
Are you a user of Print Media or Electronic Media? Chances are, the answer to this question is going to be Electronic. Everything that you want to read is now present online. Right from social media to current affairs, the internet is filled with every piece of information. When you can get information while sitting at your desk, why will you use Print Media at all? This is the main reason why you see the paradigm shifting. Slowly and steadily, people are shifting towards electronic media as the most preferred medium of gathering information. But that doesn’t mean, print media is dead. It is still very much alive with its use in abundance.
It’s difficult to imagine a period of time before Print Media existed, especially when digital is all around us. If we have to define this type of media, then it is the traditional form of media to share information with the consumers with the help of magazines and newspapers. All the form of weekly, fortnightly and monthly journals are included in this media. No matter how much developments have been made, there is no way that electronic media can replace print, at least as of now. The print media is and will remain an effective way to capture the audience’s attraction. Given their panache of flashy images, people will be hooked onto them. The advantages of Print Media are explained below –
- Print magazines have the reach
You have to think of reasons why any new form of media is able to be successful. It is all about the penetration. The amount of reach is the main criteria which define success. In that department, Print Media is always a winner. They have the reach as desired by the big companies. Reaching in-market consumers is an easy task for print media. If you see the top five magazines and newspapers of your area, then you will see that they have far better reach in any demographic range than anything on television. The Print is still the first form of media that is consulted for any type of relevant information. Digital then comes as complimentary channel.
- They drive results
Many people who are only invested in digital media are the ones who question the importance and relevance of Print Media in today’s time. They don’t understand that nothing can survive in the market without any proven results. And the results for Print are everybody to see. Purchase intent is defined by the use of print. This isn’t something that is wildly speculated. There are various case studies which prove the above-mentioned facts. According to more than 150 of them, the brand awareness went up by more than 15 percent when the print was added to the marketing strategy. Digital may be most sought after media form but the decision making power is confirmed after the Print only.
- People trust this form of media
When people want to get a piece of information, they will hurriedly turn to digital media. All the information will be gathered and nothing more will be done from it. In the end, people trust what Print Media tells them. It has the power to persuade people in making final decisions. Electronic does not have that kind of credibility. The primary reason why print is still relevant is because it is unanimously trusted by the users. People have spent their money in buying newspapers and magazines and can trust them to give accurate information. The same cannot be said for the electronic media. It is filled with fake news and there are no filters to avoid it.
- More attention is needed in print media
The daily lives have no doubt become very busy nowadays. But this wasn’t the case in earlier days. This is why Print Media became a force to be reckoned with. People who don’t have time are indulged in electronic media. But that is not true for print. People are used to accepting information in different ways for different mediums. It requires more attention and deeper understanding. Consumers are used to accepting information at slower speeds. It ultimately leads to a higher understanding and comprehension of a particular topic. This will result in better purchasing habit as compared to other forms of media.
- Lesser competition
You have to consider every vertical when comparing both the forms of media. This is why competition vertical will also be judged. As there are a plethora of websites to provide any kind of information, people will have the option of surfing any one of them. If they don’t like what you have to say, they will easily switch to others. This kind of fierce competition is not there in Print Media. There is a lot of breathing space. You can trust the consumers to stay with you. It helps a lot in the long run and assists you in considering other options to catch the attention of the audience.
- Flexibility option is there
Flexibility is not the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about media. But this comes to the fore when thinking about it. Every form of media wants to be flexible. Electronic media doesn’t have the luxury of being flexible. Let us take an example for explaining this point. If you have a particular advertisement to display, you can select to place it in a particular area or particular magazines. But that flexibility is not there for the other forms. Even the uninterested people will see the ad.
- Conversion rate is less
There are a lot of tricks and tools used in electronic media to make information reach the highest level. To make sure that there is maximum penetration, different forms of advertisements are used. But what about the success rate? Banner is one of the most common forms of advertisement in electronic media. You will be surprised to know the conversion rate. Only 20 percent of the people who see the ad will click it. When the click rate is this low, what will be the buying rate? This is far less as compared to Print Media.
All these points are enough to assure you that print media is very much alive and doing just fine.