Advertising planning has been around a lot longer than many people think. While the face of advertising may have changed, the idea remains the same. If a business wants to succeed, they have to advertise. Advertising is the main means for promoting a business. Businesses can advertise in thousands of ways, in many different Medias, but it’s almost impossible to reach everyone. Selecting the right audience, the right place and the right advertising methods is essential to making every advertising dollar work. Stretching your marketing too thin by trying to reach too many people in too many ways can cause not only an advertising campaign to fail, but the entire business as well.
Targeting Your Audience
Before any advertising even takes place, the most important step a business needs to take is to identify their audience. Who shops there? Who uses their services? Who is the business trying to reach? The audience that the advertising is trying to reach can dictate where, how, and when advertising should be done. According to All Business it is important to gear advertising to a business’ niche market. Creating generic ads that aren’t specific to the market it is trying to reach will simply fall flat.
Where to Advertise
Once a business has determined who their advertising is geared towards, they can begin defining exactly where they want to advertise. The methods of advertising planning can be broken down into specific categories:
- Print – this category includes anything printed, such as newspapers, fliers, direct mailings, and posters. Advertising within your premises is a great way to reach out to existing customers, using A Big Poster to display your logo would spread brand awareness and therefore help your advertising strategies.
- Broadcast – once the biggest method for advertising, it would be any mass-marketing form of communication, such as television and radio.
- Outdoor – generally any type of advertising that would be seen when a person was outside, the most common types are billboards, street furniture, taxis, buses, and subways.
- Cell Phone and Mobile – one of the newest forms of advertising, it is become more common with the increase of smart phones, tablets, and other mobile devices.
- Online – the largest advertising market today, online advertising encompassets many different methods and resources. Most advertising campaigns today include some type of online advertising. Social media marketing would fall in this category.
Type of Advertising
Advertising has been closely studied to the point that it is not just an art; it is a science as well. Using the statistics available can help a business determine what the best forms of advertising would be for their target audience. Not all types are influential with every target audience. Catherine Hudgins of Demand Media explains the five most common advertising techniques in her Houston Chronicle article:
- Repetition – a simple but effective tactic that is an excellent way to build brand awareness and logo recognition in a customer’s mind.
- Claims – advertising that promotes specific aspects of products and how they can help customers. Often times this type of advertising can include words such as “best”, “fights”, and “virtually”.
- Association – connecting a service or product to a famous person, a jingle, or a strong emotion can link the two in a customer’s mind and make it more desirable.
- Bandwagon – convincing customers that others are using it can encourage them to use it as well. Customers are often driven by a need to feel a part of a crowd, not feeling left out.
- Promotions – using this type of advertising creates a sense of urgency or excitement in a customer. They can feel special, or like they are getting a fantastic deal. Coupons, sweepstakes, and rewards are all types of promotions.
Creating well thought out advertising is a combination of science, creativity, and effort. Once a campaign has begun, it is important to analyze and make adjustments to achieve the highest level of success. With the right combination of ads in the right places, a business can be sure to see a return on their investment. Advertising planning budgets, whether for a large company or a small business have to be used effectively or it is simply lost money for the business. A successful business takes the time and effort to put its advertising dollars where it will help the most.
Author Bio: James loves helping businesses out by giving great tips and advice on marketing and advertising. He enjoys blogging and when he is not blogging, he likes to go swimming.