How can female-owned businesses make the most of print marketing?
Want to make your marketing stand out and build trust? Find out how female-owned businesses make the most of print marketing.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, spending on digital marketing grew by 44% in the UK in 2018. But another trend that is also holding sway, is that of print marketing.
A UK survey of 1,000 consumers had found that print content is trusted and valued. Indeed, print is the preferred medium for specific publications, including magazines, books, and news. The interest in print extends to all age groups, though it is lowest in the 18-to-24 age group.
Even so, the survey found that 35% of this younger audience prefers to read up on the latest events in print, and only a slightly higher 38% prefer to do so by smartphone.
Print and trustworthiness
If you are female business owner, it’s worth noting that a 2017 study showed that individuals are more likely to trust millennial, Gen X and Baby Boomer female microbusiness owners more than males of the same generation.
Succeeding in business involves building on your strengths and print can help you do just that,with surveys showing that 56% of consumers think print is the most trustworthy form of marketing.
This phenomenon has a great deal to do with the bevy of online scams, phishing, and empty promises. Printed marketing lends a sense of ‘realness’ to your material and suggests there is a solid company behind the promises made.
Print can be more practical for clients
Printed material works particularly well in specific sectors – including the legal, and real estate sectors – all of which have a strong female representation in the UK.
Around 60% of new solicitors in the UK are women and the real estate sector – once the exclusive preserve of men – is continually growing in diversity.
If you have a legal firm and you wish to keep clients updated with respect to a legal change that may affect them. Legal clauses can be complex and explaining them can be technical. It can be very uncomfortable for clients to scroll down websites, and much more amenable to have all pertinent regulations in a booklet which they can mark, underline, and return to as required.
Businesses worrying about the practicalities of getting a print project off the ground can take various measures to reduce cost and work time. As noted by OnlineStamp.net, these days, stamps can quickly be printed online and dropped in nearby post boxes.
The plethora of online templates and designer services, meanwhile, mean that unless you are designing and printing material frequently, you can rely on freelance services for aspects like design, and stock photo sites such as Shutterstock for Instagram-worthy imagery.
Circumstances that boost the use of print
Research carried out by the Forbes Communication Council shows that print advertising is useful in particular cases. These include offices which require a physical presence (such as a doctor’s or lawyer’s office, where clients might bide time by reading printed content).
Print is also useful for companies operating in the luxury sector (clients of these businesses enjoy viewing products in a rich glossy format), and companies using AR and image recognition to provide customers with an ‘omnichannel branch experience.
Print caters to millennials
If you thought all millennials were constantly glued to their screens, take note of a recent study by Quad/Graphics, finding that 82% of people in this generation read direct mail from retail brands, and over half of them like receiving catalogues in the mail.
There is a permanence to print that websites cannot compete with. Millennials appreciate the ease of finding something they like in a catalogue and saving it to show a friend or family member at a later time. The sheer volume of websites mean that findings an item you may have seen earlier in the day or week can be difficult to achieve.
Digital marketing is as vital as ever for UK businesses of all sizes. However, print should be seen as a vital adjunct for female-owned businesses operating in specific sectors.
Your content can vary from brochures to catalogues and informative booklets. They can be monthly, bi-monthly or even yearly, but whatever you do put out, ensure it lines up perfectly with your brand and provides true value for your clients.
Photo by Kaboompics .com from Pexels
