Flyers are still a practical marketing tool? If it’s not Digital, it’s not Worth our Time, Right?
Does everything need to be digital in the digital age? It is easy to presume that any marketing promotion that is not digital won’t work, is backward thinking or is redundant. But is this true? Is there room for the old-fashioned flyer in the modern marketing world?
What is a Flyer?
Before determining whether flyers are relevant in the digital age, we must define what we mean by a flyer.
A flyer is often broadly understood as any printed item handed out to individuals or included in newspapers or magazines. However, this definition could easily include catalogues and brochures.
A more accurate and narrower flyer definition is a single sheet, often folded to create several panels. This removes anything that has multiple pages or is bound in any form. A flyer is a relatively simple product that is easy and cheap to produce in large numbers, making it cost-effective to distribute.
What is a Flyer’s Main Purpose?
The primary purpose of a flyer is to highlight and promote a product or service. Flyers are often handed out in the street close to the business they relate to so the reader directly links the information in their hand and the company.
For this reason, a flyer often contains an offer or discount the customer can redeem by taking the flyer to the business. As well as increasing footfall, this helps the company to determine whether its marketing strategy is working.
The flyer might include a coupon code where the business is online, allowing it to serve the same purpose.
Flyer Design
To work effectively, the flyer must be fit for purpose. It needs to convey key information clearly and succinctly. A flyer must grab the readers’ attention immediately and encourage them to act.
Key features, unique selling points, dates (if appropriate), contact details and offers should be clearly stated. Its design should match the business’s branding, helping create visual links for the reader.
The ideal flyer stands out from all others pinned somewhere in the recipient’s home. There needs to be something memorable about it that makes the reader reach for it rather than another flyer when considering the service or product both offer.
The Role of the Flyer in the Digital World?
It is very easy to conclude that any marketing process or tool not on the internet is no longer of use or value. However, the sheer number of flyers that decorate noticeboards or take up space in people’s kitchen drawers says something. If they were indeed of no value anymore, they would either not be picked up in the first place or would quickly be consigned to the recycling.
Customers are becoming more savvy and often check multiple marketing channels before finalising the purchase of a service or product. The result of this is businesses need to embrace joined-up campaigns and through-the-line marketing. You’ll miss out to the competition if you are not where your customers are looking.
You must put your customer at the heart of your communication channels and engage them when and where it suits them to maximise your conversions.
Taking this approach allows customers who become aware of your business through a flier or other printed media to use those details to check your social media or website on their mobile device and either visit you in person or complete their purchase online.
Flying Higher with Flyers
Each marketing component has a role to play, and removing any single element will negatively affect your conversion rates. You can market without flyers but will likely get improved numbers with them.
Flyers are a physical reminder of your business and your products and services. They can be shared around and returned to at a later date. However, to achieve all this, they must be well-designed.
Your flyer must be eye-catching and attractive. It must contain all your business’s vital information and ideally offer customers something they wouldn’t get without it.
Not only do flyers continue to have a role to play in the digital age, but their role is just as vital now as it was in the past. If you don’t utilise flyers, you miss out on an essential element in the marketing mix.
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