Binders are a versatile and highly cost-effective way to raise awareness for your brand. A well-designed binder provides more information in one place than virtually any other print marketing material. Its tangibility helps clients focus and retain information. And a binder is easier to keep track of than a stack of loose papers.

As with any marketing material, you’ll need a strategy for when and how to use your binders to maximize their effectiveness. You can build brand awareness with these 5 clever uses for your binder.

1. Engage clients’ imaginations

Binders come in a wide variety of manufacturing materials that can be customized with different stock colors, imprint methods, and coatings. Your job is to choose the options that work for your target audience, because successful print marketing engages clients mentally and emotionally. Ask yourself, ” What will my clients use the binder for? What do I want them to learn or do?”

For instance, a client who works in an industrial setting probably needs a poly binder, because its durable plastic panels are virtually indestructible. But a high-level executive client needs something with a more corporate look—like a plush leather-like binder with an embossed logo.

The key is to create a binder that meets your audience’s needs and looks good doing it. Since that can be a little tricky if you’re not well-versed in graphic design, make sure you choose an experienced printer like Company Folders—one that’s willing to answer your questions and work with you to create the perfect 3-ring binder for your clients.

2. Give a presentation

The majority of presentations are either boring or confusing. It’s hard to hit that sweet spot where everyone stays engaged, roles are defined, and people go home happy. If you want to give a good presentation, you need to have the right tools—and including a presentation binder.

When you create a custom binder for each attendee, you’re telling them that you value their role in the meeting. This creates a sense of importance that encourages people to pay closer attention to what you have to say.

An interactive presentation packet takes it a step farther. This includes fill-in-the-blank worksheets, a custom note in each binder for only that recipient, or instructions for a group activity that requires everyone to speak up and participate at some point. This will encourage interaction and help your listeners stay wide awake.

3. Create a take-home packet

Clients often leave meetings with an armful of papers and no clear idea how to start sorting through them. It’s a stressful situation, and it’s a bad business practice—making the client do all the work discourages them from purchasing from you in the future.

Binders are a great resource for alleviating clients’ stress because they’re an organized, helpful tool for learning about your company and products. When you give each client a take-home binder, you’re not just helping them process info more easily (although that’s certainly true). You’re also showing that you’ll go the extra mile to help them make the best choice—which builds trust and wins conversions.

4. Provide a sample book

Sample books are the MVPs of the take-home binder world. These are binders that contain samples of your product—such as fabric, flooring, wood, or metal—for your clients to examine at their leisure.

Since binders are equipped with varying ring sizes, they can carry large collections of material or thicker materials that wouldn’t necessarily fit elsewhere. Some printers even offer ring sizes that go up to 4″ or more.

When you offer product samples in this easy-to-use format, it encourages clients to trust and buy from you. But it can get expensive making samples for every client. If it’s too expensive or you’d like to engage customers in your store, have fewer binders made and strategically place them in your building for customers to browse when they come in.

5. Make a multimedia marketing kit

It’s crucial to combine digital and print materials for optimal marketing results—but distributing print and digital media at the same time can be a headache. Most packaging that protects one won’t work for the other, so many companies resort to creating one package for print and one for digital media.

Binders offer a better solution: they can be equipped with special pockets to hold CDs or DVDs. And since their covers are very sturdy, your digital media is more likely to arrive at its destination safe and sound. Some binders even let you include special slits or pockets for flash drives to create the ultimate multimedia packet.

These are five of the most effective ways to build brand awareness with binders—but there are plenty of other strategies out there. We’d love to hear yours in the comments below!