Print advertisements have been around for a while and they’re still used today, though their popularity has undoubtedly diminished. Nowadays, most people only recognize print advertisements in the form of junk mail. Several years ago print advertising was widely recognized as one of the integral platforms for advertising and businesses tended to dish out quite a bit of cash on magazine ads, newspapers, and direct mail. Since then, though, the advancement of technology has prompted a shift from traditional print advertising to other mediums like mobile devices and the internet.
The fact of the matter is, print advertising just isn’t as effective as it once was. There are several factors that have contributed to the demise of print advertising, 4 of which we will explore today. We’re not saying that there aren’t still specific scenarios in which print advertisement can be effective, but when it comes to healthcare marketing chances are that your print ads are costing you money and not resulting in the conversions you need. Let’s learn why.
Drawback #1 to Print Ads: Limited Mobility
Think about the vast number of technological devices that most people in the country have access to. This number signifies an enormous amount of mobility within the internet, which opens a vast amount of resources for marketing yourself or your business. On the other hand, traditional advertising markets like print, broadcast, direct mail and telephone have been decreasing and no longer have the impact they once had. For one part, they fail to grab attention, are seen as spam, or they simply have a very short life cycle (for a higher cost).
For these reasons, it’s simply not productive to spend money on print advertising (except in a few cases) when the statistics show that most consumers are turning to the internet for their advertising. Consumers also do not need to watch TV ads, trek to their mailbox, or buy a newspaper if they want to see advertising; they only have to look at the mobile device in their pocket, which is in fact the medium through which consumers expect to receive their advertisement.
Drawback #2 to Print Ads: Poor Cost-Effectiveness
Online marketing is not as expensive as traditional print. The cost of newspaper advertisements can often fill up a company’s entire marketing budget and vary greatly depending on the region and newspaper where the ad appears. For example, the Tampa Bay Times ranks among the top newspapers in the country and is very popular in the Tampa Bay area, and healthcare advertisements (in color) can run for $125 - $4,200 daily, or $400 - $6,100 on Sundays. Despite the newspaper’s circulation, those prices just don’t serve many healthcare business’ marketing budget, nor do they bring them the kind of attention they seek. That $6,000 you want to devote to one Sunday ad would be better spent by partnering with a healthcare marketing agency.
At Atlantic Health Solutions, the cost of a Tampa Bay Times Sunday ad is equivalent to a full month of marketing, yet we offer a full suite of marketing services to our clients, including social media marketing, advertising campaigns, and much more. For the same amount of money, you get substantially more bang for your buck and access to a variety of services!
Drawback #3 to Print Ads: Lack Of Global Communication
Apart from print media often being restrained to local or national geographical locations, investing your dollars in online marketing and advertising campaigns will save you money. Plus, online marketing and advertising has the potential to reach a global audience. So, if you’re involved in healthcare marketing, the internet is more cost-effective and allows you to able to reach a wider audience and also to specifically market towards your consumer base.
Drawback #4 to Print Ads: No Target Audience
A print advertising campaign does not have the ability to weed out your potential followers and guarantee that they will see your ads. For example, if a company’s advertising department mails 15,000 fliers to a neighborhood, that doesn’t mean any of them would be interested in your service because you have sent the fliers randomly and have likely wasted your money. Digital advertising offers significantly broader targeting capabilities, allowing advertisers to drill their audience down based on a number of demographic, geographic, and interest-related categories. That means your ads are hitting the people who have the highest likelihood of purchasing your product or service, you’re not just casting a wide net and hoping something bites. Our healthcare marketing team conducts research into each client’s consumer base then carefully targets all forms of marketing materials and advertisements towards these groups.
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While traditional advertising is still alive, it’s barely breathing. It is more expensive, less effective, and nearly impossible to monitor or measure the success of when compared to online marketing methods of advertising. If you’re looking to up your marketing and advertising game, give us a call today or request a free marketing evaluation by filling out one of our Client Evaluation forms. We’ll take a look through your website and review your online presence to help you determine which services would serve your practice or business best.