Today’s “Ask the Expert” column features Jackie Amato, Customer Service Manager with RealEstateCalendars.com.

Q: When it comes to brand promotion, what are some of the biggest advantages to using promotional calendars?

A: Business calendars are a great way to ensure your customers have your company details at their fingertips all year long. Not only are promotional calendars an effective marketing tool—ensuring your brand is seen every day—they’re also a useful product for your customers. Since most people interact with a calendar on a daily basis, why not provide your customers with a useful tool while giving them a daily reminder of your business?

There are many advantages to using promotional calendars to advertise and market your business, most notably their usefulness in the daily lives of your customers. In today’s digital age, where many of us make use of electronic calendars, most people still rely on a printed calendar to jot down notes and reminders to effectively manage their time.

While promotional calendars can be very useful to your customers, they can also be instrumental when it comes to building your brand recognition. People often glance at the calendar several times a day, and if it bears your brand, they’ll come to know you. Promotional calendars bearing your business logo and contact information give your customers the familiarity with your brand that you seek, and can go a long way in stretching your marketing and advertising budget throughout the year.

Promotional calendars are also a great vehicle that can be used to convey your message to your customers. They make great thank-you and holiday gifts, and can be distributed door-to-door, dropped off at places of business, given away at tradeshows or local festivals or even mailed through direct mailing campaigns. Promotional calendars can also carry messages of goodwill to the community. Whether you’re donating them to schools, hospitals, events sponsored by non-profit organizations or fundraising campaigns, promotional calendars will put your business front and center in people’s minds as they connect your generosity and goodwill to your brand.

In addition to advertising your brand, promotional calendars can be a very economical marketing tool. Typically pre-printed with stock photos, promotional calendars often incorporate a convenient magnetic strip, allowing customers to hang them directly on the refrigerator. They can also be hung on a wall or even placed on a table or desk. Using a pre-printed promotional calendar to promote your business can be as simple as adding your business card to a flap at the top or bottom of the calendar.

Promotional calendars also offer a fun way to market your business. Creatively designed calendar magnets showcasing your logo and information can be useful for clients to hang on the refrigerator, providing an eye-catching and affordable way to display your brand. Different businesses can even create unique designs to truly showcase their industry. For example, dentists can use a tooth-shaped calendar, veterinarians can choose a calendar filled with pet photos, restaurants can provide recipes, real estate agents can include advice on how to buy or sell a home and landscapers and gardeners can provide gardening tips.

The sky is truly the limit when it comes to these thrifty marketing tools. With many products to choose from, www.realestatecalendars.com offers customized house-shaped magnet calendars, customized wall calendars, house-shaped thermostat calendars, self-mailer calendars (no envelope needed), customized 3.5” x 4” or 4” x 7” full-magnet calendars and desk calendars, as well as the ability to attach your own business card to a 12-month or 13-month refrigerator calendar magnet.

For more information, visit www.realestatecalendars.com.