No matter how big (or small) your ad budget is, most organisations struggle with making the most of their advertising budget….if they have a budget at all!
While outspending your competition would be a nice things to be able to do, not every business has the resources to match competitors’ budgets. In addition, getting into some sort of spending competition could mean spending your marketing pounds sporadically without the proper planning these pounds need to do their job.
There are so many platforms when it comes to advertising. Do I advertise online or offline? Do I advertise locally in the generalist press or do I go with trade and/or lifestyle press? The questions and dilemma’s continue….
Advertising has its pros and cons and I wouldn’t advocate using advertising as a marketing medium without the proper planning. Neither would I say that advertising alone will fast track imminent retirement. However, advertising allows you to get your message out in bulk to your prospects as well as reinforce your brand message. It can be expensive so……….what can you do to stretch your advertising pounds?
1. NARROW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
2. HONE YOUR MESSAGE
3. CREATE A COMPELLING OFFER
4. MAKE AN IMPACT WITH AD BURSTS (weekly or monthly for a set period of time)
5. SUPER SIZE THE AD (run fewer ads at larger sizes)
6. MAKE THE MOST OF MOMENTS (limited time offers etc)
7. REPEAT YOURSELF (often called re targeting when used online, in print 6-9 exposures is statistically the optimum ad campaign)
8. COMBINE MEDIA TO GET BETTER REACH AND FREQUENCY
9. USE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
10. NEVER STOP TESTING
None of these strategies for marketing in the moment require large ad budgets, they just require smart planning, strong messaging and creativity.
