Do you really need studies to tell you that print media commands greater trust than anything you might read online? If you do. Some recent studies, by the International News Media Association, state that: “people trust print marketing more than any other form of advertising.”
There’s something respectful about the care a business owner, let’s say, puts into collaborating with a design and print professional to create their own physical brand presence. True professionals will refuse to look down at their smartphones and ask to input your contact information, they would rather use print marketing to give to you full presence of mind. Instead, they take out and give you a fresh, well-done business card, uniquely suited to their brand. This way you will feel a greater connection with them.
It’s time to be mindful of the ways in which we can use print to our advantage in business. Forgo the temptation to be quick with technology. The implication that we don’t care as much as we would if we were presented with printed collateral. Strategists are reaping the benefits of what scientists have demonstrated: Our minds are set-up to identify most closely with physical advertising. Partly because it shows which are the most motivated, most caring in business. Printing banners, signs, letterhead, promotional products and apparel shows TLC. People want your TLC, so logic dictates you must show them what you’ve got in that department through print.
A survey was conducted by Two Sides and the results show exactly how scrolling past print is a mistake. It seems the majority of participants do not respond well to online advertising:
- 71% don’t pay attention to online ads
- 69% find online ads annoying
- 59% don’t trust online ads
Good news for print advertising! Apparent in the results from the same survey as print marketing credibility shines:
- 80% trust print ads
- 63% read print ads addressed to them
- 59% read print ads that aren’t addressed to them
Wide format printing today lets you live large in posters, billboards and even vehicle wraps, all branded and impossible to ignore. Your name becomes more “legit”. In the era of checking digital statements and advertising for credibility, the legitimacy of print marketing is not only stable, it is growing.
We need the internet, no one needs to argue that point. The speed and access to minute details of information in a pinch. That it’s part of the spectrum of contemporary communication makes it an invincible tool. Yet, it’s print that will still lead us online, and if it’s from your branded promotional product to your website, you will have more credibility before your homepage even loads before them. The message from the surveys and the scientists is simple. If you were starting to perceive print as an artifact of marketing, you’re quite mistaken.
This year and into the years to come, it is wise to consider the tactile presence of your brand as married to whatever your online endeavors may be. One lends credence to the other and used together, you can harness growth.
That print marketing gives people reason to trust you has been proven, but you risk missing the mark if you try to design and print your brand without assistance from experts. Dominic Harwood owns Minuteman Press in East Dallas, Texas, and his focus is being that expert ally. He says, “Personalized service is more than providing information about what you might order. Printing is tactile, so while someone can try to inform themselves as much as possible, if they don’t have swatches and knowledge, they would be wise to have someone to walk them through the process. That is what we do.” His clients are relieved of technical details and they still reap the benefits.
