Print marketing is any form of advertising that uses physically printed media to reach consumers. Print continues to be effective despite the increasing popularity of digital marketing. In fact, a recent survey by Two Sides, an independent, nonprofit organization, showed that 53 – 68% of Americans prefer print media. So why has spending on print marketing declined in recent years? One could assume this means that print is dead. Nothing could be further than the truth! Print remains an important and integral part of an effective marketing strategy. As technology evolves, your marketing strategy must too. Keeping this in mind, businesses are making the most of their budget by using targeted solutions. This change in approach allows companies to engage their target audience in an ironically novel and more dynamic way.

Types of Print Marketing

At Portside Marketing we take a multi-faceted approach to building your brand. We help drive consumer engagement through the targeted use of multiple print types. Printed media can take many forms and what type you choose will depend on who you are trying to reach. Forms of print media include:
  • Business Cards
  • Postcards
  • Brochures
  • Flyers
  • Banners and Posters

Business Cards

As with anything else in life, first impressions are important. This is especially true when making face-to-face contact with potential clients. You want your first meeting with a prospective client to be memorable, but for the right reasons. Being remembered for scrambling to find a pen and paper to write out your contact info is less than ideal. A professional business card helps start things off on the right foot.
Business cards are also highly portable. Meaning, people are more likely to slip it in a purse or pocket, instead of throwing it away or leaving it behind. Whether they hold on to it, or pass it off to someone else, your business card will tell them a lot about your company. It should include your logo, slogan, contact info, website, and any applicable social media links. In this way, your business card helps to build your brand through repeat exposure. Repeat exposure. Repeated exposure helps ensure they know how to contact you when the client is ready to commit.

Postcards

Postcards are an important form of direct mail print marketing. They are also a great addition to a dynamic marketing campaign. Businesses get the most benefit out of including postcards by engaging a smaller target audience. With direct mail If you have been in marketing for any length of time, you likely have heard about the Rule of 7. This is a marketing rule that states a consumer must ‘hear’ your message at least 7 times before they take action. Direct mail drives this engagement through repeat exposure and a call to action. With digital marketing this translates to many emails or multiple visits to a particular website. With digital marketing alone it can take longer to hit that crucial 7 exposures. However, with a postcard, a consumer can reach 7 exposures just seeing your ad sitting on their kitchen counter.
Postcards also help to build your brand with a call to action. This might take the form of a QR code to drive traffic to your website or social media pages. Or it might be the offer of a discount or online exclusives.

Brochures

A well designed brochure is another important part of building your brand. Brochures are an eye catching way to introduce your company and services. When done right, your brochure should market the company for you. They are a great way to highlight all your company’s best qualities in an easy to consume format. Your potential client can take it away and read about your company and services at their convenience. This makes them ideal for trade shows, direct mail, and local distribution strategies.
But how? Think for a moment about the last time someone handed you a brochure. What did you do with it? Whether the product interested you or not, you opened it. You glanced over the bullet points. And whether you meant to or not, you carried it around for a while. With the Rule of 7, the more times you can put your name, logo, and slogan in front of the consumer, the more likely they are to buy from you.

Flyers

One of the most cost effective forms of print marketing is the flyer. Businesses use flyers in in-person distribution, in-store distribution, and direct mail marketing. Like brochures and postcards, flyers use clear and concise info about your company to drive engagement. You will want to tailor the content to your target audience. If you market to other businesses include what services you offer and how you’ll add value to their company. Be sure to include how they can contact you and how to purchase your services. If your business is consumer facing, you might use flyers to advertise a special event or sale. In this case, flyers should include the date, time, and location. Flyers can also serve as a gauge of how effective your print marketing campaign is. Including a QR or promo code will show how much of your sales or web traffic was a direct result of print marketing.

Banners and Posters

Banners and posters are another great, cost effective way to drive engagement through visual impact. A well designed banner or poster will catch the consumer’s eye and generate interest in your product or service. They also are a great way to target a large audience over a greater period time than with other print materials. Business cards, brochures, and flyers are easily discarded and can result in single points of contact. As where a poster might stay up for days, weeks, even months before its taken down or covered up. This type of exposure works in an almost subliminal way, driving engagement whether the consumer realizes it or not. Flyers can feature promotions, sales, a grand re-opening, or communicate your company values. However you choose to use them, posters and banners can add great value to a print marketing campaign.
At Portside Marketing, we use a targeted approach to build your brand with print marketing. We fuse the best of print marketing with the latest in marketing strategy to ensure you reach your target audience. We pride ourselves on offering exceptional, full online printing services at affordable prices. And, we offer printing services whether we develop the copy for you or not.

Call Portside Marketing at (972) 979-9316 for more information about how you can build your brand with print marketing.