Newspaper/print advertising or social media advertising? While social media is climbing the ranks, the newspaper seems to remain steady and calm. Social media advertising is pushed more with every ad, but print remains relevant.
So, what’s the deal with newspaper advertising? Is it a valid competitor to social media?
The answer? No. But not for the reasons you may think.
A History Lesson
The year is 1997. The year social media was invented.
While this was just under 30 years since computers came to fruition, it is also a decade before a mogul in social media advertising would be launched (yes, Facebook).
Social media also falls approximately 2,054 years after the world’s first newspaper was published. (The first daily newspaper was only 392 years prior.)
In 1704, the first newspaper advertisement was posted. Just 300 years later, the first web banner ad was posted. And, again, Facebook would raise its stakes (and stocks) with Facebook Advertising in 2007. Ultimately, this changes the advertising game.
Print Advertising, Social Media, and $$$
The brief history of newspapers, social media, and the internet were to give you just a slight idea of why newspaper advertising is still around today. It started it all.
Newspaper advertising gave way to print advertising and vice versa.
Print advertising refers to any hard copy type of medium with an ad. We’re talking magazines, brochures, and, the favorite, direct mail.
Digital advertising has taken the main stage of advertising with nearly $40 billion poured into the advertising medium in 2020. Print advertising rolls in at $13.4 million this year so far.
A few factors come into play here.
Social media advertising can cost 25 cents to reach 1,000 people, while print advertising, more specifically newspaper, would, on average, costs $32 to reach 1,000 people.
But saving money does not mean it is better for business.
Throwing Money Away?
While, yes, the numbers don’t lie, you can spend less to reach more people with digital advertising.
However, is that the audience you want to reach? It may reach those people, but are they the right people? Are they actually engaging in those ads? Are those 25 cents really gaining that ROI?
Yes, ad targeting is a glorious tool, if used correctly. Our team here at The Post and Courier can curate the perfect social media plan for your business to target, reach, and rake in that ideal audience.
But if you’re just putting money behind a social ad or Google ad for the sake of putting money behind that ad, you’re not utilizing the tool to its full potential. And, that’s the case for a lot of that $40 billion that’s getting thrown around. There’s so much that goes into placing a social media ad than just credit card information.
Digital advertising actually does not have as high of a payoff as print advertising. Printed publications stay around longer than social media and/or digital advertising. Social media or search engine ads disappear when the money stops flowing.
Print ads, on the other hand, stays around. Once printed, that publication, newspaper or magazine, stay on the coffee table, a shelf, in the waiting room of the doctor’s office.
“When people see ads online, they may forget them in an instant. If they see them repeatedly while flipping through a magazine, that message is more likely to stick.”
Additionally, print advertising sees ROI in word of mouth, uses of coupon codes, and an overall increase in sales.
Print Advertising & Trust
Beyond the dollar signs, trust is a major factor that breathes life into print advertising.
According to MarketProfs, “Consumers trust print advertisements 34% more than they trust search engine ads.”
What this tells us is that if you pour money into digital advertising and not properly strategize, you could come off as untrustworthy.
Print advertising also comes with antiquity and being a consistent part of history. With that longevity comes loyalty.
Just like a favorite restaurant, your favorite shampoo, maybe even your favorite supermarket. If you consistently shop from a place, you have a connection to it. Maybe your mom shopped there or your grandparents.
Print advertising holds the loyalty of being a household name, always being there. This is something that can’t be replaced.
People trust what they are connected to.
Print Compliments Digital Ads
While both digital ads and print ads are very important especially in the digital age, having one and not the other could potentially hurt your business.
Not having social media or even a website leaves a whole group of people unreached.
Not advertising in print also leaves a whole group untouched.
Again, having a well thought out digital/social media advertising is the key to succeeding in the paid digital space.
The same could be said for print advertising.
Print advertising does reach a niche audience, but the same shows for digital advertising. As mentioned above, who you want to target can help you rake in ideal returns.
By figuring out a strategy that references or involves your website or social media, can help drive traffic to those platforms leading you to see an ROI in both mediums.
So, what’s Better 4 Business is both print advertising and digital advertising. The pair are like a fine wine and a good cheese. The antiquated and the modern complement each other.
What’s even Better 4 Business is combining your advertising efforts with marketing. Talk about a match made in heaven.
