Want your small business to feel bigger and more trustworthy than it actually is?
There’s a secret that many small business owners are unaware of: Trust isn’t won with another Facebook post. Trust is won with something tangible. In a noisy world of competitors vying for eyes on the same screens, tangible assets rule.
That’s where magazine printing comes in.
Great magazines, brochures and booklets endure. They get shared. They live on coffee tables for months brandishing your brand’s presence.
Let’s dig into why this works and how you can use it…
In This Guide:
- Why Tangible Assets Build Trust
- What The Numbers Say About Print
- How Small Businesses Can Use Print Assets
- Making Your Print Assets Work Harder
Why Tangible Assets Build Trust
Picture receiving a quality printed magazine or brochure in the mail.
You didn’t throw it away, did you? That’s what real goods will do for you. Instant gravitas.
When someone can physically touch your brand something happens psychologically. Print feels substantial. It feels like your business spent hard earned money to produce it. And consumers trust businesses that look like they have something to lose.
Here’s why physical assets build trust so well:
- They feel permanent: When you see something digital, it vanishes the instant you scroll away. A print magazine stays put for weeks, growing on you.
- They demonstrate investment: Social media posts can be done quickly and for free. A good printed piece demonstrates that you care about your brand.
- They stand out from the clutter: People are overwhelmed by digital advertising. A physical gift lets them unplug.
It’s also why so many expanding brands turn to professionally printed pieces like Rush Saddle Stitch Booklets to show off their products, explain their story, and have something tangible for them to hold. Print magazines allow even the smallest company to look legitimate, credible, and deserving of your trust.
And the best part? It works.
What The Numbers Say About Print
Look, you’re probably thinking. “Isn’t print dead?”
Oh, not so fast. Nope. Not even remotely true. Print is actually one of the most trusted advertising mediums.
Did you know that 82% of people will trust print advertisements found in newspapers and magazines over any other channel when it comes time to buy a product. Yes, higher than social media. Yes, even higher than online display advertisements. Print.
Why does this matter for your small business?
Earn people’s trust and they will give you their business. Loyalty follows trust.
Another reason print should be in your marketing mix? People remember it. Studies have found that print ads have a 77% recall rate while digital ads only have a 46% rate. In other words, when someone sees your brand in a magazine, they are far more likely to remember it than if they saw your ad while scrolling through social media.
Here is why print performs so well:
- Increased trust: Printed content tends to be more trustworthy and legitimate than online advertising.
- Better recall: A physical piece leaves a lasting impression that a screen can’t.
- Longer shelf life: Magazines get saved, shared, and re-read.
Pretty convincing, right?
How Small Businesses Can Use Print Assets
Ok cool, let’s talk shop. How do you use magazine printing to gain trust for your business?
You don’t need a massive budget. You just need to be smart about it.
Create A Brand Magazine Or Lookbook
This is the best tangible asset for building trust.
A brand magazine (also called lookbook) is a printed publication that highlights your products, your story, and your personality. It’s not a hard sell. It’s an invitation for your customers to get to know you.
Explanation: Folks start to perceive you as a credible brand when they flip through a nice printed magazine catalog of your products. You’re not a little tiny startup company. And what’s great about a saddle stitch booklet is you can distribute them easily and they’re inexpensive.
Add plenty of good quality photos of your products, info about your brand, customer reviews and tips/tricks guides.
Print Product Catalogues
Got a range of products? A printed catalogue is a no-brainer.
Customers enjoy shopping offline by browsing your products at their leisure with no distractions. Plus when they see everything printed off professionally it makes your business look more legit.
Hand Out Booklets At Events
Trade shows, markets, pop-ups… these are goldmines for building trust with print.
When someone leaves your booth with a printed booklet in hand, you’ve given them something to remember you by. While they may forget your website URL, that booklet will remain in their bag long after.
Making Your Print Assets Work Harder
You have printed a magazine/booklet. Now lets make sure it delivers.
Great print assets should be used alongside your digital marketing. When they’re combined they’re much more effective than when used alone.
Here’s how to do it:
Include a QR code on your print pieces. This links your tangible asset to your website or ecommerce store. A reader flips through your magazine, scans your code and arrives on your website. Easy peasy.
Make sure your offline materials match your online branding. Use the same colours. Use the same logo. Sounds the same. Brands become trusted through consistency.
A few quick tips to get the most out of your print assets:
- Make it clean: Don’t try to put everything on one page. Allow for whitespace so it’s readable.
- Buy quality stock: Inexpensive, flimsy print destroys credibility. Paper matters.
- Include a clear call to action: Tell people exactly what to do next.
The goal is for your print piece to feel like an extension of your brand. Not an afterthought.
Bringing It All Together
Establishing brand trust as a small business doesn’t mean breaking the bank or waiting decades to appear legitimate.
Printed materials such as magazines, catalogues and booklets offer a shortcut. They help establish your business as larger, more professional and more credible… quickly.
To quickly recap:
- Tangible assets build trust because they feel permanent and show real investment
- Print is trusted by 82% of consumers and remembered far better than digital
- Use magazines, catalogues, and booklets to look established
- Combine print with digital and always invest in quality
Winners are not always the largest companies. They are the ones customers trust. Nothing gains trust faster than putting something tangible in the customer’s hand.
So go ahead. Give them something to hold onto.
