Investing in advertising may help small business swiftly expand their customer base and revenue. Your small company may take advantage of a wide range of advertising options. You may zero in on online advertising channels like those found on social media sites, professional networking sites, video sharing sites, and search engine ad networks like Google AdWords. You may also use tried-and-true channels like newspapers, radio, and local television. If you advertise your small business wisely, you can expect a healthy return on your money and a steady stream of new customers.
If a small company wants to increase its profits via advertising, it must choose an approach that is both feasible financially and compatible with its core values. To market their goods and services, small companies often resort to the following forms of advertising:
- Marketing using Social Media
Small companies often use social media advertising since it is cheap and allows for precise targeting of an interested audience. If you own a retail business, you may utilise ad targeting to ensure that only individuals of a given demographic living within a certain mile radius of your store see your social media advertisements. For social media marketing, you may choose from many different channels, such as:
- Facebook: Due to the broad usage of the platform and the relatively inexpensive cost of its advertisements, Facebook is an excellent advertising alternative for most small companies. Seventy per cent of all American adults are active on Facebook, with roughly three-quarters of those users using the platform daily. Facebook’s ad formats range from video advertising to customer offers to carousel pictures to lead generation, page likes, event reactions, and beyond. Visit Facebook for Business to read more about advertising options.
- Instagram: Instagram advertisements are an excellent alternative for small companies with a highly visual brand that appeals to younger consumers since 60 per cent of Instagram’s one billion users are under 30 years old. Instagram’s advertising units include pictures, videos, Stories, and carousel ads, and they share many of Facebook’s targeting characteristics. In addition to writing compelling copy, you can encourage readers to visit your website by including prominent call-to-action buttons.
- LinkedIn: LinkedIn advertising is more costly than other social networks; it is a fantastic choice for small firms that use a business-to-business (B2B) sales model since it allows you to target professionals in various sectors and roles. There are now around 560 professionals making use of LinkedIn.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Advertisers using pay-per-click (PPC) models often pay a small amount each time a user clicks on one of their adverts served by a search engine. Advertisers compete for search engine ad space in a PPC model by offering a maximum bid per click. You won’t be paid for impressions if no one clicks on your ad. The two most popular pay-per-click (PPC) advertising networks are Google Adwords and Bing Ads. Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is a subset of SEO (SEM). For small companies on a tight budget, Google Ads may be a terrific alternative, with an average return on investment of $2 for every $1 spent. This data comes from WordStream.
Promotion Using Mobile Devices
A subset of digital marketing, mobile advertising targets consumers through smartphones and tablets. Promoting products and services using mobile devices may include
- Online banner adverts for mobile devices
- Promotional Ads for Mobile Searches
- Online video streaming
- Mobile app advertisements aim to encourage users to download the advertised app.
- Promoted content on social media platforms only accessible on mobile devices
Benefiting from a mobile advertising plan for your small company may be accomplished. Eighty-four per cent of those under the age of 30 are more likely to purchase online through a mobile device.
Ads in the Print Media
Before the rise of digital media, print ads were the mainstay of every small business’s marketing strategy. Ad sales in print publications are down, and the expense of promoting a small company online or via social media may be prohibitive. It’s also harder to determine the efficacy of print advertisements since it’s tough to track exactly how many people saw them and then made a purchase or became a customer. Print ads aren’t as effective as once, but they may still be helpful for local companies or those targeting an older, less tech-savvy demographic. Magazine, newspapers, brochures and flyer ads are examples of print advertising.
Promoting Products on Television
Broadcast advertising may be prohibitively expensive for small companies, particularly on television. However, if there are local television and radio stations in your area, you may find that the cost is more manageable, and the audience is hugely relevant to your brand. Advertisements on television and radio cost more per minute the longer they are, and the more often they air as well as the time of day they air. Production costs should also be considered since paid television commercials are often quite costly.
Public Service Announcements
To advertise to individuals while not in their homes is to engage in what is known as “out-of-home” or “outdoor” marketing. Advertisements on billboards, digital billboards, transportation (bus shelters, railway and metro station billboards, etc.), street furniture, and advertisements during sporting events all fall under this category. Be sure the cost of your out-of-home advertising campaign is within your overall marketing budget.
Using Mail for Promotion
All types of advertising sent to a consumer’s house through the postal service are considered direct mail advertising. Publications, including brochures, catalogues, sales letters, and newsletters, fall under this category. Although direct mail is less standard as a form of promotion for small businesses, it may be effective if you design a clever and aesthetically attractive campaign. One-on-one communication with local customers is made possible by direct mail advertising.
Make use of Remarketing Techniques.
To a large extent, remarketing applies to all types of digital marketing. Users who have browsed your website before but haven’t made a purchase will see ads on their next visit. To attract these people’s attention, you may tailor adverts according to what they looked at on your site before. Using this information, you may provide adverts that are more likely to pique the customer’s interest and, with the help of persuasive language or a special offer, ideally lead to a sale.