Lead acquisition with print advertising

Strange as it may seem, many marketers are enthusiastic about using digital advertising campaigns for lead acquisition, but are hesitant when it comes to print campaigns.

They say that print cannot achieve the same results as digital campaigns, which is not entirely true. If used correctly, print materials can be even better at capturing leads.

Lead acquisition, what is it?: Capture of a user who has delivered their personal or professional data to a company and that, as a result, becomes a record of its database with which the organisation can interact. This capture can be done physically or online.

In order to increase your leads, consider the following steps:

1. Design a print campaign that appeals to your target market

Print campaigns are an investment but to economise you need to know the type of person you are targeting. Collect all the relevant background details, including their demographics such as:

• Gender
• Age
• Education
• Income

Below, get to know them better by understanding their:

• Problems
• Frustrations
• Dreams
• Objectives

After gathering all the information, work out how your product or service can help them. Create relevant messages that will attract and increase lead acquisition.

2. Use benefit-based headlines to get the best response

The headline is the first message your audience will read. Get it right and you’ll have the power to convince them to read the rest of your content. And so boost your lead acquisition.

• Create a headline that is:
• As short and succinct as possible, to quickly convey your key message
• Benefit-oriented, focused on how your product or service can help them
• Dynamic and engaging, something you think will capture their interest and create a great response
• Big and bold, hard to ignore

Many marketers who use print fail to grab the reader’s attention because they focus on themselves. They often brag about the story of their product and service. Or they launch into a long-winded account of how it evolved from concept to actual product.

Most readers don’t care about such things. As a famous copywriter once said: “People don’t care about you. They only care if it benefits them.”

So, when creating headlines, put yourself in the reader’s mind and answer their most likely questions, like:

• What’s in it for me
• Why should I be interested in your offer?
• Why should I read this ad?
• Will it make/save me money?
• Will my business benefit?
• Are your services better than my current provider’s services?

By providing the benefits in the headline, you can grab your reader’s attention right from the start and increase lead acquisition.

3. Grab their attention by keeping it short and snappy

People don’t read the press like they used to. Instead, they browse. You’ll probably notice that their eyes will glide over any printed content until something interests them.

If your headline has grabbed his attention, don’t put him off with a block of text that’s too small to read.

Don’t do like many advertisers and try to fill every last inch of space, just to get your money’s worth.

The problem: cramming so much information into a small space creates visual clutter. As a result, people won’t notice your posters and won’t bother to read them.

Best option: make sure it has plenty of space around the headline and text to help the banner stand out.

Here are some tips on how to present your content in the main text of the poster (known as body text) to increase lead acquisition:

• If you present numerous benefits, list them in the form of quick-read loop points (ideal for readers who skim) .
• Write in a style that can be understood by someone with a basic understanding of the language.
• Write short, easy-to-understand sentences.
• Do not overdo it with the number of images and text.

4. Integrate print and digital to double your impact and lead acquisition

Many of your potential customers won’t convert the first time they see your print material. That’s why constant exposure to your offer can help them change their minds. By combining your print and digital campaign, you can get more exposure and quickly increase your target market reach, i.e. lead acquisition and sales. Also, make sure that both print and digital materials share the same look and feel to help build your brand identity.

It is also vital that you add your website address or online landing page to the posters. Include a message that encourages potential customers to visit your site or give their email address by offering them something of value. Consider sending valuable information and routine offers through their email.

Once they respond and buy, your ROI (Return on Investment) will increase thanks to your print ad. In other words, your investment will pay for itself better thanks to print advertising, it will be more profitable for you.

You should also create print materials that can be viewed seamlessly on social media pages and mobile devices.

5. Capture leads by encouraging interaction

Make it easy for your potential customers to contact you by including your:Leads are a great way to get in touch with you

Contact number
Email addresses
Social media links such as Facebook or Twitter

6. Always include a strong call to action

Telling your readers what benefits they can get will get them interested and, as we’ve been repeating throughout the article, will increase lead acquisition.

Now you need them to act. This means having a strong and clear call to action on every billboard. Don’t just wait for them to take action. Instead, guide them towards what they should do.

It’s an important tool to promote your marketing offers and generate leads.

Call to action, what is it?: any call to action, visual or textual, that leads the reader or visitor to a page to perform an action. It can be used on websites, blogs, flyers and print ads of all kinds. In general terms it is called a CTA.

For example, you want them to call a specific phone number so that they can:

CTAs are not a CTA.

Get more information
Buy your product
Use a coupon in your store
Receive a discount voucher

To make an effective call to action and increase leads, you have to tell them what to do. Like little kids, no offence, you tell them to eat their vegetables, in exchange for toys or ice cream. It’s about giving a command and showing the reward.

CTAs that have a sense of urgency are also effective. For example, customers are more likely to use coupons that are close to their expiry date. They will only act when they become aware of the coupon’s date.

7. Offer options, but don’t overwhelm them

In a university survey, the result was that only 3% of people bought a British brand of jelly after trying 24 flavours. However, when given only six flavours, more than 30% bought the product.

Having too many options can confuse consumers

Consider limiting the number you offer to your target audience.

Check, test, optimise and repeat

Print campaigns are direct forms of advertising designed to capture leads and then generate sales. That’s why it’s valuable to know whether or not your posters are working.

You can monitor and test various parts of your posters, such as headlines, benefits and images, by conducting research with your customers or with a consumer panel.

It is also possible to track the response rate of your campaign by including coupons and counting the number of redemptions on the expiry date.

You can also track increases in website visitors after posting a banner (to see how many responded to the call to action and went to your site).

If necessary, optimise each element to achieve the highest possible ROI (return on investment), i.e. to make it as profitable as possible.

In addition, by measuring the results, you may discover things you hadn’t noticed before, such as:

• Some content placement on the banner was not optimal
• Some images are not appealing
• You listed some wrong benefits

If you find any of these “mistakes”, be sure to correct them immediately. Afterwards, you can repeat the same cycle to fine-tune the effectiveness of your ad.

What to avoid

There are a number of reasons why your print campaign may not work, such as:What to avoid

Poor print campaign designs

Sometimes, spending too little on your print campaign can backfire. If you skimp on design or print quality, you can end up with a poster that no one will read.

Remember that most of your potential customers are constantly bombarded with advertisements. If the design of your poster looks generic or run-of-the-mill, they are unlikely to notice it.

So you have to have:

• A poster with content large enough to be visible.
• An eye-catching and professional design.
• With relevant and attention-grabbing images and appropriate colours in the design that will appeal to your target audience.

Copy your competitors

Many companies, envious of a competitor’s successful banner, simply copy it. There are a number of reasons why this may not work, such as differences in:

• Budget
• Demographics
• Objectives

By copying a similar design exactly, the results can be disappointing and even costly. What you should do instead is evaluate your marketing objectives.

You want your billboards to:

• Have a design that attracts potential customers and increases lead acquisition?
• Offer special prices or discounts?
• Promote existing or new products?

If you have clearly defined your advertising campaign objectives, target customer and budget, your billboards will be well on their way to achieving the results you’re looking for.

Conclusion of lead acquisition with print advertising

Marketers often overlook the value of print campaigns. They think of it as an expensive advertising option that offers few sales opportunities.

In reality, print materials remain invaluable, even with the rise of online advertising, and are direct tools for increasing lead acquisition.

If you make sure you understand your target audience’s motivations for using your product or service, it will be easier to create an ad that strikes a chord.

It’s about getting to know how your customer thinks and acts, and then creating an impression campaign that responds to their needs.

If you have any questions or want to add anything, leave us a comment 🙂

We would be happy to supplement this post or add anything you think is relevant that we haven’t expanded on.