The mere fact that people still like the feel of paper and print is not enough for print media to overcome the many advantages of Web media. This is true not just for regular publications like newspapers and magazines, but basically for any sort of print media, even marketing flyers and brochures.
With audiences becoming increasingly Internet-savvy, print media will do well to borrow some Web-based concepts that work for Netizens. Adopting ideal Internet standards for readability and scanability as well as using a modern approach to colors and graphics would improve print media’s appeal and reach to a modern audience.
Reader-Friendliness: Readability and Scanability
Even in researching something trivial, Internet readers have mountains of voluminous information to go through. They need to sort them out and browse through them as fast as possible. This means they can’t spend time reading every word of every article. The norm is they scan the text looking for usable info and stop to read more thoroughly when an interesting item is spotted.
What this means for print media is that all messages and texts in print need to be very readable, and especially scanable through:
- Breaking long messages into paragraphs.
- Using subheadings to highlight paragraph topics.
- Using bullet points and lists to mention important points in a “per item” basis.
- Writing in simpler terms that are easier to understand.
These are only some ways for text to be made more reader-friendly. There are of course other elements that make an entire printed material more reader-friendly, such as colors and images.
Appeal to Visual Perception: Colors and Images
Design concepts both in Web and in print rely on colors to evoke interest and elicit emotion, and in images to deliver short messages that in words might be too tedious to read. In print media, investing in colors might be a bit costlier than going black and white, but it’s worthwhile.
Also, images such as infographics can deliver a lot of information through very visually appealing means. As soon as the graphics catch a reader’s eye, the labels and information engage his mind. Infographics are excellent examples of the ideal use of colors and images to complement text in efforts to make material more reader-friendly.
Concepts that work for the Internet like these mentioned above can also work wonders for print media. But there are some classic print media practices that would still work today, in the midst of technological renaissance.
Useful Print Media
In the realm of print marketing, advertising specialties or promotional giveaways are one of the most effective means of marketing. Especially giveaways like calendars or notepads. Why? Because they’re useful. This is an important concept to capitalize on. The more useful something is, the more it will be accepted and patronized.
Borrowing some online concepts and sticking to the most practical offline ones would make print media more competitive in a Web media prevalent era.
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