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Advertising and PR
Advertising: The basics
MOST businesses can benefit from advertising.
Advertising is an important component of the promotion of business along with direct marketing, PR, exhibitions and having a website.
The aim of each of these is to promote your business and communicate the information you want to send to your intended audience.
It might help your business to advertise locally, nationally or internationally in the trade and technical press or by advertising in a national or international directory.
This guide discusses how advertising could help you and gives advice on where and how to advertise.
How advertising can help your business
Advertising can:
* Provide basic facts about your business' address and contact details
* Increase sales by telling potential customers about your product or service
* Tell customers about changes to your service, new product launches and improvements
* Back a sales campaign with a specific one-off message - informing people of a special offer or a particular benefit of your product
* Prompt specific action - getting customers to visit your premises or use a £2-off voucher by the end of the month
* Increase general awareness of your business, making it easier to sell in the long-term
* Remind existing customers about your business change people's attitudes and perceptions of your business
* Create or develop a distinctive brand for your business to help you stand out from your competitors
Remember that advertising isn't solely about sales and marketing. You can also
use it to:
* Recruit staff - a recruitment advertisement can also say something about your business
* Recruit suppliers and contractors - this also helps to market you as active and expanding
Target your customers
* Decide whether your target audience is local or regional, national or international, or a mixture. Remember that a local business might benefit from national trade press advertising even if it's just selling to other businesses in its area.
* You can advertise in a wide range of different media. The use of different media can help to reinforce the message or information you are trying to communicate.
* Advertising can be anything from your shop sign or a postcard in the post office to an advertisement in a trade magazine or a 30-second radio slot.
Local advertising
Even the smallest business should consider the benefits of local advertising.
For example:
* at neighbourhood level, eg a supermarket board, a postcard in a shop window or leaflets distributed through people's doors
* advertising space rented out at railway stations, leisure centres or doctors' surgeries
* publications such as residents' association newsletters, fete programmes and parish magazines
Local and regional newspapers
Weekly, evening and morning, paid-for and free local papers provide a variety of
ways to advertise:
* Classified advertising.
* Display and semi-display - display advertisements are bigger and more sophisticated. They usually appear on editorial pages and can use pictures and design devices.
* Display ads and listings in special supplements - for instance, about local shops, health clubs or restaurants.
* Advertisement features - laid out like editorial pages but just featuring you and your business (perhaps your new premises). You pay for them, and you may also be given advertisement space.
* Loose inserts supplied by yourself that are placed inside the newspaper, flyer.
Advertising in directories and on the Internet
Directories provide local and national coverage, and often also have online versions. They can be a cost-effective way of getting your name, product and service in front of both private and business customers.
Popular directories include:
* Classified phone directories such as Yellow Pages or the Thomson Local Directory, which offer free basic entries and paid-for display advertisements.
* Local business directories produced by Chambers of Commerce and other organisations.
* National directories for business, industry and specialised sectors. Many of them have an online version.
Advertising on the Internet can be cost-effective and gives national and international coverage you may otherwise be unable to afford. There are three main types of Internet advertising.
* Your own website.
* Ensure you design and position your website for maximum effect.
*Consider the Internet user at every stage. Make it easy for them to find their way around your website, and to order from or contact you.
* Find out how to exploit search engines.
* Advertising on other people's websites
* Use banner and pop-up advertising to promote your business and link through to your own website.
* Getting into an online directory
* You can set up an online entry with directory companies such as Yell.com and ThomsonLocal.com, as well as setting up links from these online directories to your own website.
Advertising in the trade and technical press
* There are many trade, technical and professional magazines read by customers, suppliers and businesses in your sector.
* If your business sells to other businesses, advertisements in these publications can be a powerful way of gaining sales, product enquiries, higher profile, trade partnerships and even potential investors.
* Editorials are generally perceived by readers to be independent and impartial and are therefore seen as more trustworthy than advertisements.
* Editorial support or endorsement helps lend your business credibility with the reader.
Radio, cinema, outdoor and national advertising
* If advertising on local radio, you'll need to research the market, the type of audience and cost per listener - ask the local station for details. Do you also need non-radio back-up advertising to reinforce your message?
* The local press might be used to remind customers of the messages used in the radio campaign.
* Your local station will often produce your commercial for you, although if you have an advertising agency, they may do it.
* Local cinemas may be right for your niche. Ask the cinema for audience profiles and case studies of satisfied clients. You can possibly advertise in the foyer as well as on screen.
* Outdoor advertising
* Roadside - from phone kiosks to large billboards and banners.
* Transport - railways, airports, inside and outside buses, taxis and lorries.
* Retail - sites at shopping centres and supermarkets, trolleys, posters.
* Non-traditional and ambient - shop signs, leisure centres, washrooms, tickets, petrol pumps, takeaway lids.
National papers, magazines, TV and radio
* If you're considering advertising through these outlets it is recommended to get professional help from an advertising agency.
* However, with some national classified advertising - eg holiday cottages - you may be able to arrange your own advertising.
* Get a media pack with readership analysis from the publication's advertisement department so you know the advertising is reaching the right audience.
* Remember you have a duty to ensure that your advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful.
Business Link can work with you to gain a better understanding of your business needs and can works alongside you to ensure that you promote your business effectively and can, if appropriate, help with the identification of funding to ensure you achieve your objectives. Call Business Link on 0845 600 9 006 or email info@tees.businesslink.co.uk to see how you can improve your business performance.
