Does print advertising still make sense?

ShareThis

Dear Professor Bruce:I was recently approached by my local newspaper about advertising my small business. I have read several reports that newspaper readership is declining, and more people are going to the Internet to gather their news. Is advertising in a print publication still an effective way to reach customers? And how can a business owner reach online readers?Answer:Print advertising is still an effective advertising medium for most businesses. However, you're right to be concerned because newspaper readership is declining. According to a recent Nielsen//NetRatings and WebVisible survey of U.S. Internet users, 43 percent still read a print edition of their local paper, plus an additional 32 percent read both online and print editions. These are strong numbers, so the viability of advertising around newspaper content cannot be denied.According to David Reeve, manager of marketing and public relations at WebVisible, Inc, "an overwhelming 84 percent of print newspaper readers prefer using Internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo!, to find local businesses from which to shop - a directional activity. By comparison, roughly 50 percent consider print newspapers a desirable resource for finding local businesses".This data suggests that the Internet -- and specifically search engines -- play a dominant role in connecting advertisers with new customers".A much tighter connection has developed between print advertising and the search engines. People respond to print advertising by turning to the Internet to find more information, and that print advertising must ensure he/she can also be found online. For example, the owner of a local furniture store runs a 1/8 page ad in the Sunday edition of a local newspaper. The ad has an offer and basic information that can fit a 1/8 page, but clearly the size is restrictive. On Sunday, the owner of a new home reads the newspaper with his morning coffee in a sparsely furnished living room. He sees the ad and is curious. He's clearly in the market for new furniture, but has questions. Can the furniture store offer same-day delivery? Do they have an assortment of sofas in stock? Are the prices competitive? Today, consumers are just as likely to go to the computer as the phone. Advertising on search engines is essential to bringing interested consumers to your Web site. Consumers make nearly one billion searches a month just for small businesses ... and 90 percent say they're happy with the results they get. There are many options for advertising your business online, ranging from do-it-yourself programs such as Google's AdWords, to WebVisible's do-it-for-me approach. For further information, please visit www.webvisible.com.Bruce Freeman is president of ProLine Communications, a marketing and public relations firm in Livingston, NJ and an adjunct professor of marketing and entrepreneurship. E-mail questions to Bruce(at)SmallBusinessProf.com.