In this technological age where the majority of people are digitally connected through email, social media, websites, and other electronic material, the online advertising options seem plentiful and far-reaching.
So, why does print advertising still have an advantage for your marketing strategy?
If you’ve been around the marketing scene long enough, you’ve probably read or heard mention of the decline of print media. There are solid stats that back up the fact that popular magazines and newspapers of the past are no longer in business or are struggling to gain readership. But that doesn’t reflect all magazines. Considering the retail magazine sections are packed, I guess we can assume that magazine readership is alive and well.
Where we get our information from may have largely expanded to the digital world over the last couple of decades, but consumer interest in engaging with physical content is far from dead!
Here are a few quick points that uncover the advantages of print advertising:
Print ads leverage your credibility.
Trusted print media that consistently offers readers high-quality, reliable content develops credibility. When your brand appears in one of these respected print publications, the mindset of the engaged reader associates the same positive feelings of the magazine with that of the brands that appear in it. This is known as the “halo effect,” which means, even though the reader may not know your brand at all, you are regarded as trustworthy, which makes generating leads and sales much easier.
This is why we are careful to choose advertisers who will maintain and protect our trusted magazine reputation. Our clients value this print advertising advantage.
More consumers trust print ads more than any other type of advertising.
A survey done in 2016 of 1,200 Americans showed that people trust print ads the most. 82% of those surveyed chose Print Ads (Newspapers and Magazines) as advertising they trusted. The first mention of any type of digital advertising came at 62% with Search Engine Ads.
Readers engage differently with print media.
One of the biggest advantages of print ads is that people subscribe or buy magazines based on their interests. And they also want to see the ads that relate to the niche content of the magazine. People read magazines about topics they want to explore more (like home education!). The ads are part of that experience, rather than an interruption like they can sometimes seem in the digital environment where there are various things competing for attention.
People also recall print ads better than they do digital ads because there aren’t so many distractions taking their attention. As Media Space Solutions states,
“While digital content is scanned quickly, paper-based reading is slower and more deliberate, leading to greater rates of comprehension and recall. For advertisers, this means that traditional print media ads are more likely to make a lasting impression and, thus, lead to more sales.”
Print ads live on well past the publication date.
In quality magazines, the print ads last until the content they are published with no longer has value. Many magazine publishers, including The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, are intentional about the topics and themes presented in their issues so that every issue has evergreen content that can be enjoyed years after it was first published.
There are even more benefits of print advertising that may be relevant to your business, but the overall goal of your marketing strategy should be to gain exposure for your brand through all the avenues that appeal to your market—print and digital.
The timeless beauty of print is that you are creating a lasting impression by placing your brand in readers’ hands and engaging with your potential customers in meaningful ways.
