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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