Like all good business owners, you know the value of advertising to your bottom line. So each year, you set aside some of your budget to spend on media buys, i.e. newspaper and magazine ads, television and radio commercials, billboards and digital advertisements.
But with so many opportunities and sales reps knocking on your door, how do you know what will work best and bring you the most ROI?
To begin, you need to do some planning. Determine who your target audience is, conduct market research, establish a budget, and create goals. With this information you will begin to have a better idea of which channel (opportunity) you want to purchase ad space on, and for what price.
After you’ve done some planning, you’ll want to give some thought to working with a media buyer to help you navigate the various advertising opportunities that are available. A media buyer is well-versed in the art of negotiating and works with media outlets on your behalf. They weed out the lackluster opportunities while presenting you with media buys that meet your needs and goals while staying within your budget. In some cases, a media buyer is able to get up to 50% off the regular rate of an ad because of his/her buying power. Working with a media buyer allows you more time to concentrate on the day-to-day operations of your business.
As the media buying process is taking place, you’ll also want to think about the design and placement of your ad. Just getting your ad seen is not enough to get customers to walk in the door. Your ads need to deliver a memorable message to get your desired results.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Make sure your placement is targeted. While you certainly want a lot of eyes to see it, they need to be the correct eyes. Find the right balance between traffic and relevancy.
- What are your audience’s needs? Use your audience research to show them that you understand them, then explain how your product or service will solve their problems.
- Create an attention-grabbing headline. All ad copy is important, but many ads live or die by the headline. Your headline should catch — and keep — your audience’s attention before they can look away.
- Keep your brand consistent. Keeping your brand image the same throughout all advertising helps people recognize you long after they last saw you.
- Finally, make sure you have a call-to-action. Once someone sees your ad, what do you want them to do next? Without a call-to-action, the ad is seen then forgotten. Your audience should know exactly what next steps to take or where to find more information.
If your company or organization is in need of assistance with media buying, media planning or ad design, give the PR and marketing experts at CONRIC pr + marketing a call. Reach us at 239-690-9840 or email us at info@conricpr.com to schedule your complimentary consultation today.
