It’s true; we live in an ever increasing digital age where distraction levels are high and attention spans are low.
If you own a business or have a service to promote, you’ll know how important it is to make the right decision about how best to advertise it. Something we hear a lot about is businesses choosing to advertise online via social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. These methods of promoting your business are attractive because they’re relatively easy to set up and you get lots of information back about the reach of an advert. But, are they really the best method? Have you really considered the alternatives?
When you look online, you’ll quickly become aware of the amount of visual information we are bombarded with every second of every day. On Facebook and Instagram we are encouraged to click here or there, watch this, like this and so on. There is so much information that we can quickly reach saturation point and stop paying attention to what’s being presented to us, simply because there’s too much of it. Adverts appearing online can very easily be overlooked, scrolled past and actively resented as an unwanted interruption.
Readers who are confronted with a print advert are less likely to be distracted because they are not being presented with vast quantities of information that is competing for their attention. The advert is stationary and confined to a particular location offering consistency of presence and message. A print advert means that you are able to convey information to your local target audience about your product or service directly through their letterbox instead of in amongst an ocean of online information. And remember, not everyone is online and far fewer have Facebook or Instagram accounts. That’s a lot of people to overlook!
In recent studies conducted in Canada*, adverts that appeared in print which advertised a particular brand were recalled 75% of the time, compared to just 44% recall when presented online. This shows that print adverts are more effective than online adverts, perhaps because the study also found that they require a lot less brain power to process; 20% less than digital in fact, meaning print ads are both more memorable and easier to comprehend. In a saturated marketplace, an easily understood and remembered advert is the holy grail.
A study conducted by Emarketer also found that 8 out of 10 internet users trust print ads more than digital ads when making purchase decisions. While an online advert may reach a lot of people it doesn’t necessarily follow that these people will enquire or buy. Those Facebook stats are instant and seductive, but not necessarily indicative of what’s going on and who is going to engage with or buy your product.
Naturally, when you think about advertising and promoting a business or service, it’s important that you get the design of the advert right. Neither digital advertising nor print advertising will be effective with a badly put together advert – it will simply be ignored. At Focus Magazines, we have over ten years of experience in advert design and professional graphic design, meaning we know who and how to target and what makes an engaging and effective advert. We can assist with your marketing campaign to make it as effective as possible, rather than leaving it to chance online.
Print advertising remains an extremely effective way of advertising a business and with a consistent monthly delivery of over 13,000 indvidual magazines to individual homes and businesses in the local area, Focus Magazines is a sound solution to your business’ advertising needs. With many years of experience and a well-established, well respected brand, you’re safe with us.
We’re waiting to talk to you about how we can best promote your business. Get in touch with us to chat more about what you need and how we can tailor a package for you. It’s easier and probably less expensive than you think!
Contact 01873 856 614 or email hello@thefocus.wales
*Ref Canada Post 2018
