Guys. So I'm thinking of recommending a targeted ad campaign using printed brochures or Facebook ads. The reason I can't do both is because of my client's budget. I'm using printing-la.com for printing pricing. Prices are low but even then, the cost to produce a 12 page brochure is high compared to the number of people I can reach in Facebook. Benefit of printing is that they might keep the brochure on their desk for a long time if we make it very useful. Thoughts?
Facebook every time. What are the chances it stays on their desk and doesn't go straight in the bin? Depending on the product/service you are promoting, I'd expect facebook to be much, much cheaper.
Is the goal to have the user to to a website? If so, think about how much effort it takes to type the url from the brochure into the browser. Also, how are you distributing the brochures, and did you work that into a cost comparison?
You are talking about direct mail vs FB. I've had experience of direct mail - producing and post a multi-page glossy brochure as well as posting a single page letter. You need to decide which mode or combination of traffic methods would best suit your client's product or services and then weigh up the pros and cons of the different types of advertising. For direct mail, the printing of the brochure, alone, would cost of a great deal. Then there's the cost of postage (each brochure would probably cost you/your client at least £1.50 (in the UK - cost being charge by size and weight). Cost of stationery (envelopes, inserts, etc, etc). Add to that the list of names and addresses (not worth doing unless you have several thousand names) hired from a list broker and you are talking a high four figure sum for a campaign. You could run a far more targeted campaign using PPC - FB, Adfly, Solo Ads and so on at a fraction of the cost of direct mail. In your shoes, I'd try the less expensive campaigns, first, and if the ROI is good, test a small sample using DM and compare the results.