Why does print advertising matter? Why do you need to target your marketing? And what are your options when it comes to targeted campaigns? Here’s the Soyang guide.
There’s no one quite like you when it comes to printing. No one delivers the quality you do, at the pace you do, at the price you do. But how do your potential customers know that?
That’s why you need to pay (almost) as much attention to your marketing as your printing.
Why Does Print Advertising Matter?
Despite many within the industry making it seem like a dark art, the basic premise of marketing is really simple. Marketing is telling the market (i.e. all the people who’ve yet to buy a particular product or service from you) about what you do.
Is Advertising Essential?
“If you build it, they will come.” You’ve probably heard that line before (a slightly altered version of it comes from the movie Field of Dreams) and it’s often quoted by people who like to give marketing a wide berth.
It’s a belief that throwing open the doors of your print business will be all you need to bring you customers. Of course, it doesn’t quite work like that.
True, you may be able to run a perfectly successful printing company through word-of-mouth recommendations, but that’s certainly not the case for everyone – and even word of mouth is a sort of marketing.
Marketing your print business matters because it helps you bring in different types of customers (so you’re not always relying on the same people), who want different products at different times of the year. It’s a way of increasing your customer base while simultaneously reducing the risk of relying on the same pool of customers.
Why Choose Targeted Print Advertising?
To an extent, all marketing is targeted. Stick an ad for your print shop on a billboard in the centre of town and, even though anyone could see it, you’ll still be targeting (in a very broad sense) people who live and work in your area.
The fact is, however, that the more tightly you can target your print shop advertising, the more likely you’ll a) get positive results from it and b) justify the advertising spend.
So how do you target certain types of customer in a more granular way? Here are five approaches you could try.
Targeted Advertising Campaigns That Attract Customers
1. Email ads
You probably already keep customers’ email addresses, but how often do you use them to your advantage? Email ads are a great way to stay in touch with clients (and lapsed clients), keeping relationships simmering and keeping your services at the front of their minds.
You’ll know that there are certain requirements to meet before you start emailing your customer base. They’ll need to opt in to receiving your communications and you’ll need to ensure that any data you hold is secure. But as long as you meet your legal compliance standards, email marketing can be a powerful tool for your print business.
2. Direct mail
Think of it this way: if yours is a business that’s been built on the quality of the print materials it produces, then what better way to showcase that than by putting examples of your work in the hands of potential customers?
This isn’t a cheap way of advertising, but if you tightly target your audience – perhaps to specific industries in a specific area – you can maximise the impact while keeping costs under tight control.
3. Google Ads
What happens when someone Googles print businesses in your town? Do they see your print company? Or is page one of the results filled with your competitors? To change that situation almost instantly, use a Google Ads campaign to target people searching specific print shop-related phrases online.
Next time they search a phrase that’s part of your campaign, your business will be promoted to the ‘sponsored’ results that appear (usually) at the top of the page. Not only does this form of campaign enable you to continually refine the way you target it, but it also lets you set spending limits so you always know how much it will cost you.
4. Social media ads
Another online ad (like Google ads), but rather than appearing on a Google results page, your ads will appear in targets’ social media feeds.
There are two stages to targeting here. First, choose the right social media for your audience. You probably don’t, for example, want to target a middle age business audience on TikTok.
Then, once you’ve selected the right platform, you can refine where your ads appear, so your ad spend is tightly focused on the customer types most likely to buy from you.
5. Radio
It’s not for everyone, but if your customers are, for example, local businesses and tradespeople, you could find that advertising on local radio is a good way to connect with them.
Then, as your print marketing starts to build up a head of steam and you need to order more print materials, talk to us.
