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8 tips for effective small business advertising

Written by: Jen Hinds

Article Overview: Advertising is often the first thing people think of when they hear the term marketing. But in fact it is only one element, and rarely works well when done in isolation. As part of a portfolio of marketing activities however, it can be a great tool for the small business - but there are some rules that you should stick to.

8 tips for effective small business advertising

Follow these simple guidelines and you can make advertising work for your small business:

1. Don’t feel you have to
   
   A lot of advertising simply does not work! The reason being, many companies feel obliged to use this method of promotion but don’t think it through. Media salespeople count on the fact that most businesses feel they ought to advertise. They are often well trained and succeed in cementing this view by telling you about what your competitors are doing. But don’t forget – just because they are doing it, doesn’t mean that it is working for them!
   
   
2. Plan it well
   
   Because it is paid for, advertising can lack credibility and is seen as less objective than, say, an editorial piece or PR, so it needs to be well planned, and be part of a wider marketing strategy.
   
   
3. Distinguish between brand and product advertising
   
   The former promotes your company image with the objective of raising awareness of your brand amongst your target audience. Companies who are already very well known tend to focus on this - like cola producers, car manufacturers, breweries, and other large companies.
   
   The latter promotes a specific product or service with the objective of selling more. It will be enticing some kind of response – whether it be a sale, or a request for further information.
   
   While in a perfect world, you would do a bit of both, in reality, as a small business with limited resources, you will probably get more results if you focus your efforts on promoting your product.
   
   
   
   
4. Write good advertising copy
   
   Start with a great headline – this is first thing a person reads and influences the choice to turn the page or read on.
   
   As with any copy you write, it should be appealing to your target audience. It should respond to their needs, fears, desires and talk their language.
   
   
5. Negotiate!
   
   There is always room for negotiation when it comes to buying advertising space. This especially true as the deadline approaches. Remember the media seller has to fill the space and there will always be other opportunities for you to advertise. They need you more than you need them! Keeping this in mind will put you in a strong position to get the best deal.
   
   You can also negotiate on position…
   
   
6. Get the timing and position right
   
   The bigger and better positioned your ad is, the more it will get noticed.
   
   Right hand pages get seen more than left hand pages. The top of a page is better than the bottom (if in doubt – think about how you read a publication)
   
   More of your target will see it if it is placed within a section or near a feature that specifically relates to them.
   
   
7. Be prepared
   
   If you have chosen wisely, the enquiries will come flooding in once your ad has been published. (If they don’t, you know you need to review your strategy – whether it’s the copy, the publication, the timing – or all three!)
   
   But you must be prepared for increased demand – and that could be demand for your service or product, or for extra information or brochures.
   
   
8. Measure
   
   As with any form of marketing, you should only advertise if it brings in more business than it costs you. You should know:
   
   
   • The cost of the advertisement (remember to include the cost of production as well as the actual placing of the ad.)
   • How many people responded to the advert
   • How many were consequently converted into a sale
   • What the value of that sale was
     
     
   It is not always easy to do this with 100% accuracy, but make sure you have some mechanism in place. For example - include a reference number in the advertisement and ask readers to quote this when they contact you. Make sure the reference relates to the type of advert, the publication and even the placing and timing of it. Not everybody will quote it, but you can always ask where a person heard about you. You can then track this information against the life of an enquiry.
   
   

Just as with any other form of marketing, advertising will always fare better if is part of a much wider strategy including various promotional methods such as PR, internet marketing, and direct mail.

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  Secrets to Advertising Your Business

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Related Forum Posts
Re: Social media - [quote="ideasuniversity":37xg5ci8]I believe twitter is good for free advertising while facebook is good for paying adverts. You can use both for your marketing[/quote:37xg5ci8] I actually don't think Twitter is very effective for "advertising". I use it a little for that but much more to share good (free) resources with others, and build relationships. I'm curious as to your experience with paying advertising on Facebook. Are you getting a good ROI? Any tips to make it most effective?
What is "Good Advertising"? - Hi dominick Thank you for your tips, they are very useful. However I have a question for you, what do you define good advertising as and how do you work out the best ways of advertising? I am keen to perform your formula, but where is the best place to capture my prospects attention do you believe? It would depend on my type of business obviously, but do you have any thoughts on where to find your best prospects for as little advertising waste as possible?
Do you have an article you want published? - We are always on the look out for interesting articles that can help people setting up and running their own small business. It can be on any subject from IT tips to sales, from finances to PR. It's a great way of advertising your own business at the same time as helping others with theirs. If you have anythingyou would like to submit send it to me at liz.heckford@exceptionalthinking.co.uk
Customer Service - Great customer service, referrals and positive word of mouth are effective ways to promote your business. I've found that educating my customers about the sort of referrals I want is very valuable. While this sort of promotion can be very effective, it is only one type of advertising that should be done. Of course, the amount of promotion that you need to do depends on the amount of business you need to generate. Chris
Content Development Vs. Advertising - Hi, I don't need to throw out statistics to make the point that the world of advertising is changing. I am gathering sources to put together an article called "Content Development VS. Advertising" and was hoping to get feedback from business owners. Main Objective Of Article: Show business owners how developing content in 2010 is more cost effective and produces a higher ROI than advertising. Answers I would like from business owners & marketers: 1. What do you consider content? 2. If you had $10,000 to invest in marketing/promoting/advertising your company what would you do with it? 3. What companies do you buy from because they have excellent content? 4. How long would it take you to write 2 great articles a month? 5. Do you think you could produce a semi-professional video? look forward to your answers. Jeff


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