It may seem that in a digital age, printed marketing materials are a thing of the past. With Facebook and Instagram social media campaigns, along with TV advertising, it is easy to forget about printed media and how much it can benefit your business and brand. Don’t discount printed promotional materials, they’re still exceptionally effective and have a place in the 21st Century!

Business Cards

If you don’t have any phone signal or don’t want to have the long drawn out conversation of ‘find my Instagram username’ or ‘write down my email address’, you need to get yourself some business cards. If you hire the right design and printing company, you can have them look exceptionally sleek and stylish for a very reasonable cost.

Business cards are an amazing way of getting your name out there to new customers without them having to expend any effort in taking down your details, such as email or Twitter handle. Not only will they have all your vital information in an easy to access format, they make you look professional and well organized! Business cards are also a great way of introducing your business and the problems it solves to someone that may not be aware of the problem or your solution.

Flyers

Handing out flyers may seem like an exceptionally dated marketing tactic, but it is absolutely worth the time and effort. You would be naïve to think that everybody in your local area A) has accessible devices and unlimited access to the internet or B) knows your business exists and C) knows the phone number of your business.

Making flyers and handing them out or posting them increases your visibility and allows you to include new markets that may not have known you were operating in the area. Like business cards, they are low cost and don’t take a huge amount of graphic design work to look professional. Make sure that you don’t overload your audience with information, just give them the key facts as to what it is you do, how they benefit, and the areas where you do it. You can also include a compelling promotional offer to get them to act right away or come into your store. Head out to websites like mycreativeshop.com to find templates if you don’t have a design team or the skills needed to create flyers from scratch.

Brochures

Not all customers want to sit on their phone or laptop and look through a website trying to find what it is they are looking for. A lot of customers want the opportunity to flick through a physical copy of a catalogue or a brochure, and you can provide this for minimal cost. You can also include a how to guide for your older customers, so they know that they can place orders multiple different ways (post mail, website, and phone) if this is something that you offer. You can also tailor brochures using direct mail to your target market in a given geographical area.

Letterheads and Envelopes

Letterheads and envelopes will take your business to new levels of professionalism, especially if you look for the embossed stationary. People like knowing who the are receiving mail from, and are less apprehensive about opening mail if they can clearly see that it comes from a business they recognize and are familiar with. You can also put your contact details on these types of stationary, so your customers will always have access to your contact information.

Testimonials

If you send out a quarterly newsletter or a brochure on a regular basis, why not include a loose leaf page for testimonials and customer feedback. Not only does it show other people that customers are happy with your service, you can also use this as a call to action. You should prepare the bottom of the testimonials page, for your customers and readers to be able to submit their review of your business for a change to win a prize. This way, not only will you receive more reviews and testimonials, but you will have enough content to place on your next page release to help increase social proof and sales.

Cards

If you have a solid customer base that regularly spends large amounts of money with you, you should consider send them thank you cards. It may sound cheesy, but everybody likes receiving cards, especially ones that thank them. You can make sure you keep it brand and business specific but still make it personal. You could also send out Christmas cards, it makes it look as though you are thinking of your customers over the festive holidays, and it will keep you in their mind well into the New Year for immediate sales in the new year!

Final Considerations

It would be silly to disregard printed promotional marketing material in the 21st century. There are so many opportunities to increase your business and brand visibility outside of social media, TV, and other digital marketing campaigns. Not everyone has access to the internet or a computer, and some people simply can’t use one well enough to be able to search for what they want. It may take more physical effort, but the results would be amazing in boosting your revenue from markets that you previously weren’t able to access.

Print media also means that your customers will always have your contact details, address and name on hand, so even if they forget your name, they will still be able to find your details even when they are unable to access the internet. Printed promotional materials can help make your customers feel wanted and valued. Send out cards, discount codes, testimonials, and give your most loyal customers the opportunity to receive discounts through call to action campaigns. Once you start using print media again, you’ll wonder why you stopped in the first place.