Although the use of print advertising has dropped drastically since the release of television, and online platforms, it still maintains some of its relevance, and in some cases, is much more effective. There is one substantial issue that comes with it, which is, that measuring print advertising in terms of its effectiveness can be very difficult.
Print advertising isn’t for everyone, but if you find some reasons below why your business is a good fit for print advertising, you’ll also see a few proven ways in which you can make effective print advertising, and also find ways of measuring its effectiveness on your consumers.
Why is measurement important in advertising?
Advertising is expensive. It requires extensive research and planning even to create the advertising content.
The main objective is to attract customers to the business’ offerings, which will increase your sales, change consumer behavior in favor of your company, and affect the future sales of the offerings. As such, your business needs to know how effective the advertising campaign was. Below are a few key reasons why measuring your advertisements is important:
Measuring Print advertising versus Digital advertising
Print and digital advertising each have their strengths when reaching different demographic groups. Digital advertising has a very wide reach because there is no geographic boundary, whereas print advertising can be more useful locally. Below is a comparison between print and digital advertising.
Print Advertising
- Printed advertising requires more time to be created – ad copy and illustrations take time to be developed.
- Printed advertising creates the perception of time and care.Variety of print advertising categories, e.g. fashion magazines, automobile magazines, etc.
- More accessibility locally – most stores will stock magazines and newspapers and are inexpensive.
- Samples and coupons can be placed at the store.
- Measuring print advertising is difficult, which is why local use is the most effective – circulating newsletters and ads for events nearby can be effective at generating sales.
- Difficult to go unnoticed by the passerby.
Digital Advertising
- Wide reach
- Easy to track the effectiveness of ads thanks to analytical tools offered by services such as Google and Facebook.
- Can create highly targeted ads by selecting specific demographics.
- Easily scalable.
- Can create frequent and highly interactive content such as videos, photos, quizzes, etc.
- Relies on either the user to be active on the social media platform, or has push notifications turned on – or it could go unnoticed.
It may seem difficult to justify print advertisements from the comparison above, especially since measuring print advertising in terms of its effectiveness is quite difficult. But, you’ll find that there are diverse and creative ways in which you can use print advertising. With a few proven strategies, you’ll find that print advertising still has some very powerful uses, and measuring print advertising can be a lot easier.
How to measure print advertising effectiveness
With a few simple strategies, measuring print advertising won’t seem like an impossible task. You’ve probably come across print advertising in unique places, such as charity or non-profit advertisements at the supermarket, when you reach the counter. Whether or not you’ve given into the promotions, its effectiveness stands.
Offering unique points of contact to potential consumers, that is, scarcely but strategically placing advertisements makes them easy to track, and therefore easy to monitor and determine their effectiveness in pulling people in. It becomes especially effective if you give them a way to contact you, via email, website, etc.
When you’re offering deals and giving out coupons or asking for surveys, a good strategy to use is to create a unique coupon code or supply a QR code. This way, if they scan the QR code, or insert the unique coupon code on your website, you’ll easily know that it came from your print advertising.
Don’t be afraid to ask your customers. It’s not uncommon for businesses to have a pop-up on a website, or a questionnaire at the end of a transaction asking where you found them. Use this strategy to ask your customers how they found out about your business. This not only is a good way of measuring your print advertising, but it also gives you insight into how you can optimize your advertising campaigns.
Key elements of an effective print advertising
Just like anything, there is a science to creating print advertising. Creating a headline, or if your advertising is very visual, having a visual that can stand out and stop your readers from turning the page is the most important part of your advertising. Unless you can stop them from turning the page, your advertisement won’t be looked at.
A picture is worth a thousand words. This speaks some truth for your advertising. As explained above, having a visual that stands out can give a customer a positive perception of your offering.
Even if a picture is worth a thousand words, having a few words in your advertisement is a must. Something that introduces your business and your product or service, and most importantly a call to action – nudging them into making an action towards choosing your business is another key part of effective print advertising.
Finish off with your business logo. You need to spread the word about your business, which is one of the main points of your advertising. Signing off with your business logo or name is the last key element to an effective print advertisement.
