6 Print Marketing Ideas to Promote Your Small Business
Posted: July 1st, 2019 | Author: admin | Filed under: Articles | No Comments »
Nowadays, when digital marketing is a must, you shouldn’t neglect the power and effectiveness of more traditional marketing tactics.
Print marketing is one of them, and it’s still highly relevant.
If you’re wondering how this kind of promotion can help you grow your business, it’s worth mentioning that 56% of customers believe that print marketing is the most trustworthy type of marketing.
While online ads and email marketing are great strategies which will definitely help you stay on your prospects’ radar, print marketing has another quality which will improve your brand awareness and make it more memorable in the eyes of your audience – it’s tangible.
Unlike online promotional materials which are in a way ephemeral and available only on mobile and computer screens, print media items stick around homes and offices for days or even months, thus having a longer impact.
Here are a couple of print marketing ideas that you can leverage.
1. Business Cards
Despite the fact that people have their smartphones with them at all times, and that they can easily memorize phone numbers or start following businesses on social media, business cards will never go out of fashion.
They’re excellent for traditional, person-to-person networking.
You can hand them out at expos, trade shows, meetups, or any other industry event you attend. You can also leave them on the counter in your store or give a bunch to your friends and family so that they can promote your business within their networks.
Business cards help you establish both a mental and visual link with your prospects. Given that these wallet-sized pieces of paper give you a chance to make a great first impression, it’s crucial to make sure to opt for a quality, visually appealing design which will present your business in the best possible light.
Remember that 72% of people will judge your company based on the quality of your business cards.
2. Postcards
Postcards are a pretty convenient medium for conveying your promotional message. They can be read without opening and turning pages, so that you can be almost absolutely sure that your prospects will at least have a glance at them even if they decide to throw them away.
Again, aesthetics play an important role, which means your postcards have to be eye-catching and printed on high-quality materials if you want them to stand out from all the other direct mail your prospects receive.
You can score additional brownie points if you decide to send birthday and holiday postcards to your customers, as this practice is a great way to build an emotional bond with them.
3. Branded Merchandise
People love freebies especially if they’re functional and attractive.
That’s what makes pens, thumb drives, phone chargers, or tote bags with your logo on them great for marketing purposes. Your customers will be happy to use them every day, which means your brand becomes a part of their daily routine.
This is a great example of subtle and nonintrusive brand repetition – your customers promote your brand simply by using the pen you gave them, and by circulating around this small item reaches a lot of people and spreads brand awareness.
Similarly, you can use digital printing to customize your branded T-shirts and turn your customers into your walking advertisements.
4. Flags, Signs, and Banners
All brick-and-mortar stores need proper signage.
This means that your business will greatly benefit from custom flags, signs, and banners that you can put both in your store as well as in front of it.
It’s equally important to take advantage of these promotional materials to distinguish your company from your competitors at different trade fairs.
As these events tend to be crowded, it can be hard to stand out.
Printed banners are an essential element of any successful trade show marketing strategy, which is why you need to include them in your trade show kit.
A well-designed display will turn heads and attract visitors to your booth as well as reflect the identity of your brand.
5. Stickers
Although seemingly obsolete, this old school marketing tactic has great potential for promoting your small business.
If you look around, you’ll actually see a lot of stickers on car bumpers, laptops, windows, phones, and any other place you can think of.
Politicians have been using them for decades to promote themselves and attract supporters.
Popular brands, such as Apple, give away branded stickers with every item they sell.
The best part is that this tactic is very affordable, cost-effective, and sticky – these promotional items generate long-term brand exposure.
Besides, you can use stickers as part of a guerrilla marketing campaign and place them on signs, poles, bus stops, and other public spaces – this is a strategy that helped Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder, promote the social news aggregation website on a budget.
According to him, the company only spent $500 on marketing, and a big portion of that money was used on stickers.
6. Catalogs
You probably wonder why we are suggesting physical catalogs in the age of Amazon and digital promotions.
Just like business cards, these colorful booklets are still here and they won’t go away soon, because they deliver a unique, rich, and most importantly, tactile customer experience. There’s something irresistible about flipping through glossy, crisp pages of the latest product catalog from your favorite store.
For example, IKEA is still big on the idea of print catalogs – more than 210 million copies are delivered to their prospects in 44 different countries. And this strategy apparently works, as the Swedish furniture giant invests in this strategy despite the fact that the online version is available too.
To make the most of your investment in this strategy, combine it with customer data and target customers who are likely to spend more. Another reason for the persistent success of catalogs is that they offer a more intimate customer experience.
These traditional print marketing ideas can help you cut through the noise more easily and outperform your competitors who rely mainly on digital strategies. By combining online and physical marketing, you can expand your reach and make sure that your message is properly conveyed and heard by every segment of your audience. Michael Deane is one of the editors of Qeedle, a small business magazine. When not blogging (or working), he can usually be spotted on the track, doing his laps, or with his nose deep in the latest John Grisham.
