Is Print Advertising Effective in Today's Day & Age?

In recent years, the slow fading away of print media has been visible for everyone. Its use is slowly dying out as technology continues to grow and new inventions coming up. Although print media is fighting hard to remain relevant, things don't seem to be going their way as technology brings reliability and convenience that would have never come from print media. The concept of print media being described as traditional media has become common, with their characteristics matching. So, why is print advertising considered traditional media? Traditional media is a traditional advertising channel whose use began decades ago. For many years, they have been relied on to pass communication, mainly from one traditional channel to another. They have made many traditional businesses very successful, and this saw print media grow into a billion-dollar business, and many players joined. The number of newspaper publishers had also skyrocketed in the 20th century in a bid to take advantage of the huge revenues flowing in. One of the main characteristics of print media is the huge budgets involved. The printing houses need to have enough budgets for ink, paper, and marketing to become successful.

Traditional Print Media vs Online Marketing

Over the years, print media's relevance as a traditional media has been on a free fall. The number of people who read printed materials isn't as many as before, and the number of firms that rely on print for advertising has also begun to shift strategy. Print media is, however, trying as hard as possible to maintain a grip on the market, although it continues to slip every passing day. One of the main reasons for the decline of print media and advertising is the rise of digital media. This is a form of media that mainly relies on internet-based advertising. It relies on banner ads, applications, and social media platforms. The convenience and performance of digital advertising has seen it grow at a faster rate into one of the most reliable ways a business can use to achieve the best results. They can be centered to target a specific age group or region, making the business achieve better results than traditional media. This efficiency has led to a slow decline in print.

However, some businesses have stuck with print advertising as they consider it more effective for their target audiences. This is especially for businesses located in places where the print media is made specifically for the region’s people. It delivers a more centered advertising approach that can work very well. This shows there are market segments where print advertising is considered more effective, and the continued use confirms it is actually better. One of the best examples is the automotive industry. Say you intend to sell your car and have to choose between using print and digital advertising. Many people in this situation will go with print advertising. Over the years, people have associated print advertising and the entire media with authenticity. Using print media will give a general impression that the item advertised is legitimate and will attract genuine buyers. This is one reason print media has still managed to hold on despite the rise of digital media. Unlike digital media, where anyone can make an advertisement, print media advertisements are first approved by auditors, making them more reliable.

1. They have a different information focus

One of the main differences between print and digital media is their focus. In print advertising, they mostly focus on the information being passed. They always want to make it as accurate and reliable as possible. This thus sees the writers make detailed descriptions of every aspect. They will include the business name, its physical address, email addresses, and all relevant information concerning them in advertising. This is done to ensure readers interested in the goods or services being offered have an easier time finding the place. This also makes it easy to save the data for future references. In digital media, however, it is quite different. The marketing strategy mainly focuses on getting the most interactions. The marketer will assume that the interested client will also use the internet to get more information on the business and will thus tend to be as shallow as possible in the advertisement. Their main intent is to reach as many people and create awareness of the business. One of their main ways of attracting people is through click-baits. These are subjects that are interesting and will prompt people to click on the advertisement links. It is a very successful tool, and many digital marketers rely on it. This difference makes digital marketing more effective, and it has been a contributing factor to the fall of print advertising and its rise.

2. Digital advertising is more wholesome

Another major difference between print advertising and digital advertising is their wholesome nature. Print adverts are quite rigid, and the editors will have to make them as interesting as possible to achieve proper results. This can be quite challenging, as the printed word cannot be changed, and it may fail to appeal to some potential clients leading to a loss in business. Digital marketing, on the other hand, is very effective. The marketer can include additional links that will capture the reader's attention from the first click. In case they don't, the media is quite diverse to allow for easy changes, making the advertisements more attractive and ensuring you get better results. This has thus seen digital advertising rise at the expense of the rigidity of print advertising. This is also an aspect that print media cannot correct, making its success on the issue very oblique.

3. Levels of control offered

A marketer wants to have the most control over the entire process. One of these control aspects is target marketing and the information available for people to see. Since one of the main challenges a digital marketer experiences are limited funds, they have to make every advertising process as effective as possible. In digital marketing, you can target your advertisements to specific regions and only for certain people, cutting down on the costs involved. In print advertising, it is quite different. The advertisements cannot be centered in any region as they will only be visible wherever the print is purchased. This makes it quite costly, and its results can be unpredictable. In digital marketing, you can also subscribe to pay-per-click plans. Here, you only pay when and for people who engage with your content. This makes it more cost-effective and gives you a more rewarding experience with even a minimum marketing budget.

4. Accessibility

One of the most important aspects of advertising is whether the content reaches its target audience. For quite a long time, print advertising has been winning over digital advertising. In print, all you need is some money to acquire a paper, and you have access to all the advertisements. At the beginning of digital advertising, the ease of access was quite difficult as not everyone had internet. In recent years, however, internet availability has spread immensely. Everyone can view digital advertisements, allowing everyone who does a simple online search to find whatever they are looking for. This has made more people get access to digital advertising than those who have access to print advertising. This makes it very reliable and has made the internet an important tool in digital marketing. In recent times, digital marketing agencies have adopted this strategy as it delivers better and consistent results.

5. Data-driven

Another major difference between these two advertising media is the decisions that dictate the next step of the process. The process is data-driven and closely monitored. A marketer can see the numbers of people accessing their website and those who read their advertisements. This makes it very effective as, through proper analysis, a business can determine the necessary trends to evaluate the right content to post at any specific time. They can also determine the specific people who like their content and the most appealing marketing techniques based on the number of website visits and clicks. In print advertising, however, it is quite different. The marketing department doesn’t have a way of knowing the people who have access to their information from the papers. An advert can be placed on the local print media, and the message might fail to reach the targeted audience. This results in an ineffective marketing strategy and is part of the reason print advertising is slowly dying gout and is being replaced by digital advertising.

6. The money factor

For any business, their sole purpose is profit maximization. This only happens when the costs of the business are kept at a minimum. Businesses know this, and it comes to play noticeably when deciding on the methods of advertising to use. Print advertisers have tried to create incentives by slashing their costs immensely, but most advertisers don't seem to be interested in that. In order to run an effective print media advertisement, the company has to get many sheets of paper, high-quality ink and make logistics plans on the best places to deliver their printed advertisements at strategic places where they believe their targeted audience is. In order to achieve this, the printing press or company incurring the costs will have to set aside a huge sum for all the necessary processes. This will have an effect on the business as it increases operation costs and thus reducing profits. When using digital advertisements, however, it is quite easy and impressive. All a business needs are the right digital marketing agency, and a fraction of the price will have much better and verifiable results. The company can also set up a social media platform at no cost and their market its products better and reach a wider audience than print advertising ever can. These platforms also allow the business to get real-time feedback from their clients on the various improvements they can make, ensuring the business keeps up with what the market demands. It is quite difficult to get all that from print advertising, and thus more businesses are moving to digital advertising.

7. Global reach

One of the main ways digital advertising excels best compared to print advertising is in terms of outreach. For a business, they want to make everyone aware of their business. They don’t have to only be those from around them, but also potential international clients as now businesses can ship items all over the world. Since it was first invented, print advertising has never been able to achieve this. Its use is only limited to small geographical areas and localities, where the business thinks most of its customers are. This can be very limiting as it keeps everyone else in the dark, making it more difficult to get new clients to the business. Many businesses have learned this, with others who fail to adapt to the changing times being pushed to bankruptcy. Digital advertising offers higher reliability, far more than print ever will. A good example of the benefits digital advertising has to offer is seen in social media marketing. One of the most famous platforms, Facebook, has over two billion users. Once a business makes an advertisement here, they are sure to reach millions of users spread all across the world. Through the right marketing strategies, the business can convert all these viewers into customers, growing their businesses to unimaginable levels. A major indicator of the emphasis put into digital advertising can be seen in the huge number of participants, some of which are big data companies are trying to create a space for themselves in this market segment. One of the most notable is Google, as they have introduced search engine optimization packages that will see paying businesses rank higher in their search results. The global reach aspect has been very beneficial for many small companies who, in the past, would have had a harder time entering into any competitive market.

8. Ease of running campaigns

When a company decides to use print advertising, they have to come up with the perfect advert that will make everyone in their target market feel included. This is, however, an uphill task and can be next to impossible owing to the numerous differences people have. There are different cultures and religions, all promoting very different ideologies. Some can be the exact opposite of the other’s, and encouraging them to rally together in a marketing strategy can be quite difficult. The business will thus have to make tough decisions, and this will result in lower revenues than could have been achieved. When using digital advertising, however, you can achieve more, even in a sharply divided target market. Digital advertising allows you to run separate campaigns, all of which can be very different, each personalized for a specific market. This makes it very effective and allows the business to grow faster and easily without drawing negative sentiments from some market segments. You can run one on your website and another on your social media platform easily and without causing any mishaps. This makes digital advertising very dependable and has played a major role in its success.

Takeaway

The rise of digital advertising has taken the place of traditional media such as print advertising. There are other areas, however, that print media will continue having a substantial lead, like invoking customer trust and telling the financial position of a company or business. Since many people consider print advertising expensive, businesses that use it are thought to be financially stable, and it leads people to believe they offer better services, and this helps them to grow. You also don’t have to put these two advertising models against each other. Each is well poised to deliver well on its strengths, some of which the other may lack entirely. When making a marketing decision and you have to choose between print advertising or digital advertising, it is always advisable to go with some parts of both as they complement each other well. Whereas digital advertising will reach a wider audience, print advertising will speak of the legitimacy of the business, and you will thus get better results. In the coming years, however, digital marketing would have taken a substantial part of the market, and in preparation for this eventuality, some print media companies have begun shifting to digital advertising. It is a tide that is coming and will surely sweep away market players who don't make the right decision to innovate and adapt. These differences are a major part of why print advertising has been on a downward trajectory, and the future of digital marketing appears to be shinning very brightly.