In an age dominated by social media and online advertising, many business owners ask whether magazine advertising still works.
For local businesses across Plymouth, Tavistock and Okehampton, the answer is often yes – particularly when those magazines are focused on the communities they serve.
Unlike digital adverts that disappear in seconds, community magazines tend to stay in homes for weeks. They sit on kitchen tables, coffee tables and desks, picked up whenever someone has a spare moment to read about local stories, events and businesses.
Publications such as Moor Links, Tavy Links and the Plym Links magazines contain a mixture of local walks, community news, heritage features, arts and events. Because readers enjoy this editorial content, they spend time with the magazine and naturally notice the businesses advertised within it.
This environment is very different from the fast-moving world of social media. Readers are relaxed, interested in their local area and often actively looking for services nearby.
Many residents in areas such as Woolwell, Roborough, Plymstock and Tavistock actively use community magazines to discover local tradespeople, shops and services.
For small businesses, this kind of focused local attention can be incredibly valuable. Instead of competing with thousands of online adverts, your business appears directly within the community it serves.
Print advertising also works well alongside digital marketing. A reader might first notice your business in a magazine and later search for you online. That familiarity builds trust and increases the likelihood they will contact you.
In short, magazine advertising continues to work because it reaches people where they live and within content they already value – their own community.
Links Publishing produces seven community magazines including Moor Links, Tavy Links, Oke Links, Plym Links North, Plym Links Central, Plym Links East and Coastal Links, delivered every two months to 70,000 homes across Plymouth, Tavistock, Dartmoor and West Devon. Reaching 168,000 readers
