No business can survive
long run without some form of consistent advertising. As a result, most business owners will eventually consider using advertising to promote their business.The toughest part of advertising equation is in determining where and how to spend your advertising dollars. If you do it wrong, you could plunk down your entire advertising budget and receive absolutely no return on your investment. But, if you do it right, your advertising could continue to bring a nice return for years to come.
HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT ADVERTISING DECISIONS
In order to make good decisions concerning how to spend your advertising budget, you must first have a good understanding of different types of advertising and promotion available and what can be expected to be achieved by each.
· You must understand which markets different media's can reach. · You must understand demographics of media's consumers. · You must understand buying habits of consumers reached through media.
WHAT OFFLINE ADVERTISING & PROMOTION MEDIA'S SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
The media's that people think of most often are television, radio, newspaper and magazine advertising. Of course, these are big boys that big businesses use regularly.
Other methods of promotion include trade shows, press releases, direct sales, telemarketing, word of mouth, branding and billboard advertising.
CONSIDERING THE BIG MEDIA OUTLETS
The big boys of advertising media's generally cost big bucks. Given certain circumstances, big media's can be bought for very little money.
Take for example, television, radio and newspapers cost big bucks during their prime times, but can be bought for pennies on dollar during non-primetime hours.
Television primetime is between 7pm and 10pm. Radio primetime is between 7am and 6pm. With newspapers, primetime is Wednesdays and Sundays.
If you intend to hit a media during prime time, get ready to drop some bucks. Primetime means that you will be able to hit more consumers during these times. So, in most cases, a primetime buy will enable you to reach more people with your advertising.
Non-primetime hours can still deliver a lot of eyes and ears to your message, and sometimes, these off-hours can be bought for a bargain basement price.
GETTING MILEAGE FROM EVENTS
Trade shows and press releases are more event-driven. The trade show is event, while press release generally exploits an event.
Trade shows are an exceptional tool when you deal directly with potential sellers of your products or services. Other shows are directed at consumer, and those can be very valuable avenues for sales as well.
The press release is aimed towards gaining attention for a business by distributing newsworthy information about business.
Sometimes appearance of a business at a trade show or other show can provide necessary angle for a press release. But most often, a successful press release will actually require more noteworthy information than appearance of a business at a show.
