When we think of the term ‘print media‘, it can often have pretty negative connotations. Many people think that print media has had its day, and that there’s not much point giving it any thought in your marketing strategy. After all, there are so many modern and digital ways to advertise your business online. However, we think that this is wrong! Traditional ways of getting your business out there, like appearing in a print magazine, can still bring so many benefits, even in the modern world. But what if you’re a small business? How can you appear in print? Well, the answer is simple, and something that we’ll also cover in this article. So, keep on reading to find out the benefits of print media for your small business and find out why it isn’t totally dead. We think that by the end of this article, you’ll wish you’d thought about it sooner!

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The benefits of print media for your small business

There are plenty of benefits that come with appearing in print media. Here, we don’t mean advertising. Instead, we mean running an article or feature about your business, or written by you about a topic that you can easily link back to your business. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits:

Staying power

Advertising and posting online is great, but it’s pretty temporary. There’s always something new, the next advert to run, or the next trend to post about. Even though it can drive great results, it’s quite forgettable. However, print media has a lot more staying power! You will be physically advertising your business in a magazine or similar, which is definitely not as forgettable! And, you can keep it as a record of your achievement for years to come, which you can’t really do in the same way with online posts.

Target a specific niche

Whatever your interests are, there is probably a magazine or newsletter out there that is targetted at that niche! So, if you appear in the right publication that has your target customers as its readership, you are automatically targeting the people who may be interested in what you have to offer! So, print media can be really beneficial for finding new and loyal customers.

It’s credible

While some people overlook print media as old fashioned, many other people don’t! It’s still viewed as the most credible outlet of information. So, if you’re looking to build up your brand and get a more prestige image in the minds of your customers, definitely consider print media!

Keep the reader’s attention for longer

A well-written article should keep the reader’s attention all the way through to the end. So, if the article is based around your business, that’s a whole lot of time to be feeding them information about you and what you do! A post on social media is over a lot more quickly. So, if you want readers to really get to grips with your business or a topic that you’re passionate about, definitely consider placing a well-written article that actually provides useful and relevant information in some print media.

Target local people

Are you a small business with a strong local focus? Then getting an article in some local print media is a really good idea! Automatically, you’ll be reaching people from your local area who may be interested in what you have to offer. And, even if your businesses’ focus is more nationwide or even global, it’s not going to hurt getting more local support.

But how can I get my small business in print?

While we can’t promise that your small business will be able to run an article in a nationwide publication (at least, not just yet!), there are some easier ways to get started! Our number one tip is to target local and niche publications. For example, if you are based in Surrey, you’ll want to approach a publication that has a Surrey-based readership. Or, if your business is all about cakes, approach a cake-decorating magazine. These niche publications are going to want to shout about people doing great things close to home, so don’t be afraid to reach out and pitch an idea! The worst they can say is no, but with a great idea for an article, patience, and persistence, they’re sure to come through!

If you are really keen about getting your small business into print media, but are struggling on your own, you may also want to consider the services of an agency that can help you along your way! An agency will already have well-established contacts to pitch your article to, and will even be able to give you hints and tips along the way. Agencies aren’t just for big businesses. Here at Delivered Social, we are passionate about supporting small businesses, and that includes helping them get into print.

A case study with the Official Military Beer Company

We worked with our friends at the Official Military Beer Company to get an article all about them into Platinum Business Magazine! This is the regional business magazine with the largest circulation in the UK, so it presented a great opportunity for this small business. They offer “Pints With Purpose”, dedicated craft beers, each one for a specific regiment of the British Army. And, for each beer sold, a donation is made to that regiment’s charity. So, you can enjoy a delicious beer and feel good at the same time!

Amazingly, this business was only started this year, over lockdown, but they’ve already had some great success with their beers being sold all over the UK! They have a really unique offering with nothing else quite like it to be found. So, it is really important that they should about what they do as much as possible. And part of this is appearing in print media. We worked with the OMBC and Platinum Publishing to run an article all about setting up a business over lockdown and their Pints With Purpose initiative. Unfortunately, due to Covid, the magazine is currently online-only, but it is still set up like a physical magazine. And so far, the reception has been really good! The article has helped raise awareness of the Official Military Beer Company and what they do in the local area and beyond. You can read the full article here, and see what a great example of a small business appearing in print media can look like!

So, hopefully, this article has given you some inspiration for why your small business should consider print media! There are so many benefits that it can’t really be overlooked. If you’d like some support in getting your own articles into print, why not get in touch today and see what we can do for you?