Flyers for Business in 2021: Do They Really Work?

Flyers have long been used as the primary form of communication and marketing channel. As soon as printing was widely available, flyers were used for a whole host of activity and businesses quickly jumped on the trend. Back before the internet, they would be a great way to communicate to potential customers.

However, in today’s digital world, there are some questions around whether they are still effective. With online ads and social media booming in 2021, reaching your target audience can be even quicker and easier without throwing flyers out to everyone. Let’s look at some of the benefits of using flyers, making them effective, and why they might not work for you.

Benefits to using flyers

There are many reasons flyers can be a great communication tool. They are a cost-effective way to get your message out, as printing can be affordable, particularly for new businesses. They can also be much quicker to produce than some other marketing channels like television adverts. Some prospective customers might be best targeted through flyers rather than online. It depends where your customers are and what they might be doing.

Flyers can physically manifest your brand, particularly if you don’t have a tangible product. It can be helpful to give prospective customers something tangible to hold, as this carries more weight and impact over something they can’t physically touch. If you want to make your flyers more relevant to the digital age, you can add QR codes. This also makes the success rate easy to track. Flyers can be a great tool if you use them right. You need to understand your target audience and if this is the best method of communication for them. Surveys and studies have shown that people do still read flyers in 2021.

How to create effective flyers

Forbes.com argues that even in the digital age, flyers can definitely be an effective form of marketing if you get your flyers right. The words used are important as you usually have less space to say what you want, and because flyers are visual tools, they need to look right. Make sure you have a clear call to action on your flyer as you would with any marketing material, don’t overwhelm the leaflet with lots of imagery. Keep it clear, simple and concise so your reader can quickly understand the message. There are many ways to get your flyers created. Try searching for a free flyer maker online as a starting point. Flyers don’t have to be expensive, and they can actually be very cost-effective if you find the right way to produce them. If you have more budget to spend, you can get a graphic designer involved to help make your flyers stand out.

Why flyers might not work for you

Although there are many benefits, flyers might not always work for your business. Entrepreneur.com argues that in today’s world, people react much better to stories and experiences. Rather than hand them a flyer on the street, try giving a free sample or a taster. With the internet and email marketing, there are more marketing channels than ever before. This means you have more choice to choose a better channel for your business and your audience.

Think about how many times you’ve received a flyer and thrown it straight in the bin without looking at it. With receiving so many flyers over the years, it’s almost now a reflex to reject them. We need to look at new ways to grab someone’s attention. There are more ways to communicate with potential customers, so you need to consider all available options.

Should you use flyers?

Are flyers effective, and should you use them? The simple answer is yes because they can be a great form of marketing. However, it really depends on what you need to achieve from them. If flyers are your only marketing channel, you might want to think about other modern ways of communicating, but equally, if your target market is big on reading flyers, then go for it. Flyers can and should be one of a variety of diverse marketing tactics. You can use flyers alongside other channels to communicate effectively. The key is to have a clear purpose and why you need them and make sure they are created to align with that purpose.

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