Magazine Advertising vs. Facebook Advertising
A local magazine like ours is an important medium used by people in business to deliver advertising messages.
The great things about local magazines in general, is that they are typically read by highly interested audiences because they are specific to the area in which they live and the events and services that they might wish to access. The look, imagery, the convenience of having it sitting on the work surface or kitchen table also provides potential for possible repeat exposures to a business’ ad over time.
However, magazines can be more costly than Facebook advertising and, unless you are organised with your marketing strategy, long lead times might be a challenge. It isn’t immediate and generally, you may have to submit your ad four weeks before publication. Lead times are much shorter in local magazines than national, of course - and you’ll get to know the account managers personally too, who will quickly become familiar with your business and can make suggestions about your advertising budget and how to get the most out of it.
With any marketing plan, you must measure your ROI and consider the demographic you reach. While your brand may be aligned with the overall demographics of your local magazine, not everyone who has the magazine will see your ad.
However, with social media, you can hyper-target by multiple demographics such as location, age, gender, and ‘a love for knitting’ (for example). The ad you create will be sent straight to their feed as a sponsored post.
Some would argue that hundreds of ads in a typical local print publication also mean a cluttered environment that limits your ad's potential to be seen. But again, on social media and, in particular, Facebook, there is more and more advertising and users are becoming savvy at how to block certain ads or close-down the visibility of them.
Not everyone makes a purchase the first time they see or hear about your product or service, so the more they hear about you, the better. With a magazine ad you need to be consistent and not just rely on a one-off. That is an advantage of Facebook; you can target leads who have recently visited your website and, if they click on your ad, there are tools to be able to capture them in your email marketing funnel.
Measurement is key too. After your magazine ad goes live, you are sure to keep an eye out for a spike in business, assuming that any increase is a result of the ad - particularly if you have added an excellent call to action, such as a money-off voucher.
With Facebook, you can target your audience, but also access in-depth analytics after the ad expires to see how it has performed. This includes how much it cost for a new page like, comment, direct message, or conversion. In other words, you can test ads to see which work better and you can accurately measure your ROI.
Choosing the best format for your brand or business depends on your goals. For some, Facebook ads are the best platform to use for instant responses and results, while other companies may find more value in print ads. The benefit of using print as an advertising medium is that it is a tangible and emotive experience for consumers.
Research has shown that most social media users are under the age of 30, so that limits you to a very small age bracket. Is this age group your target audience?
One of the advantages of print is that it can reach a much broader group of people, as almost everyone can read a magazine.
However, if your budget allows, using both formats can help increase your traffic and broaden your company’s horizons, especially when done strategically. The best thing that you can do is define your target audience and then go from there.
