Are Brochures, Posters and Business Cards Still Effective Today?

 

The advent of the internet and social media has had immense impacts on businesses, particularly on marketing and advertising. Thanks to platforms like YouTube and the immense popularity of search engines like Google, many small businesses have turned to using digital marketing methods.

Prior to the pandemic, digital marketing was seen as a cost-effective method to boost small businesses. However, a recent surge in the price of digital marketing services has made small businesses wonder if there are cheaper physical marketing methods they can explore.

You may think in age of emails, instant messaging and vlogs that materials such as flyers and posters are no longer important.

Below are a few physical marketing materials you should consider using alongside digital marketing strategies.

  1. Brochures

Brochures are usually confused with pamphlets, but these folded paper or cardboard materials are solely for business purposes. They offer passers-by a quick way to learn a lot of information about your business.

According to new research, approximately 85 percent of people who have picked up a brochure learn about new enterprises.

Information also leads to more purchases because 61 percent of people who see a product in a brochure buy these items.

Brochures should be carefully designed to provide just the right amount of information to a casual reader while also being visually attractive. Make sure the front fold is immediately eye catching and the text inside is concise. This will ensure that readers are immediately intrigued by your brochure and can read it quickly.

A brochure should be structured like a small book. The first folds should introduce your business, painting a picture of what you want your business to be. The following folds must contain what you can offer and the final fold should have your business’s location and contact information.

  1. Posters

Visual advertising materials don’t have to be relegated to annoying ads on videos or flashing website banners that no one bothers to click or read. Posters are inoffensive, cheap and can be very effective as a means of creating awareness of your brand. Aside from tarpaulin sizes or weighing the pros and cons of using different construction materials, the key to using posters effectively for marketing your small business is placement and design.

For a poster to generate enough buzz and divert people to your business, posters must be placed in areas where a lot of people will look at it as they pass by. Putting posters in eye-level near a busy street is par for the course. The design must be able to convey information in a few seconds, so make sure the visuals are strong and the text is brief. Following simple design principles and using bold eye-catching colors will help make your poster more effective.

  1. Flyers

Sometimes you don’t want to create a complex piece of marketing and just want potential customers to be aware of recent developments in your business. Developing and printing a brochure can be too costly and posters don’t convey enough information.

Flyers are the perfect middle ground, allowing recipients to browse the contests at their leisure while also being simple to design and manufacture.

Brochures should have more information printed on them than a poster but less than in a brochure. Ideally, someone should be able to read everything in it in less than 10 seconds.

Next, you should also be careful when selecting where you are going to distribute your flyers. They must be places frequented by your ideal clientele or areas where people can pass by your business after reading your flyers. For example, if you run a business selling natural preservatives for cosmetics, you could hand out flyers at farmer’s markets and healthy living stores.

  1. Business Cards

Most people think that providing a link to your business profile or social media account is enough to establish professional contact. But sometimes simply sending a link may seem suspicious or even unprofessional.

For one thing, people are now much savvier about internet safety and an unsolicited link can be very fishy. You won’t face these problems if you use old fashioned business cards.

According to entrepreneurial experts business cards are still relevant, especially when you are establishing a personalized brand. The designs of a business card can provide all the necessary information someone needs to contact you or your business. Make sure your business card contains phone numbers, business addresses, emails and work websites if applicable.

Producing physical marketing materials may seem costly, but compared to the prices charged by some digital marketing companies, it’s no wonder small businesses are beginning to reconsider them. Despite their efficacy, physical marketing materials always work best when used alongside digital strategies and you should always look for such possibilities.

Jeremy

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