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Advertising is the first type of marketing most business owners think about doing, and it is important. However, the best role for ads is to support the rest of your marketing goals, not as a stand-alone strategy.
How can you use advertising in your marketing plan, and why does it serve an important role? Let’s take a look.
A strong marketing message allows you to communicate to your ideal target audience that you understand their needs and your products and services are a great way to meet those needs. Your marketing message requires you to fully understand your target audience, their desires, and how your company is unique compared to your competitors.
The good news is that a clear marketing message is also what makes your advertising effective. Ads are a great way to amplify your message across a variety of platforms to build your brand, increase your customer base, and help you grow your business.
The problem with relying on advertising alone is that it becomes very expensive. The price of ads only goes up each year, and as soon as you stop spending money on advertising you lose the attention of your audience.
However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use advertising. Instead, you should see it as setting the stage for other long-term marketing strategies, like search engine optimization (SEO). Inbound marketing like SEO allows you to attract customers to you, rather than chase them with ads, but it takes time to develop. Using advertising can help you build your online presence in the meantime.
If you’re doing a blowout sale, introducing a new product or service, or otherwise promoting a time-bound business initiative, the best way to get immediate attention is through advertising. Your ads can be placed where your target audience is most likely to see them, allowing you to spread the word about your new offer right away.
Other marketing tactics take more time to get a message out to the public, so they are better suited for your long-term brand building and sales. For an immediate sale, event, or new product, you’ll want to use advertising to let consumers know quickly.
Immediate attention is one of the key reasons why advertising is important in marketing.
Online advertising can be very effective when it’s well-targeted. The good news is that today’s platforms give you targeting options that businesses in previous decades could only dream of.
You’re no longer limited to age, gender, and general geographic location. Instead, you can target interests, previous buying behaviour, and even advertise to people your customers are connected to. In fact, it’s a little unnerving what platforms like Facebook know about people.
Because you can target ads so specifically, it allows you to create very effective personalized ads without breaking the bank. You don’t have to advertise to millions of people hoping to hit the few thousand who are interested. Instead, you can target only those who are interested, saving money and dramatically improving your return on investment (ROI).
Knowing what your competitors are doing is important if you want to succeed in your local market. Of course, other companies don’t exactly hand out flyers on their marketing strategies, so it takes some research to find out what you need to know.
Advertising is a big way to find out more about your competitors’ products, services, and target audience. Who is your competitor spending money to reach? How are they advertising products and services? Are these ads getting engagement?
Online data can give you more information about your competitors’ activities than you could get in the past. Take advantage of it!
You probably think of advertising as a way to get new customers, but it’s also a way to build loyalty among your existing customers. Remember, an ad is simply a way to spread a message. The message doesn’t have to be “buy from us,” it can also be “here’s a reward for loyalty,” or “join this contest to win.”
Don’t limit yourself to only getting new customers. Be sure to show your existing customers some love as well to boost loyalty, increase repeat purchases, and encourage them to promote your business.
Advertising should never be the only tool in your marketing arsenal, but it is an important part of your overall strategy. By laying the groundwork for a long-term SEO strategy, letting you promote immediate sales, and giving you advanced targeting, sharing your message through ads can boost your business.
If you’re interested in getting help with a long-term digital marketing and SEO strategy, we’re here to help. Contact us today to find out more!
