Great Brands That Compete On Value: Get Front & Center

There is such incredible power in the cover of a magazine. It is positioned to be seen by and attract the attention of many, and as practically all marketing minds would agree, it’s the most valuable piece of real estate in print.

The elements of the magazine cover that serve as the focal point – the imagery, the headlines, teasers about what you can find within the pages – are what work together to draw people in and make them take interest, compelling them to want to read more to know more. It’s a call to action that has decades’ worth of metrics to support its effectiveness. With the cover, even if you don’t reel a potential reader in, it’s been seen and made an impression that the person would likely be able to recall at a later date. Occupying that tiny bit of space in a person’s mind could potentially be advantageous in ways that can’t necessarily be measured with accuracy. You never know when the opportunity will arise that this one time they saw you on the cover, and perhaps had the time or interest to read more, will come up again. When it does, though, it’s likely going to be that person providing what they deem to be useful information or a recommendation based on a question or need, or contributing to a line of conversation where it makes sense to be included. Just like that you’ve entered into the minds of others. This organic process is happening all around you, all the time.

However, Strictly Business isn’t just any print publication; it’s one that focuses all of its content on local businesses, and more specifically, the vast majority of it on its advertisers. So this being the case, our covers are exclusively offered with the campaign tier that gets delivers the most visibility and value, on an extended basis that allows for top-of-mind recognition and sustained momentum. As you’ll often hear me say, it’s been designed for optimal impact.

Every month we take great pride in hearing so much buzz about the businesspeople that grace our covers; the familiar faces that we see serving people right here in our community, many of whom we know from doing business together or through varying degrees of separation. With the nature of Lincoln being a blend of a small town and a big city, it’s a unique marketplace in that aspect. We know it makes an impression on the audience here, so we give our clients the prime opportunity to capitalize on it. The connection our clients make with our readers through the magazine is an extension of their presence. It’s out there working for them to get the word out to even more people about what makes them special, and why you should choose to give them your business.

Now as a result of the digital revolution, the cover of a magazine has a much greater reach too. With access worldwide, this translates into considerably more exposure for those who have a presence on them, and with more opportunities for conversion comes greater potential for return on investment. According to David Carey, President of Hearst Magazines, one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines, “We carry higher CPMs for our brands that are first in print and then go to digital versus those that are only digital. The print product makes it more premium in digital.” This statement lends to the fact that it’s well worth paying for that type and extent of exposure, and that many recognize the significance of it.

As for Strictly Business, the print magazine remains a mainstay at desks, side tables, and waiting room racks as it’s delivered directly to over 10,000 business locations citywide, and has been for coming up on 25 years in 2018. But in addition, we also have a strong online presence and readership, with our website being heaving trafficked each month, and as you might suspect, the cover story is front and center on the landing page. In the past twelve months, our website has charted over 124,000 page views, and just since August, over 1,437,000 Google search impressions, all generated from the editorial featuring our clients. All monthly content is prominently posted online to be read on-demand wherever and whenever you please, shared on our social media, and can be shared by our clients however they see fit. It is archived, so you can look at all past articles too once you’ve read the cover story.

All told, the value of being front and center in front of your target audience by way of a Strictly Business cover and all that comes along with that investment is tremendous. If you’d like to learn more about this opportunity, let’s talk!

To learn more about how Strictly Business can help you, contact me directly at (402) 466-3330 or visit strictly-business.com/connect. (You can also click on our Staff Letter tab online to view past articles)