, and then followed by the organic search results. So, as you can see, being above the organic results while not being a paid ad (which many people have learned to avoid) has plenty of potential to pull in traffic. And the best part is you won’t have to spend any money on advertising.

But just what is a Google My Business profile? Simply put, it’s a platform/central hub that combines all of your Google accounts (Google+, Google Maps, Google Reviews, data from Google Analytics/Google Insights).

Also, if your brand name is unique, you should be able to have a large display for your name in the search results.

Thanks to all of the above, your business will automatically get more visibility and credibility. If you’re a local business, getting your GMB set up should be your #1 priority.

When it comes to ranking your GMB listing, it’s really not that difficult either. It starts with making sure that your profile is optimized, and then you gather reviews and make sure to post to your GMB profile at least once a week. This helps Google see that your business is relevant and regularly updated, similar to a website.

3. Content Marketing

Content marketing means making and distributing good content to capture and retain your target audience, with the follow-up goal of driving profitable actions. Good content is defined as these three things: relevant, consistent, and valuable.

Content marketing emphasizes long-term results in contrast to paid advertising, which focuses on the short term. This means that the short-term payoff of content marketing tends to be lower. Still, the long-term growth of customers, visitors, and leads can make a business successful.

However, content marketing isn’t an easy thing to do, and a lot goes into it besides having a creative mind for writing content:

valuable content
topic relevance
SEO
Optimized with the target audience in mind
Consistency in content publishing and promotion

Content doesn’t just mean writing some blog posts and calling it a day. No, it also means videos, online classes, podcasting, and plenty of other mediums where people like to consume content.

If you’re thinking about pursuing this strategy for your business, then be sure that you have the time and money needed to keep things going with no expectations of initial ROI. Then you must actually create quality content and get it out there. Unfortunately, there’s tons of bad content out there that ends up seeing little to no payoff in both the short and long term.

4. Social Media

For almost any business today, having a presence on social media is pretty much mandatory.

67% of consumers get customer support from social media. And furthermore, 33% of consumers prefer to contact customer support from social media instead of through the phone. These people will look for your business on their preferred social media websites. If they can’t find you, they’ll fall into the arms of your competitors.

The question isn’t whether or not your business should be on social media. Nowadays, the important question is what platforms should you focus on, and how much money and time should you be putting into them?

For example, you may want to spend a lot on organic social media growth, depending on your business.

However, for any business, it’s key to first discover where your customers like to hang out online. Then, you should know how they want to be approached. For example, does a pushy approach work, or is a more subtle approach required? Do they follow influencers, or like being a part of a community?

5. Email Marketing

Email marketing still works as a reliable way of getting leads, contact information and nurturing those leads over time. This is one of the best ways to sell products, hands down, which is why it’s among the best marketing channels for conversions.

Terms that you should be familiar with if you’re into email marketing are “marketing funnel” and “lead magnet.” The marketing funnel is your email marketing process. The lead magnet is a compelling offer that the visitor will receive in exchange for their email address. Some options for lead magnets are free trials, free downloads, website membership, coupons, webinar “seats,” and so much more.