By Joe Smith
Special to The Record
With the challenges the economy is dealing with these days, it is critical to ensure your advertising dollars are being allocated wisely.
The first thing that needs to be done is to create a profile of your typical customer. This demographic information will help in deciding what advertising channels or platforms are most likely to use when seeking information.
For example, if your target audience is under 20, you might consider using Instagram or Snapchat. On the other hand, if your audience is in the 65 to 80 age group, there is the opportunity to use more traditional media. If you are not familiar with the various media and who they reach, there is lots of info available on the internet to help make a decision.
In looking to the future of where to place your advertising, it is critical to assess the success of your advertising campaigns. With digital advertising, there are all kinds of metrics that will help you analyze how effective your efforts are. It’s somewhat more difficult with traditional media, but there are certain techniques that can be used to help identify what kind of response you are getting. For example, you can use a special offer or discount code on your website or print ads to get a sense of how well people react to making a purchase.
Most businesses operate on some kind of a cycle throughout the year and know when sales are up or in the doldrums. Look at your revenue to see where your busiest seasons are. Those are the times when your target customers will be more inclined to make a purchase or use your services.
I don’t know of any business that has an unlimited budget for advertising. With that in mind, it is essential to establish a budget that works within your overall revenue stream. One of the keys to a successful campaign is frequency.
There is an age-old marketing rule that was reportedly first formulated by the movie industry in the 1930s. It has been proven valid time and time again in research studies. It is known as the rule of seven, which states that a prospect needs to hear, see or read the advertiser’s message at least seven times before they will take action to buy a product or service.
This means that you will have to carefully select not only the platform or media that is the most cost-effective and will fit within your budget, but also the ones that have the best opportunity to reach your target audience.
Remember: advertising is only one aspect of your overall marketing strategy so make sure it ties in with your core messaging and remains consistent with how you want your brand presented.
Joe Smith is a communications consultant and an accomplished fine artist. He can be reached via email at joesmith@shaw.ca