Why Print Marketing Still Matters in a Digital World

Before digital and broadcast marketing, businesses reached customers mostly through print, one of the oldest forms of marketing. The first American print ad appeared in a newspaper in 1704 and from then on print marketing continued to survive after the introduction of technological advancements such as broadcast marketing (TV and radio). However, as digital marketing became the prominent strategy, print, TV, and radio ads lessened. Nevertheless, print marketing survived technology advances time and time again, changing over time to suit current business models.

With mobile devices and social media, digital marketing stands at the forefront of many marketing strategies as the best way to reach audience members easily and efficiently. While this is partly true, print marketing still maintains its uses and should be implemented as part of a robust marketing strategy. With that in mind, we’ll be covering some of the benefits of print marketing along with how to implement print marketing into a strategy.

Benefits of Print Marketing

With the ease and instant access to an audience that digital marketing provides, it's easy to forget the many benefits print marketing offers. However, there is a multitude of reasons why print marketing deserves its spot as part of any marketing strategy. In this blog, we cover four reasons why print marketing matters in today’s world.

Consumers Trust Print Ads

According to a survey conducted by The International News Media Association, 82% of Internet users trusted print ads over other types of ads, specifically digital. That same survey discovered that 61% trusted search ads while only 25% trusted pop-up ads. 

Finances Online concludes that 80% of consumers act on print marketing compared to 45% of consumers acting on digital marketing, while 9% of consumers respond to print marketing compared to 1% of consumers responding to digital marketing. 

Why are printed ads trusted over digital ads?

Part of the answer lies in the volume of scams increasing in the digital age. Consumers trust digital marketing less because of the higher chance of scams. This concern is a big reason why print marketing remains vital to businesses today. Consumers are more likely to associate your brand with a positive reputation thanks to print marketing and are more likely to respond to an advertisement from a brand they trust.

Reach a More Focused Audience

Even though smartphones are ubiquitous, a large percentage of consumers prefer to make purchasing decisions offline. Knowing which members of an audience wish to receive marketing materials through print rather than digitally is valuable information. It allows businesses to send out targeted ads through print knowing it will reach consumers and increase conversions.

By sending out targeted printed ads to consumers who do prefer to receive marketing materials in print, businesses stay one step ahead of their competitors by reaching an audience that their competitors may not be reaching.

Print marketing also offers the ability for businesses to collaborate with other businesses to showcase their print advertising. For example, a company offering wellness services may benefit from having its brochures displayed at a gym or a spa. This allows companies to reach new audience members and extend their audience even more.

Increase Brand Awareness

With how much content consumers view on their phones, they often experience digital overload. They scroll past ads on social media and skip ads on YouTube videos. Some choose to unplug for hours or days at a time. However, print marketing continues to capture consumers’ attention. Without the glow of a screen, print marketing can be pleasant to look at and be easier to read without causing headaches or eye strain. 

According to Neuromarketing, consumers spend more time looking at a printed ad or brochure rather than scrolling past an online ad on social media. If the printed ad looks nice, feels nice, or even smells nice, the ad leaves an impression on the consumer. This tangible experience helps make brands more memorable. 

Print Marketing Stays in Front for Longer

A major benefit of print marketing is that print doesn't get pushed into a spam folder or a promotions tab. No matter how wonderful an email campaign looks, if it ends up in a consumer's spam folder then it didn’t do its job. In contrast, print marketing ends up right in the consumers’ hands.

Unlike digital marketing where consumers often scroll past ads, print marketing offers a tangible item consumers can keep. Some may put flyers on their fridges to remember a sale or lay a catalog on a table to peruse later. With digital marketing, if the tab is closed or the page has to be reloaded, a new ad often replaces ads shown previously, and the potential customer is lost. This makes print marketing more unique because consumers who choose to keep that information are reminded of the brand frequently. Also, if the consumer doesn’t use the printed ad sent to them, they may give it to a friend thereby increasing brand awareness. 

Implementing Print into Marketing Strategy

Print marketing doesn't replace digital marketing and digital marketing doesn’t replace print marketing. A wholesome marketing strategy includes both print and digital to ensure a wide audience reach, a positive brand reputation among audience members, and increased brand awareness. For companies who wish to implement both, business solutions such as Exela’s XME provide seamless ways to integrate print and digital into any marketing strategy. 

XME provides a convenient and cost-effective approach to print and mail management with the innovative flexibility of merged physical and electronic communication delivery. XME is an all-in-one marketing solution that offers cross-media marketing campaigns and AI-powered predictive modeling and analytics. With the right analytics, companies understand which audience members benefit most from receiving print ads vs digital ads and where their marketing efforts need to be focused.

Print marketing never died as some may say. Print marketing is alive and well, lasting through every technological advancement that time brought. A powerful tool for any business to implement, print marketing stands the test of time and still wins over consumers in a digital age.