The New Rules Of Advertising A Small Business

As you try to streamline your advertising and marketing budget, how can you draw clarity from the hype on  advertising channels like website, social media, and mobile marketing versus the traditional ways including newspapers, radio, magazines etc…

Well if you are a business owner in your right mind it comes down to how much is added to your bottom line as a direct result of your advertising. Gone are the days when  “getting your name out there” was a satisfactory result. Your chosen medium has to translate into measurable hard cash.

So how do you make your choices and get assurance that it is working for you? If your budget is really stretched you are definitely better off starting by enhancing your online ranking and traffic. In most industries there is still a fantastic opportunity to dominate the first page of Google,  simply because very few of your competitors  are going the extra mile in his area. As the majority of your clientele quickly turns to Google search for any of their product or service purchases the time is fast coming where your Google ranking is your biggest marketing asset.

However if your budget constraints are not too restrictive, you can use astute strategies to leverage your traditional advertising media like radio and newspapers and create more interaction, both on your website and on your social media platforms. As advertising becomes more about interacting and generating that crucial “Know, Like and Trust” feeling among clients and prospects, we see strictly “branding” style marketing give way to a more integrated style where the newspaper ad and the radio clip become an invitation to start the online conversation.

In terms of measuring your ROI this all makes good sense. People may not be ready to call you right now after seeing your ad, but they may be ready to check you out online, and this is something you can measure through metrics like Google Analytics and Facebook insights. The the next step is converting these people into clients but that is another conversation.

Tags: Advertising a small business, business growth, Marketing Strategy