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The Internet has become the preferred medium for marketers in recent years. Using the internet, it’s possible to connect to people from around the world on their smartphones in any location. No other form of marketing has that reach.
Despite this, physical marketing still has its advantages. Unlike online marketing, physical marketing can appeal to all five senses. It’s also easier to stand out in the physical world – particularly now that the internet has persuaded more companies to go online and reduced the amount of physical marketing happening. Below are just a few prime examples of how physical marketing can still have an impact in 2024.
Flyers are still the best form of local targeting
Posting flyers through people’s mailboxes can be one of the most precise forms of local audience targeting. If you own a local commercial cleaning business, and you’re looking to pick up more clients, you can post flyers through the select mailboxes of offices in your area. If you are having an event at your boutique, sharing your flyer locally will let your potential customers know where to go for their next girls’ night out (more on events below!).
Flyers can also be pinned up on public notice boards or left strategically in places like coffee bars or hairdressers (with the permission of the owner). This allows you to further target specific audiences in your area.
In many cases, flyers can be more effective than emails. Many of us our email inboxes are inundated with promotional emails on a daily basis. The amount of flyers in distribution has meanwhile been greatly reduced, making it easier to make an impact with a flyer.
There are flyer production companies that can help you design the perfect flyer. You can then order as many flyers as you need and distribute them in your own time (or pay someone to distribute them for you).
Business cards are still the best way to exchange contact details in person
When you meet a potential client and want to exchange contact details, what is the best way to do this? Telling them your phone number and email address and getting them to manually enter it into their phone can be a hassle. The simplest option is to hand them a business card with all your details already on it.
Business cards could contain information such as your company name, your name, your phone number, your email address, your website address and your postal address. A lot of modern business cards even have QR codes that can reduce the need for the recipient to manually enter your website address into the URL bar.
Like flyers, business cards can also be strategically left in places for people to find. You can even post them through people’s mailboxes to target them by location. This makes them a very useful marketing medium.
You’ll find many websites online where you can pay to design and print off your own business cards. There will often be specific templates and bulk deals to choose from. Take a look at other business cards for inspiration.
Physical magazine ads are great for targeting passionate niche consumers
There’s no denying that fewer people buy physical newspapers and magazines. However, physical publications aren’t dead. Many magazines are still in production and continue to get many readers. The difference is that the audience has changed – the types of people who are willing to spend money on magazines nowadays tend to be much more passionate about that niche. And these are the types of people who are much more likely to spend money on niche products.
Consequently, physical magazines can be a great way to reach out to niche consumer audiences. If you sell custom guitar plectrums, a guitar magazine could be the perfect place to target an advert. Given that there are so many blogs and YouTube videos dedicated to the guitar, the types of people who buy guitar magazines nowadays are only likely to be dedicated guitar enthusiasts – and therefore likely to pay attention to your adverts.
You can get adverts published in magazines by researching magazines and reaching out to their advertising department. They will then be able to give you a quote based on where you want to place your advert in their magazine.
Snazzy packaging is essential for all products sold in stores
While more products are being exclusively sold online, many businesses are still choosing to sell their products in physical stores. In these cases, snazzy packaging is still as important as it has always been for helping a product stand out on the shelf.
When designing and manufacturing packaging, it’s worth investing in a service catered to your industry. There are manufacturers that specialize in areas like nutraceutical packaging. Using such a manufacturer, you can create packaging that truly stands out within your niche. Using different colors, shapes and materials can be one of the best ways to make your product stand out.
In recent years, there has been a shift towards eco-friendly packaging. In some cases, reducing plastic in favor of card and other recyclable materials may actually help to increase sales. Countries around the world are also starting to put increasingly large taxes on certain types of plastic packaging, making sustainable alternatives a more economical choice.
Events are a must for products that you can taste or smell (or try on!)
You can’t taste, smell or try on a product through a screen. While you can still make a lot of money by selling food products and scented products online, physically marketing these products allows you to give customers a true sample of what your product tastes like or smells like. The same happens with clothes. For customers who want/need to try on their clothes, check out the quality of a product, and enjoy the shopping experience, a special event is the perfect excuse.
Marketing events can be one way to do this. Food fairs have long been an effective way to promote food products, because consumers can taste the product there and then. Many towns host local food fairs, plus there are many niche food fairs found across the country (such as cheese festivals, beer festivals, chili festivals and bakery festivals). Consider applying to rent a stall at one of the events if you are looking to market a food product – it could be a great way to build more customers.
Festivals dedicated to perfumes and scented candles are less commonplace but do exist. More general trade shows may still be a good place to market scented products so that people can smell them for themselves. Consider applying for one of these trade shows.
Fashion events like get togethers, holiday sales, and fashion shows are perfect for inviting loyal and potential customers to experience your brand in the here and now.
It’s worth noting that marketing events can have many other advantages beyond being able to taste, smell and touch products. They can be a great opportunity to host demos, network, hand out flyers/business cards and even hand out other promotional giveaways such as branded hats. Just be wary that the costs of putting on an event can be quite high and you’ll need to dedicate a lot of time to organization.
Video is proven to generate engagements – including video billboards
The internet has offered the perfect platform for distributing video advertising. Video adverts are proven to get noticed – social media posts with videos get 10x more engagements than social media posts without. It’s the motion that grabs people and hooks them in.
But what about video advertising in the physical world? Beyond TV advertisements, there are other ways to make an impression with video. The number of video billboards has grown significantly in recent years. Such billboards can be a great way to advertise your business because they’re much more guaranteed to turn heads than static billboards. In fact, video billboards are believed to generate 400% more views than static billboards.
Such billboards can be rented out in various locations. The cost of renting such a billboard depends on the location and how long you want to rent it out for. Alternatively, you can install your own video billboard outside your store or restaurant.
There are video production companies that can help you to create a video advert. Most video adverts on billboards don’t have sound, so you’ll want to create an advert that can still be understood without audio. You can use real life camerawork, animation or a mixture of the two. Keep it snappy so that people are inclined to watch the whole thing.
Radio advertising enables you to deliver a message that cannot be skipped
A non-digital form of marketing that many companies overlook is radio advertising. Many of us still listen to the radio in our cars or at work. Radio adverts have the benefit of not being skippable, making it harder to ignore your message. By creating a memorable advert, you can build brand awareness and increase sales.
Local radio stations are often the best place for small businesses to target ads. You will pay more depending on what times you want your advert to go out on air and how many times you want it to play.
There are companies that can help you to create a memorable radio advert – including doing the voiceover, writing the script and creating a jingle (if you want one). Of course, you can suggest ideas to help ensure it lives up to your vision.
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