Strategies for small business advertising:

If you have an idea for your small business advertising, then you can get effective results through the internet. Internet is one of the effective sources where information reaches to people in all parts of the world. Hence, nowadays even job recruitment's are posted in the internet websites. This means that people are using internet very frequently and it helps in advertising effectively. The following tips can help you in effective advertising for your business. They are:

1) The foremost step is that you can buy a domain for your business purpose and make it attractive to the customers by adding videos, music, different themes etc.

2) You can find out clients relating to your business through search engine websites and approach them by offering some discounts, offers etc

3) Create banners and seek for permission to the website owners where you can place your advertisements in their website. For example, you can place your advertisement banner in the website where people use it frequently.

4) You can even sign up with Google adsense where you can get relevant advertisements related to your business and you can earn some extra cash from Google and in return, Google crawl your website for getting higher ranking.

So you need a good small business marketing strategy for effective small business advertising.

Follow the 6 Laws of Successful Small Business Advertising

Small business advertising is the lifeblood of the business. It’s the key to getting the word out and making people understand what your business is all about and that it exists in the first place. There are actually six important laws that govern small business advertising and thus make it a successful endeavor to consider:

1st Law – Create one coherent message

Keep it up front, simple and easy to understand. The message that your business would use is often seen through your tagline. It also helps if the tagline and your logo complement each other. Make it a point to have a single message that also connects easily with your products and services; if not, the experience that you can guarantee your customers to gain from their transactions with you.

2nd Law – Be credible

Claim only what you can prove. Never make the mistake of overpromising then under-delivering. This is especially important if you are still a start-up business and still in the throngs of carving your own niche in the industry. It’s best to start simple but confident enough with your claims, than to promise the moon without even getting close to reaching for the stars.

3rd Law – Test before you release

Anything that passes out into the public’s hands must be pre-approved. It should have been overseen first by you and your entire team, evaluated thoroughly and then approved for release. You can even make quick surveys from a small sample of your target market just to get a feel of how they will accept your business and any new products or services you are about to launch.

4th Law – Be within reach

Small business advertising must never fail to include any contact information, even if it’s just one email to get in touch with. Because what’s the point of speaking to the public through ads if you would not let them talk to you and ask back? Make sure your contact information is also correct and updated.

5th – Make your ads speak to your target

This is precisely why market research is essential. Keep in mind that your ads are for your target market. They are the ones who are supposed to understand and appreciate what the ads are saying and not you. Tailor-fit it to their needs and wants and make sure it speaks the language they understand.

6th – Give your market just cause to be curious

Small business advertising should be interesting and should grab the right kind of attention. It should motivate them to think and know what else you have to offer.

Small Business Advertising Online

These days, online marketing is one of the key tools for small business advertising. It produces faster ROIs that are easier to track. In some ways, online advertising is also more affordable than traditional methods and also enables you to actively widen your online contacts. But how do you turn those new contacts or your existing list into potential clients? Here are a few quick tips you can use:

Information is Key

Gone are the days of hard-selling. People are smarter these days and they also have a shorter attention span. They need to know if you can give them something essential or not and then they’ll move on to find another source. Information is what sells, rather than just fancy flowery words. You also show responsibility when you are generous enough to inform people as opposed to just blatantly advertising what you have. It also helps build up credibility and authority.

You can also use the famous 3/3 rule when it comes to talking with your networks. Spend just around 3 minutes talking to them about a particular topic which should be something that they have started. You should also set some online boundaries with them so it would not appear like you have nothing else to do or you are luring them to eventually close a sales deal. Also, before you ask for the contact’s business, make it a point to offer your services thrice first. Do it sparingly as well, and it would also be much better if they are directly asking for help with something you know you can provide.

Build a Communications Plan

Small business advertising online is a bit trickier because, more often than not, you only get to communicate through chats and emails. It’s a different arena when personal meetings are done or you actually get to face the people in your contacts list. So build your communications plan based on the personality of those in your list, especially the ones you’d like to pursue as a client. Always keep your lines open, too, and make your contacts feel that they can always get in touch with you, even the ones who may not be your top priority to close sales deals with.

On top of these small business advertising plans, make sure you act as you are. Be yourself and do not overexert your effort to appear different because, chances are, you would only screw it up. You should also bank on your own expertise and direct people to your online credentials if they wish to know more about you. Take time to create a list of your own professional testimonials and use them in your site.

Traditional Small Business Advertising

Small business advertising can be done in more ways than one. Aside from riding the digital shift, you can still very much rely on traditional advertising means to sustain your business and make it known. Also, consider the fact that more than 50% of today’s population are out on the streets and may not have regular access to the Internet —wheiher deliberately or not. So here are some tried and tested methods you can try to make your business known.

Newspaper Ads – Local papers are sort of like a brochure. You can see them everywhere. People pick newspapers up and usually read them from cover to cover. This is also the reason why the advertising it runs differs depending on the location. Choose to place your ads here during the weekend and on a Monday because these are the critical days where local papers are often read.

Business Card – You will never know when you would be striking a conversation with someone who can turn into a potential client. So one of the biggest mistakes that you can commit as a business owner is to not carry a business card with you at all times. Keep a couple in your wallet so you can be sure you always have one to give out.

Social Organizations – Be involved, both professionally and socially. These organizations are always a good place to widen your contacts and networks. But of course, join only those which you actually believe in and are interested with. It’s also best to choose organizations which you can also do something for, sort of like a corporate social responsibility which you can eventually pursue in partnership with the organization.

Telemarketing – With the right spiel and using the right frequency, telemarketing is still a very useful advertising tactic. It tends to work better for guaranteed customers because you can use it as a means of showing concern if they are satisfied with whatever product or service they have recently purchased from you. It helps keep these people as repeat customers.

Vehicle Ads – These days, small business advertising has literally reached the streets, too. You can have your ads posted by the side of the bus, inside the subways and even on some taxi cabs. Just make sure you do some research regarding the mileage covered by these vehicles so you can really evaluate if they are worth investing in.

Market Research: A Credible Tool for Small Business Advertising

Market research is a valuable tool that you can use for small business advertising. Before going public and reaching out to your target clients, it’s important to do your research first and fine tune your advertising collateral to what the market needs. Current market trends and issues can also be obtained by doing market research. To help you gather the data you need, here are some of the tools you can do when conducting your research:

Survey – These questionnaires are useful; not just in terms of getting your data for small business advertising, but also because it gives you a better view of your marketing demographics. However, the sample is crucial here. The bigger the sample, the more reliable your results will turn out to be. There are also different kinds of survey methods you can use. For product sampling, in-person surveys are done right after people have tried the product.

Telephone surveys are another method you can try, though it’s been more difficult to conduct these days because people have grown to be prejudiced against telemarketing. Online surveys can also be created, which is the digital version of the usual mailed survey forms. On both occasions, it’s important to get the right address of the person to whom you are sending the questionnaires.

Focus Group Discussions – This methodology is facilitated by a moderator who uses guide questions to start the talk. This is held at a specific location where videotaping is also made possible. Sometimes, those who use FGD even use two-way mirrors so facilitators can observe participants and their body language from behind the said mirrors. An FGD can only run from one to two hours at most, and it’s advisable to create at least three different groups to strengthen the credibility of data and also for points of comparison for the obtained results.

Field Trials – This can be done in partnership with particular establishments. Field trials involve setting up a booth where promodizers approach people to try the products for free. Aside from learning about the reaction of people with what the product can do, field trials also provide valuable insights when it comes to how the public receives your business. It can give you valuable references for modifying packaging, sales tactics or even your whole current marketing campaign.

Investing in market research prior to small business advertising is definitely worth it. It helps minimize investment risks in your business.

Using Brochures

Brochures are still an effective way to do small business advertising. Whether online or as hard copy, it’s still important to create brochures because it serves as a summary and graphical representation of what your business is all about. That is why you need to make these items as compelling as possible. Here are some tips which you can use to give that extra punch when handing out this collateral:

Utilize branding – Treat your brochure as your corporate identity, and not just another form of small business advertising. Use proper branding techniques that will help people identify you and your services once they read the print out. This is why you need to create a logo for your business, and also a tagline that sort of sums up what you are all about. These should be reflected through your branding.

Know your reader – Make sure you create your printed materials with your reader in mind. It’s not really about what you want, but about what will make people read your printouts instead of simply throwing them away once they receive it. By knowing your reader, you can also understand what layout will work much better. Place yourself in the shoes of your target market so you can understand what you will like to see immediately, and what kind of information you will be most concerned with.

Utilize copywriting skills – Aside from the visual representations which can be found in your brochure, keep in mind that good copywriting is a must. This is why, if you are not that confident with your writing skills, then it will be best to outsource it to someone else who can handle the job well. It’s not just about being able to write the right sentences or making sure that your grammar is correct. You also need to write your copy with a tone that is expected for the industry you are in. You also need to keep your content short yet concise, clear and compelling.

Break the limits of size – Small business advertising should grab attention. So if you think A4 is the only size your brochure can come out in, then you’re wrong. The more creative you are the better. Just make sure that it still ends up easy for reading and holding. Just be careful not to go overboard and end up making it hard for readers to see what you have written down inside. Also, the shape of your brochure can help motivate people to look at it from all sides, and to see all the important information you want them to know.