Friday, February 10, 2017

Why Printed Promotional Items Are Still More Effective Than Digital Marketing


Our modern culture seems to have us brainwashed into believing that digital advertising is the only realistic and successful form of marketing these days. An idea has spread that any other form of advertising is simply wasteful, and that anyone who is not spending most of their marketing budget on the internet will be left in the dust. It is no surprise that most of these ideas have been pushed onto us by-- guess who-- online marketers. They would have us believe that the internet was God’s gift to small business, and we should all line up to throw our advertising dollars at them.

While digital marketing certainly has its benefits, it is far from being the end all and be all for small business advertising. In fact, for many types of businesses, particularly small local businesses, there are many other areas of advertising where their marketing money could be better spent. One advertising vehicle that seems to be constantly overlooked in its importance and efficiency is the printed promotional product.  Many people think of printed promotional items as only being business cards or flyers on windshields, but the most effective marketers can get much more creative than that. This level of creativity combined with the personal touch of a gift normally shows huge returns on the small investment normally required. In fact, a recent survey showed that 52 percent of people who received free promotional gifts from a business had a more positive impression of the company afterwards, and 50 percent said they used those products daily. So, what are some of the benefits of printed promotional items that could make it a better option than internet advertising? There are more than you might think.

- Brand Recognition
One of the most important things a small business can do is get its name out there. Any successful company, big or small, knows the importance of brand recognition. While your company’s name and logo may be seen for a few seconds with a digital ad, it could be seen many times daily on a properly created promotional item.

- Targeted Advertising
Social media and other internet advertising is great for reaching a worldwide audience, but can present some problems for advertising locally. If you are a car dealership, lawyer, small local shop or any other company who would only need to advertise on the local level, your budget would be much better spent on printed items.

- Low Cost
Social media advertising is free, right? Well, not exactly. Anyone who has ever tried to run a social media marketing campaign knows that it can get very expensive very quickly. Printed promotional items are usually very low-cost and have the potential of yielding a very high return.

- Stick Out With Creative Items

Advertising is all about catching your target’s attention in a positive way. One of the best ways to do this is with a creative printed promotional item that could be specific and useful to your customers. If you own a bar, try printed bottle openers or beer coozies. If you have a computer repair shop, have your company’s name and logo printed onto USB flash drives for your customers.

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