Company advertising is a must nowadays. The market is extremely competitive, which makes it difficult to rely solely on a distinctive offer or word of mouth. The good news, however, is that advertising doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult. The present day provides access to completely new technologies and forms of communication. Find out how effective advertising for businesses should look like!
Effective advertising for companies
A properly organized advertising campaign will bring you a lot of benefits – its goal, however, is to acquire customers in the first place. The risk of failure is significantly reduced if you put your ad for your company on solid foundations:
– proper preparation of the strategy,
– thoughtful and consistent actions,
– monitoring and analysis of the results.
A successful idea can turn even a small investment into many new customers or numerous orders. Even basic promotion, but consistently and in line with the expectations of the target group, can bring very good results.
What is the most effective advertising for businesses? There is no clear answer to this question. It depends on many factors, including industry, scale of operation or specificity of the target group. One thing is certain – you should always carefully plan all marketing activities, and decisions made in this area should be based on the analysis of the results to date, competition and the business environment. Sounds complicated? Probably because “shooting” with an advertisement is not an easy matter. The good news, however, is that entrepreneurs now have remarkably wide opportunities in this regard.
The cheapest advertising for companies – internet marketing
The concept of internet marketing is extremely broad. In principle, a modern company can base its promotional activities only in this area, ignoring completely “analog” forms of advertising, and at the same time enjoying successes. The cheapest and measurable advertising for companies is also waiting for you on the Internet. Many activities can be carried out completely for free, although the lack of money requires other resources – mainly time, energy and knowledge. Others allow for significant gains with inputs appropriate to the business. Below is an overview of the most popular ways to advertise for businesses on the Internet.
Google My Business and Google Maps
The Google My Business listing is something every entrepreneur should have. It is completely free and it takes a few moments to set up. All you need is a Google account. The business card shows basic information about your company – its name, address and other contact details, opening hours and possibly a short description. It also allows Google users to rate it and leave feedback. It is also associated with the so-called pin in Google Maps – it shows the exact location of the company and allows you to access information about it. What’s more, it appears in the search results on the so-called brand phrases – that is, for example, “locksmith Boston”, “New York clinic” or “Miami furniture store”.
Thanks to the Business Card, your business can be found much easier. However, this is not all, as its functions also allow you to bring your company closer to customers. With the use of Google My Business, you can add descriptions of special offers or news to your listing, as well as respond to user reviews. It is also possible to add photos and videos, including e.g. 360 ° views and virtual walks. Customers expect this type of information more and more often and it is very valuable to them! As a result, interest in the company and trust in its services will increase, which is invaluable. An exhaustive business card is also building the image of a professional company.
Social media
Social media is usually the next step in promoting a company on the Internet. Even the most reluctant people like Facebook. The reasons are simple – this portal is used by the vast majority of Internet users (statistics say even about 80%), its operation is very simple and allows direct interaction with customers. You can also find business partners this way and check what your competitors are doing.
Social media, however, are also many other platforms, and each of them is suitable for “acquiring” a slightly different type of client. It is worth paying attention to them and operating on as many portals as possible corresponding to the profile of your business. These include:
– Instagram – great primarily for the beauty, clothing and lifestyle brands,
– Twitter – for companies looking for B2B customers,
– LinkedIn – also recommended to B2B companies and representatives of specific industries,
– TikTok – for lifestyle, technology, fashion, beauty, toys, gadgets and all products aimed at young people,
– Pinterest – for companies from the lifestyle and beauty industry, online stores, blogs,
– YouTube – primarily for trade and service industry, but not only!
Each of these platforms allows you to run a profile for free. This means that thanks to appropriate, regularly published content, you can create a community around your brand, build a company’s reputation, improve its image and gain greater recognition. Each of them also offers quite wide possibilities of paid advertising, which can bring really good results at a relatively low cost! Importantly, these are tools for companies operating in various industries and on any scale. This is an excellent advertisement for global companies, but also for local ones!
However, it is worth remembering that social media takes a lot of time. If you are going to run the profiles yourself, it can be difficult to reconcile this with business management. Regularity is very important – by stopping the publication of posts, you can very quickly get out of circulation. However, quality is also extremely important – each publication should have interesting and engaging content, in line with the expectations of your target group.
Email Marketing
This is one of the oldest forms of promotion on the Internet, but this type of advertising for companies is still effective. Today, however, mailing is based primarily on newsletters, and not, like until recently, on offers sent to random people.
A newsletter can be a very effective form of promotion and the best way to get people to sign up is to offer a discount or gift (e.g. a free e-book). Properly structured and rarely sent e-mails will help maintain interest in the offer and inform about new products. Mailing can also be done for free!
Web page
The company’s own website is a form of advertising on the Internet. This is her business card, which can be much more extensive than the one created in Google My Business. At the same time, the customer has much easier access to practical information on the website than on the Facebook profile, which is also very important.
By having your own address on the Internet, you can promote your business with SEO and content marketing. SEO is different from positioning, so all activities aimed at making your website appear as high as possible in the search results. It is extremely important. Nowadays, most people look for information about the services they need on Google. Only a small percentage of Internet users visit websites from outside the so-called top 10, i.e. the top ten results displayed, so being in it should be a priority for every business. The higher the position, the greater the chances of acquiring new customers.
Content marketing means content marketing. It is promoting your business by publishing texts, photos, infographics, videos, podcasts, interviews, etc. Such activities have two main functions. First, the image – they allow you to get to know the company’s activities, its industry, offer or team. They help in perceiving the company as an expert in their field, thereby increasing customer confidence. This is a value that cannot be overestimated! In addition, they help in positioning, i.e. increase the visibility of the site in search engines. Content answering questions asked by Internet users, containing specific keywords, comprehensive, valuable and original, is promoted by Google algorithms, which makes them appear higher in the results. A company blog is especially helpful with SEO – it should be run by every entrepreneur!
You can set up a website and blog for free, although it’s better to choose a paid but good-sounding domain (address) and server. It is not a big cost. You can “set up” the website and its administration yourself, but it requires knowledge. You can also outsource this task to an external entity. The costs in this case vary greatly, as they depend on the level of development of the website. It is definitely worth the investment though!
Google Ads
Your own website is also the ability to use Google Ads, which will direct you to it. This is a full-fledged, paid advertising for companies. However, it does not necessarily mean high costs. It depends on you what range the promotion will have and to whom the message will go. Thanks to this, you can easily adjust the scale and costs of activities to your capabilities or needs.
What kind of advertisements can I place via Google Ads?
– Text ad is the most used. It involves placing sponsored links above Google search results. Such a link looks almost exactly the same as an organic result. It is a very neutral and effective advertisement – Internet users do not hesitate to click on such links.
– Image advertising allows you to place marketing content on various websites on the Internet. It is enough to prepare the banner and mark where and to whom it should be displayed. This is a great solution for companies that want to appear more widely in the minds of consumers.
– Remarketing looks very similar, but targets internet users who have already visited your website. In this way, you can, for example, remind them of the products they viewed in the store. Such activities can be very effective – especially in the e-commerce industry.
– Product advertising is also targeted at online stores. It allows you to place a specific product from the store along with the price and photo at the very top of the page above the search results. The link takes you straight to the store where the customer can immediately purchase the product they are looking for.
Advertising on Google can be a great tool for acquiring new customers and building brand awareness. This is a great advertisement for local businesses, because when setting the parameters of the advertisement, you can indicate the location of its display with very high accuracy. The costs of marketing activities carried out in this way are affordable, especially compared to the results that can be obtained. Moreover, entrepreneurs appreciate this form of advertising for its quick results, flexibility and a favorable settlement model (Pay Per Click). The effectiveness of actions can be monitored thanks to the available analyzes, which is also a big advantage!
Analog advertising – still effective?
The Internet provides not only very wide advertising opportunities, but also good results with flexible costs. However, conducting marketing activities in it requires a lot of time, commitment and knowledge. Not everyone feels comfortable enough in this space. This is one of the reasons why more traditional forms of advertising are not dying out. Moreover, they are still effective! Radio and TV spots are reserved rather for companies with large budgets and staffs of marketing specialists. It is not easy to run a successful campaign in this way. However, there are also many other forms of promotion that can be carried out on any scale. Below you will find some of the most interesting.
Printed materials
Do good flyers make any sense these days? Absolutely, but advertising the company in this way must be carried out wisely and it will be effective in specific areas. Above all, the leaflet must be well-edited – the content should attract and encourage. It is also worth spending a lot of time on the graphic form – the unattractive one can effectively discourage you from reading the content. The method of distribution is also important. Leaflets delivered to mailboxes are generally more effective than those distributed on the street. The recipient then has time to get to know them. It also makes it possible to better match the content to the target group. For example, if a company provides Internet or cable television, it should deliver its leaflets primarily to the mailboxes of residents of newly built houses and apartments.
The content of the leaflet should clearly indicate the information encouraging to use the services. It can be a discount to be used on the first visit or a gift given with the first purchase. These types of treatments are very effective and will help you measure the effectiveness of that particular channel!
Catalogs are other popular printed materials. Despite the wide availability of information on the Internet, many people still like it very much. Catalogs work best in some specific industries – for example in trade or tourism. It even happens that they are awaited like… Ikea’s catalog.
Outdoor advertising (billboards)
Outdoor advertising is very universal. It can be used in many industries, both on the local and national market. It usually complements campaigns also run through other channels, but it can also be used on its own. Some companies decide to conduct very creative marketing with the use of billboards – e.g. teaser campaigns, which in the first phase do not contain the name of the company or product and are intended to intrigue the recipient.
Billboards allow you to reach a very large number of recipients. The best locations are large intersections in cities, although exposure along some roads may also be profitable. However, remember to change it often. Many people use the same routes every day, so the nearby advertisements can quickly “stick”. A well-constructed, aesthetic and concise billboard may, however, create positive associations with the brand and increase its recognition. In this case, there is also a lower risk of becoming counterproductive than, for example, in the case of TV or radio spots. Outdoor advertising is already embedded in the landscape, especially in cities, and therefore evokes neutral emotions.
Contrary to appearances, a billboard campaign does not have to be expensive. It can also be supplemented by smaller forms of outdoor advertising – e.g. posters at bus stops, banners, light boxes. Generally, however, outdoor advertising is awareness-raising, not sales.
Advert in newspaper
Newspaper advertising is not extinct either! The press is still selling well, and thanks to the presence of many titles, it is easier to choose a publication that is perfect for promoting your business. So it is an advertisement for companies where you can address a specific target. It can be of various forms and sizes. Depending on these parameters, as well as the place of publication, its price varies. A small advertisement in the local press can cost as low as $ 100. On the other hand, the prices of large campaigns carried out in global dailies or monthlies are often counted in millions.
The advertising in the newspaper is supported by, among others its large and frequent exposure. It is also one of the better ways to reach out to people who are not internet users. This channel gives a lot of freedom in terms of form, and at the same time is credible – information published in newspapers is highly trusted by people with a more traditional rhythm of life.
What kind of advertising will be right for your business? You can decide for yourself or consult experts. The experience and commitment of professionals is what you need to be truly effective!
