Advertising has always been with us from the very first time the people started exhibiting their wares. Print advertising was the darling of businesses and ad agencies during the 80s. We are now in a new century and that love has shifted to online ads. We want to compare online and print ads and draw some conclusions on the best way forward for any business looking to spread the word about their products and services.

Comparing Online and Print Advertising

Exposure

Online ads are exposed to more people than print ads. This is because there are fewer newspapers, magazines and other print publications in circulation than there are billions of bytes of disk space that houses the internet where online ads are posted.

It would be impractical and too expensive to place your ad on every newspaper. Besides, it will only be exposed to the readers of the newspaper you placed the ad, further liming its reach. Online ads on the other hand reaches a wider audience.

Interactivity

Print ads are not interactive whereas online ads can be made in audio and visual forms. Online ads can thus hold the attention of the viewer more than print ads.

Cost

Online ads are relatively cheaper than print ads. Once you have paid for space on print, there is no room for flexibility, as the ads will run on the appointed day. With online ads, you can setup your ad in such a way that it is only when people click on it that a stated amount is deducted by the “ad agency” (Cost per Click or CPC). The internet also has means of providing ads that would cost you nothing. It breaks the traditional mold of ads as we use to know it as you can set up your own ad campaign without having to pay anyone a dime.

Social networking platforms, blogging and use of forums are just some of the ways you can set up free ads for your company, product or service. You get to reach more people without spending cash as such and they can link with you directly.

Greater Control over Your Ad

Unlike print ads, online ads gives you greater control in determining how the final ad would look like. This is something most use to the fullest. Some online ad agencies have platforms that makes it easy for the least technical person to set up ads in a matter of minutes.

Speed

Online ads can start running immediately. This is different from print ads that has to wait till the paper is published. There are businesses where speed is critical. Special ads attached to trending topics requires speed to execute. This is something that was completely available when print ads held sway.

Connect with Clients Directly

You can use online ads to connect quickly and directly with people who saw your ads. A click can lead to your site and both of you could be closing a deal in a matter of minutes.

Keeps You Safe

Imagine if you are a property owner and you place an ad for people who are interested in renting your place on both print, and online, those that saw your print ad will want to arrange to look up the place physically. This is not necessarily the case with online ads as you can post videos of the apartment and interested parties get to view it online. Moreover, you can do all your preliminary communication with them online. That is, you do not have to see them physically and this could be a great plus as it concerns security.

Picking the Most Ideal Means for Your Ad Campaign

For all the benefit of online ad over print ad, online ads may not just be the thing for your business. Your company may only serve a local community. Besides, word of mouth is more effective than anything else is. Moreover, almost everybody reads the local community newspaper. Such a community may be connected to the internet but people around may just love the “old” ways more than anything else.

The point is assuming that the internet is simply the place to go when it comes to placing ads may render that campaign to be ineffective. You must be able to determine your target audience and from there you should be able to tell if the internet would be more effective than printed flyers.

In conclusion, it is not the means or the platform that you used but the result they give. There are situations in which print ads will give you a better result than online ads. You have to be open minded enough to be able to consider all the options available.