When watching TV or flipping through a magazine you often see advertisements from large corporations like Coca Cola, Ford, and Nike, have you noticed that these companies aren’t selling you a specific product or service. The reason for this, is that the purpose of their advertisement is to sell you brand preference and brand loyalty. This is great, if you have millions of dollars to spend on a branding campaign and your comapny is a household name with millions of people. Unfortunately most small businesses do not have the luxury of immediate brand recognition and loyalty by millions of consumers. So what can you do to have more effective adverting on a shoestring budget? Let me share with you a few secrets of effective small business advertising.

Advertising: Does Yours Work?

Secret 1

Stop trying to sell with your ads. You adverting is not a vehicle to sell a product or service. When you do this, most of the time, you are throwing your advertising dollars down the drain. I believe that less than 1% of the audience that sees an ad that tries to sell will actually take the next step and make a purchase. It is probably much less than 1% but I’m being optimistic that your advertising dollars spent up until now have been well spent.

Secret 2

Look for and then identify the main concerns of your target market and use these as the basis for each ad or mini article you use as a promotional tool. Whether you write a 30 word print advertisement, a 30 second radio commercial, or a 600 word advertorial (an advertisement made to look and sound like a news story), take a look at what you wrote and see if you are trying to sell something to your audience or are you trying to inform them. Consumers, for the most part are looking to be educated about a product or service, told that the features and benefits of using are right for them and then made to feel that by purchasing your product or service they have made the correct decision. You still need to grab your audience’s attention and keep them interested in your advertisement, but make them feel as if they are learning something that will help solve a problem or need.

Secret 3

Don’t expect one advertisement to do all the work and bring in loads of clients and customers. Advertisement is a system of engaging and informing consumers at all points of contact. You need develop a marketing and advertising system where all you advertisements work together to relay key messages to your audience.

Advertising is part art but also part science. There is a proven formula for making small businesses advertising more effective. The trick is what you say within the confines of the advertising formula. But that is another article. Stay Tuned!

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By: Nicholas Pavlich

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