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Let’s say a man is randomly handing out flyers in a park one Sunday afternoon. After politely looking at its content, the receiver will most likely do one of three things: (1) fold it and tuck it in his pocket, (2) crumple it and throw it away, or (3) use it to dispose his gum. Only around 1 to 2 percent will actually respond to the flyer. It goes without saying that using flyers is often relegated to the bottom of the marketing department’s list. So why are they still around?

Marketing is very important for businesses and organizations to reach their target audience. To get their message across, they come up with strategies deemed to be effective in fulfilling this task. Flyers are one of them. For the most part, they come in various neon-colored papers, photocopied, and mostly composed of text with minimal images. They have to be eye-catching for people to actually look at them.

Why do businesses and organizations use flyers?

Businesses and organizations can greatly benefit from flyers as they are:

# 1. Relatively cheaper

Take for example a TV commercial. To create one, you have to look for the actors, find the perfect location, write the script, shoot, and then finish post editing. The cost can be as little as $1,000 or as big as $350,000, depending on where you want to be advertised.

Flyers will definitely not reach that amount. Compared to advertising on billboards or creating a commercial for TV, flyers only need the right design, the right message, and the right kind of paper. Some even enlist online printing services for this. Unlike other forms of advertising, flyers will give you exactly how much you paid for. You definitely do not need to shell out thousands of dollars to produce the number of flyers that you need.

Related: The Best Ways To Market A Product On A Low Budget

# 2. Great for promoting events

People who have an event to promote usually use flyers to reach more people. This is especially effective if the event will be held within the same community or a small town, where locally-produced events often take place (e.g. mini-concerts, theater plays, and seminars). This strategy banks on the fact that flyers are:

• Convenient. The good thing about flyers is that the receivers can actually hold it in their hands. They can put it on their fridge, pin it on their walls, or place it in their wallets. With or without booting their computers or turning on their mobile phones, flyers are very convenient and can be easily brought anywhere.

• Effective reminders. When people hold the flyers in their hands, chances are, the receivers will not forget the date and the venue. The contact details are also there, should they need more information. Moreover, they can easily look at your flyer for directions, in case they get lost while driving.

# 3. Easy to distribute

With flyers, there is no need to write a request letter, send it to radio/TV/newspaper stations, and wait for their response. After printing the flyers, people can simply do any of the following, depending on their chosen location:

• Hand them out to people in popular areas
• Leave them on car’s windshields
• Put them in mailboxes
• Place them in public places for people to simply pick up
• Insert them in newspapers and magazines
• Go door-to-door in a neighborhood

# 4. Easy to use when targeting the demographic you’re after

Flyers are very personal by nature. With a specific demographic in mind, those who distribute it can hand them to the people who specifically answer to their target market’s profile or leave them on the doors of those they wish to receive the flyers. Compared to broadcast or print media where you can only give a general type of advertisement, this kind of tactic can actually increase the rate of response as they are directly given to your target.

Related: Nine Ways To Market On A Shoestring – Without The Internet!

# 5. The results can be tracked

When a potential client has a question regarding your product, service or event, they will call up the number printed on your flyer. They will usually say, “I got your flyers, and I want to know more about this product/service/event.” When this happens, you can track how effective your flyers were—how the client got your material, how interested they are, the response rate, etc.

If you are studying how to go about with your upcoming flyer campaign, also keep in mind to properly calculate the return of investment and to prequalify the people and places you are sending these out to. Despite all the derision, these benefits show that flyers are still an effective marketing tool.

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Image: “Conceptual image of smiling businessman flying in the clouds/Shutterstock“