affordable small business advertising Archives

Want to Boost Your Summer Sales? 7 Reasons to Try Local Newspaper Advertising

June 16, 2023 admin

As a small business owner, have you considered the untapped potential of local newspaper advertising? In our rapidly evolving digital world, we often forget the power of traditional marketing channels. Yet, they wield an unassailable influence that continues to captivate audiences. If your aim is to boost your summer sales, it’s time to reconsider local business advertising via print media. Here are seven compelling reasons to place your trust in newspaper advertising.

#1.) Local Engagement

Local newspapers have a unique charm that lies in their intimate connection with the community. Despite the global reach of digital media, local newspapers continue to thrive, with a substantial readership that prefers the rustle of the paper with their morning coffee over the cold glare of a screen. A trusted local publication like Coffee News can be the bridge that connects your business to your community. Our readership consists of your potential customers, waiting to be introduced to your offerings. By advertising with us, your message becomes more personal and impactful, tailored for the community you serve.

Remember, the loyalty of local customers can’t be underestimated. They are the backbone of your business, providing steady revenue and positive word-of-mouth. In an age where companies fight tooth and nail for a shred of customer attention, local business advertising hands you the golden ticket to unrivaled community engagement.

#2.) Trust and Credibility

The digital world is plagued with fraud, fake news, and cyber threats, causing trust in digital ads to wane. On the other hand, the credibility of print media stands unscathed. Local newspapers like Coffee News are seen as trustworthy pillars of the community, and this trust extends to the businesses they advertise.

Advertising your business in our print publication doesn’t just make your brand visible; it adds a badge of credibility to your name. Your association with a reputable local publication can be the difference between a potential customer choosing your product over a competitor’s. Trust breeds customer loyalty and, in the long run, repeat business and referrals – invaluable assets for any small business.

#3.) Highly Targeted Advertising

Print newspapers offer something that few digital advertising platforms can – highly targeted marketing. Coffee News has nurtured a devoted reader base over the years, consisting mainly of locals. We are invested in our community and have an affinity for local businesses. When you advertise with us, your business speaks directly to a receptive audience, increasing the likelihood of attracting interested customers.

Targeted local business advertising means you’re not throwing your budget into the vast, unpredictable ocean of the internet, hoping to catch a few interested fish. Instead, you’re investing in a well-stocked pond where each dollar you spend can reel in potential customers, offering you a higher return on your investment.

#4.) Greater Visibility

Online advertisements come and go with a click. On the contrary, print advertising has a lasting impact. An advertisement in Coffee News isn’t just a one-time interaction. It’s a tangible piece of content that readers can hold, revisit, and even share with others.

People spend more time reading a newspaper, flipping through its pages at a leisurely pace. This slow consumption increases the likelihood of your advertisement catching their eye and making a lasting impression. Additionally, print advertisements, due to their physical nature, can be referred back to, shared, or pinned up as a reminder, extending their lifespan and reach.

#5.) Competitive Advantage

The digital world is crowded. Small businesses often find themselves in fierce competition for digital advertising space, escalating costs, and reducing effectiveness. Meanwhile, the world of print advertising, overlooked in the digital frenzy, provides you with an untapped opportunity.

By choosing to advertise in a local newspaper, you distinguish yourself from competitors. Your advertisement isn’t just another forgotten pop-up; it’s a statement that you’re a part of the community fabric, a reliable and accessible local business ready to serve. This gives you a unique edge and can significantly enhance your brand image and recall, ultimately boosting your summer sales.

#6.) Cost-Effective Marketing

One of the appealing benefits of local newspaper advertising is its cost-effectiveness. Unlike many digital advertising platforms, which can incur substantial costs with less guarantee of success, print advertising provides a more controlled budgeting environment. You know exactly where and when your ad will appear, and in a publication like Coffee News, you can be confident it’ll reach a local, engaged audience.

Furthermore, the return on investment in print advertising is substantial. With a longer shelf life and greater visibility, your ad continues to engage potential customers beyond the first read. Therefore, each dollar invested in local business advertising can pay dividends in sustained brand exposure and increased customer engagement.

#7.) Holistic Marketing Strategy

Integrating local newspaper advertising into your marketing mix adds a holistic dimension to your strategy. As we navigate this speedy digital era, a tangible piece of your business, nestled among the local stories in a beloved community paper like Coffee News, provides a delightful break from the screen. It’s like a friendly hello from across the room. It embraces not only those who are comfortable in the digital domain but also those who find solace in the crisp rustle of a newspaper.

Mixing it up with both print and digital advertising strategies enables you to create a harmonious customer experience. Imagine your customers sipping their morning coffee, seeing your business in Coffee News, and later in the day, spotting you online. It’s a comforting echo that reassures them of your brand’s reliability and presence. By staying top of mind, you pave the way for those summer sales to roll in.

Contact Coffee News Today!

To wrap up, local business advertising in newspapers is more than just ink on paper. It’s your friendly neighborhood superhero, ready to boost local engagement, strengthen trust, aim your advertising right, make your brand unforgettable, and carve out your own niche in the market. It’s the secret ingredient to spice up your summer sales.

Are you ready to watch your summer sales take flight with the aid of local newspaper advertising? Let us at Coffee News help you make waves in your local community. With our well-loved print platform and your compelling ads, we’ll brew the perfect blend to kickstart your business’s growth. We’re excited to join you on this adventure, toasting to the power of local business advertising. Let’s dive in and create some ripples!

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10 Reasons Why You Should Add Print Media to Your Local Advertising Efforts

February 13, 2023 admin

In local business advertising, print media is particularly effective because it can reach customers in a very personal way. You need to use this advertising medium, however, because simply ignoring it isn’t going to change the fact that people like to get the best deals when they go shopping! Below are ten reasons to add print media to your local business advertising efforts.

1. Great for Customer Retention

Print media works well for local businesses because it’s good at keeping existing customers happy. This is because people tend to save the coupons and discount offers that print media provides. They’ll tend to use them later on when the time is right.

2. Print Media Creates Memorable Images

Print media provides a unique way to bring your business to life beyond just the written word. For example, you can use images of your products, services, or employees to help people remember you and what you offer. In addition, they’re a great way to get your message across on nearly anything else that may be available in print media. For example, if your company sells flowers, why not provide local businesses with a swag bag filled with other items related to the same subject?

3. The Cost of Advertising in Print Media Is Affordable

Compared to other options, such as radio and television, the cost of advertising in print media is low. You can even get a coupon book for as little as $100, which will still give you a great starting point to work within your local community. And when you’re not getting many customers with your print media campaign, you can be sure that the cost won’t take as big of a toll on you financially.

4. Helps Establish Credibility

Print media can help establish your credibility as a business. This is especially true for your local business if you are in a competitive market. For example, you can use print media to offer coupons for your services and products and a statement about your company’s commitment to customer satisfaction. This gesture will help people recognize that you are serious about doing the best job possible to keep them happy.

5. Helps You Reach a Niche Market

The purpose of print media advertising is to get people interested in something that they might not have peeked at otherwise. This can help your local business in two ways. First, it can help you reach a niche market that you might not be able to reach otherwise. Second, it can help you get your name out among a wide audience. This can lead to even more business opportunities for your company.

6. You Can Get Results Fast With Print Media Advertising

With some other forms of advertising, you’re often left wondering if any progress is being made. You may not see relevant results immediately, so it can be difficult to believe in your advertising efforts. However, with print media, you can get results quickly and know that you’re doing well.

7. Easily Accessible

Print media is easy to access, which is why it’s so popular among local businesses. And you don’t have to have a posh office with a sophisticated IT department and multiple websites to use them. This is advantageous because it helps you get the word out without paying for a lot of overhead. You can keep the advertising costs down and still get better results than other forms of advertising.

8. Print Media Helps You Build Loyalty With Your Customers

Print media is a great way to build loyalty with your customers. You can demonstrate your concern for them by offering deals and discounts and letting them know you value their business. These are great things to show your customers and make them feel like there’s a personal touch that you’re providing for them.

9. Print Media Provides You With a True Test of Your Ad Copy and Graphics

Print media is a great way to test how effective your ad copy and graphics are before using them on other advertising outlets. You can test them out and see what works best before adding different types of advertising to your business strategy. This strategy is especially useful when you find out that people don’t respond well to one type of ad and want to try a different way of advertising.

10. Reach a Wide Audience of People at Once

Print media, such as newspapers and magazines, often have a large and loyal readership, giving you a broad reach to potential customers. Regardless of where you live, several different print media options are likely available to you. And if there’s not, you can always take advantage of the internet and send out some emails to interested parties. This allows you to reach many people at once in just one campaign without investing too much upfront. This method is also useful as it allows you to spread your campaign over a longer time. So, in the end, it’s a win-win situation for both you and your customers!

Trust KC Coffee News for Local Business Advertising

Local business advertising is about reaching your audience and getting them to notice what you have to offer. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on one television commercial, wouldn’t it be better for you to get your message out there in print media? The answer is yes! Local businesses can use this opportunity to reach a wide audience of people with relative ease and at a relatively low cost.

Coffee News incorporates all of these benefits of print advertising into boosting your ad in our weekly print publications. Your ad will run for a minimum of 26 consecutive weeks and reach your desired target market. Unlike with other publications, your ad will not be overlooked by larger ads since all ads in Coffee News are 3″ x 2.” You will also be able to make slight edits to your ad free of charge. Contact us today to get started!

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7 Effective Ways to Boost the Advertising for Your Small Business

January 26, 2022 admin

If you’re looking to generate more income for your small business, then you should look no farther than marketing. Larger companies and multi-million dollar corporations like Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Target, etc. spend millions of dollars each year just on marketing. This marketing allows them to understand their demographic, understand how much their target demographic is willing to spend, and what exactly it is that they want.

So, the question stands: how can you, as a small business owner, improve advertising your small business and your brand in a way that can rival the big league players? It’s not exactly easy – or cheap – to have a whole marketing department at your disposal as a small business owner. Here are nine tips to help you get your foot in the door:

1.) Know your audience.

Big corporations get the inside scoop from their target demographic from doing things like surveys, watching trends, gauging what gets the most attention on social media, and so on. There’s no reason why you, as a small business owner, can’t do the same. Keep an eye on trends. Does your audience want more organic products instead of more manufactured products? What kind of clothing trends are popular right now?

Ask your customers. See what they like. The more you can cater to your clientele, the more business you’ll be able to generate. After all, if you’re able to keep the customers satisfied that you already have, then they’ll be more willing to bring others to your door.

2.) Interview customers.

This ties in heavily with knowing your audience, but interviewing your customers can really turn out to be one of the best ways for advertising your small business. Take surveys on what was the most eye-catching thing to your current clientele. What slogans, or advertisements, or products are they most enraptured by? What makes them want to be a repeat customer?

Finding out this information can be key to spreading your influence farther than you may have thought possible.

3.) Have a website.

This one seems like a no-brainer, but in this information age, having a website is more important now than ever before. If you don’t have a good website, it’ll be even harder to advertise your small business than you thought possible.

In today’s Internet-driven world, the first thing that people are likely to do once finding out about your business or product is Google it. They will want to see your hours, your product information, your customer reviews, any other products you may have – and that’s even before taking a step in your doors or ordering a product for themselves.

Having a solid, eye-catching, up-to-date website is more important now than ever before, when word of mouth advertising is more like sharing a post on Facebook than actually picking up the phone to call someone. Making sure that you have full control of your online presence is vital when trying to reach customers, and may even be able to increase your reach beyond the local.

4.) Have a social media platform.

Having a social media platform, especially in today’s climate, is one of the best promotional tools available. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and even TikTok now are incredible ways to get both you and your small business out there into the public eye.

Creating beautiful advertisements and insightful posts that your followers can share can provide a big boost in sales to you and your small business. Or, you could create something silly and memorable that falls in line with more current trends.

In fact, some of the most popular TikTok accounts are brand accounts. The Duolingo and Scrub Daddy accounts both take popular TikTok trends and bend them to work in their brand’s favor. One thing is for sure: no one who goes to their TikTok accounts will forget what they saw. It may be unconventional, but it definitely works!

5.) Turn to print advertising

It might seem a little too conventional when you first think about it, but in reality, newspaper advertising is still an effective way to get your name and brand out there. When so many ads pop up on our phones, computers, and TVs, we always find a way to fast forward through, or close them out, as quickly as possible. With print media, it is more intentional, and grabs the reader’s attention. When looking at advertising your small business, check out our website for information!

6.) Have a great customer service team.

No matter how many advancements in technology you may make, or how many rewards or promotions you may offer, there’s nothing that can beat just simple, good customer service. Good customer service can make or break a brand or business. As your business continues to grow, make sure that all of your staff is trained well and is able to answer most general questions about your business.

However, even more important than knowledge is good communication skills. Sometimes, the most memorable part of visiting a local business is the incredible and knowledgeable staff that work there. Good communication builds relationships, and relationships can build returning clientele.

7.) Do your research.

If you don’t know who you’re competing against, what kinds of similar products are out there, or how much your competitors are charging, there isn’t a lot of hope to be competitive in this market. Make sure that not only are you paying attention to what your customers want, but look around at the competition, too. What are they selling? How are they marketing it? What is their customer service like? Do they have loyalty programs? Are your prices fair for the market that we’re in compared to theirs?

You always want to make sure that you aren’t undervaluing your services or your products, but charging too much can also be detrimental. Be sure not to drive away your business due to your high prices, because you haven’t been up to date with the market. It’s also important to note that while you don’t have to do everything that your competitor does, knowing that your products or services are as easily – if not more easily – accessible can make for a better experience.

The Top 7 Reasons It Makes Sense to Invest in Print Marketing

November 17, 2021 admin

How can print marketing help you break through the communication gap between you and your prospects?

In today’s digital era, it’s simple for your target market to become overwhelmed with online adverts and email marketing, especially given that Facebook now has over 2 billion monthly users, Instagram 1 billion, and Twitter 300 million.

In an age where it’s simple to create a Facebook page or an Instagram account and begin marketing your business for free, it’s tempting to believe that print marketing is extinct. But the wise business owner and marketer hasn’t given up on print marketing. Print is still a potent marketing medium with an outstanding result when paired with digital and social media marketing.

Here are the top 7 reasons why print media releases should remain an essential element of any marketing strategy.

Print advertising has a long lifespan.

Your company’s adverts in printed media may help you reach your target market if they are designed and placed correctly. Using demographic data, you can strategically deploy your brand in the right place at the right time, in front of the right audience. When someone leaves a magazine on their counter or office table, your advertisement will remain until the magazine is recycled—or handed on to someone else. It’s a physical product that stays in a person’s house or office for a long time, leaves countless imprints, and has an audience reach that lasts weeks, months, and even years.

Print ads are easier to remember than digital ads.

The Internet may be perplexing at times. On any given page, there might be hundreds of hyperlinks, adverts, and options vying for your attention. In a magazine or newspaper, there are still interruptions. However, they are usually fewer, and you physically move past advertisements while you interact with the information. While the digital text is scanned, reading on paper is slower and more deliberate. Reading improves comprehension and retention rates, which could mean that conventional print media advertisements done by Kansas City advertising companies are more likely to leave a lasting memory for businesses.

According to neuroscientists, that might explain why people are more likely to remember your brand after seeing it in a paper ad than in a digital ad. This is because viewing them exudes deep emotions, which is necessary for memory and brand connections.

Print marketing helps to strengthen a company’s brand.

Print marketing by Kansas City advertising companies may help you stand out and attract attention. After all, so much of today’s online material goes unnoticed. Consider how many marketing emails you do not open and how many advertisements you do not click. We are bombarded with too much digital information, to the point that we have become numb to it. And it could be harder for businesses and brands to stand out and be recognized. But, you may avoid these digital blind spots by using print marketing.

Print marketing can assist your brand by making people notice it in a more meaningful and intimate manner. It can cut through all internet noise into the calm area of a person’s life and capture their attention. Marketers realize the value of having a well-known brand. Printed publications and other branded items are excellent ways to achieve this. It allows you to combine the visual elements of color, image, and script that help in brand recognition.

Some folks are still without internet access.

Your target audience could not even be online, depending on their demography. Don’t forget about individuals who don’t have access to the Internet or are hesitant to conduct business online. Print marketing is the most effective approach to contact them. Consumers still respond to direct mail, generating sales via coupons, postcards, and special offers.

A clever direct mail campaign delivers a greater return on investment than e-mail marketing or digital advertisements. In reality, direct mail is a terrific approach to connect with people from all walks of life, especially since it is the most reliable type of Kansas City advertising.

Print marketing has higher credibility than internet marketing.

When you see iconic magazines like Time and People or your favorite newspaper on the rack, it exudes an aura of credibility and prestige. It’s also convenient; you can lay aside the printed material and return to it at any time to continue reading. Print media needs “real estate,” which marketers understand. A published article left on the corner of a desk will remain there until it is picked up and checked the following day.

Many people are concerned about the growth of cybercrime these days—phishing and virus frauds and more ambitious and sophisticated illegal online schemes. And a recent American poll found that people trust print ads more than any other sort of advertisement. Because they are more expensive, scammers are less likely to use print tactics. Picking up a leaflet or brochure does not pose an immediate risk because there are no potentially sketchy links to click or personal documents to upload. Furthermore, high-quality print indicates that the brand is a legitimate company.

Print is Tangible.

Physical objects include publications, brochures, posters, and other sorts of printed goods. These things might remain in workplaces or homes for months or even years after being bought or delivered. While many non-physical marketing products serve a particular goal, the advantages of print media go far beyond what most people realize.

Print marketing appeals to people of all ages, not just Millennials. This is because print marketing, unlike email marketing, is tangible: you can touch and smell it. According to the study, this physical feature engages the brain, boosting the customer’s probability of remembering your ad’s content.

5 Small Business Advertising Trends to Amplify Your Reach

August 20, 2021 admin

The ideas that we’re going to discuss in this blog post have worked incredibly well for small business marketing in Kansas City. Most of these methods should be viable in helping your business grow.

However, with that being said, there is no magic bullet marketing strategy. In the end, it’s all about connecting your business’s value proposition to the correct customer base. The concept is simple but can take on many different forms.

To know which of these strategies will help you amplify your reach, you must have answers to the following questions:

What are the demographics of your target audience? Where do they live?
What places does your target audience like to congregate online?
What process does your target audience engage in to find products in your niche?
Who are the online authorities they follow when it comes to making purchasing decisions related to your product/niche?

These strategies are:

Facebook Marketing
Google My Business
Content Marketing
Social Media
Email Marketing

Let’s get started with the elephant in the room – Facebook marketing!

1. Facebook Marketing

There is a good reason why over 2 million+ small businesses are advertising on Facebook; it’s relatively cheap and effective at marketing to almost any audience on the planet.

Facebook ads work incredibly well at advanced targeting. For example, you can target users based on their interests, sex, age, behavior online, and of course, their location.

Making a Facebook ad is very simple. All you need is a good headline, some descriptive words, an image, and a hyperlink.

Facebook Ads Manager also makes it pretty easy to test several different ad sets, which lets you discover the winning formula for yourself and become profitable, with no advanced technical skills required.

2. Google My Business

Ranking a Google My Business (GMB) listing is incredibly impactful for any business.

And, if you have a local business serving local clients, GMB will probably work best for you.

In many cases, when someone searches for something on Google, they will find a paid ad, followed by a few GMB listings, and then followed by the organic search results. So, as you can see, being above the organic results while not being a paid ad (which many people have learned to avoid) has plenty of potential to pull in traffic. And the best part is you won’t have to spend any money on advertising.

But just what is a Google My Business profile? Simply put, it’s a platform/central hub that combines all of your Google accounts (Google+, Google Maps, Google Reviews, data from Google Analytics/Google Insights).

Also, if your brand name is unique, you should be able to have a large display for your name in the search results.

Thanks to all of the above, your business will automatically get more visibility and credibility. If you’re a local business, getting your GMB set up should be your #1 priority.

When it comes to ranking your GMB listing, it’s really not that difficult either. It starts with making sure that your profile is optimized, and then you gather reviews and make sure to post to your GMB profile at least once a week. This helps Google see that your business is relevant and regularly updated, similar to a website.

3. Content Marketing

Content marketing means making and distributing good content to capture and retain your target audience, with the follow-up goal of driving profitable actions. Good content is defined as these three things: relevant, consistent, and valuable.

Content marketing emphasizes long-term results in contrast to paid advertising, which focuses on the short term. This means that the short-term payoff of content marketing tends to be lower. Still, the long-term growth of customers, visitors, and leads can make a business successful.

However, content marketing isn’t an easy thing to do, and a lot goes into it besides having a creative mind for writing content:

valuable content
topic relevance
SEO
Optimized with the target audience in mind
Consistency in content publishing and promotion

Content doesn’t just mean writing some blog posts and calling it a day. No, it also means videos, online classes, podcasting, and plenty of other mediums where people like to consume content.

If you’re thinking about pursuing this strategy for your business, then be sure that you have the time and money needed to keep things going with no expectations of initial ROI. Then you must actually create quality content and get it out there. Unfortunately, there’s tons of bad content out there that ends up seeing little to no payoff in both the short and long term.

4. Social Media

For almost any business today, having a presence on social media is pretty much mandatory.

67% of consumers get customer support from social media. And furthermore, 33% of consumers prefer to contact customer support from social media instead of through the phone. These people will look for your business on their preferred social media websites. If they can’t find you, they’ll fall into the arms of your competitors.

The question isn’t whether or not your business should be on social media. Nowadays, the important question is what platforms should you focus on, and how much money and time should you be putting into them?

For example, you may want to spend a lot on organic social media growth, depending on your business.

However, for any business, it’s key to first discover where your customers like to hang out online. Then, you should know how they want to be approached. For example, does a pushy approach work, or is a more subtle approach required? Do they follow influencers, or like being a part of a community?

5. Email Marketing

Email marketing still works as a reliable way of getting leads, contact information and nurturing those leads over time. This is one of the best ways to sell products, hands down, which is why it’s among the best marketing channels for conversions.

Terms that you should be familiar with if you’re into email marketing are “marketing funnel” and “lead magnet.” The marketing funnel is your email marketing process. The lead magnet is a compelling offer that the visitor will receive in exchange for their email address. Some options for lead magnets are free trials, free downloads, website membership, coupons, webinar “seats,” and so much more.

9 Affordable Advertising Ideas for Your Small Business

March 21, 2021 admin

Are you looking for affordable small business advertising ideas? If not, then you should be – there are always intelligent and cost-effective ways to advertise. But can a small-sized business get its message across in a world that has so much advertising spam and clutter? Big companies seemingly dominate when it comes to messaging. However, there are still numerous free and low-cost methods for promoting a small business. All it takes is some imagination and hustling, and you can achieve fantastic results from affordable small business advertising.

9 Affordable Small Business Advertising Ideas

1. Get Covered for Free

There’s nothing cheaper than “free.” Therefore, one of the best ways to advertise your business is through “earned media” – aka “publicity” or “covered in the media.” This method is about getting local media, business bloggers, and news media to do stories about your business. While there isn’t really a straightforward way to make this happen (you can’t just say to them, “please come write about my business!”), you can make it happen using some subtlety and creativity.

It starts with finding a news angle that a key story from your business could fit into. For instance, let’s say that the holidays are coming soon. You could offer to appear as a guest expert who explains how small businesses are preparing for the new holiday shopping season. Another way to get free coverage is to capitalize fully on your business successes. Write up a press release covering one of your latest success stories and send it to your local news reporters or journalists who cover your industry.

2. Direct Mail

Here at Coffee News, we’re big fans of print advertising methods, and direct mail fits nicely here as an affordable advertising method.

According to recent research from the Direct Mail Association, direct mail gets a higher response rate at 4.4 percent than email does at just 0.12 percent. Furthermore, direct mail marketing cost at $51.40 per order/lead is less than that of email at $55.25 and PPC at $52.58.

As you can see, this tried and true method of advertising can still achieve significant results in this digital marketing era. The best part is that it can always be cost-effective. Just consider the fact that these days, most people’s email inboxes are more cluttered than their actual mailboxes outside! Consequently, these people may respond better to a direct mail letter, brochure, or postcard rather than just another email advertisement.

3. Put Your Business Information in Clever Places

Some people can get overwhelmed with the number of business cards they receive and toss them out. So, including your business information outside of a coffee mug, for example, will ensure that your potential customers frequently see your name.

4. Thank-You Cards

Another great and inexpensive way to use print advertising is to send thank-you notes to your favorite clients. It’s well worth spending a bit of money to create some printed postcards or color-filled photo cards that include your photograph, business logo, or other photos from your business. That way, your thank you notes will be personalized and let people know that you are a real person they’re buying from, which will help them connect with you on a human level. This strategy is also great for creating brand loyalty!

5. Customer Loyalty Programs

And speaking of loyalty, there are plenty of sophisticated online tools that offer inexpensive customer loyalty tracking programs to help you reward deserving customers. You may wonder if it’s worth the effort. It’s absolutely worth it, especially considering that existing customers are usually a great source of repeat business that is often more efficient than trying to get brand new customers.

6. Referrals

After you’ve built up a solid relationship with one of your customer’s you can further capitalize on this by getting them to refer/send new customers your way. You can do a referral program in whatever way you’d like. Whether it’s informal and on an as-needed basis, or with exact targeting and scheduling.

Whichever approach you choose, be sure to put enough thought and time into it and be mindful of how you approach your customers. You don’t want to just approach anyone; after all, you’re asking them for personal information – names of their friends, family members, etc.

A referral should be rewarded nicely with an appropriate gift. Consider what a new customer is worth to you, and that will help guide you in picking a suitable reward.

7. Email Marketing

Email marketing is another viable digital advertising method that doesn’t cost too much. It’s an excellent way of reaching out to existing customers as well as your fans and followers. There are plenty of great resources online for how to establish an effective email marketing strategy.

8. Accelerate Your Efforts on Social Media

Social media is undoubtedly one of the most affordable small business advertising methods in existence currently. One reason is that posting on social media is free. While it’s true that there’s a lot of clutter on social media, there’s still plenty of methods that a business can utilize to boost their numbers on social media without needing to spend too much money.

9. Purchase Facebook Ads

If you want to go with the “paid approach” on social media, you should consider going with Facebook ads. FB has some top-notch methods of targeting – you can focus your ads on a particular group of people (a key demographic, for example) that matches who your ideal target audience is. You could even make your ad only target certain age groups, a specific gender, location, behavior, interest, etc.; the sky’s the limit!

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many different affordable small business advertising ideas out there. Therefore, you should never feel like you don’t have enough funds to improve your marketing results. Regardless of the industry that you’re in – ingenuity, hard work, and some hustling can go a long way when promoting your business.

If you’re prepared to spend some money on purchasing ads or investing in direct mail advertising, then this is one of the best times to start. There are MANY advertising opportunities for any size business to scale-up that can fit your needs and budget.

Can Print Advertising Make a Comeback?

July 29, 2020 admin

With the massive innovation of advertisements over the past years, everything is now going digital — with little room available for print media. However, prepare for the resurrection of the dead, because print advertisements are now back on the market.

It is crystal clear in the eyes of people that the wide spreading of the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) across the world had resulted in nothing but the downfall of the economy and health of people.

Though the pandemic may have closed down malls and various establishments, influenced people’s physical states, and knocked down the economy and stock prices; the long-gone print advertisement may have benefited from this unfortunate catastrophe.

In the industry of advertising, the first rule is that your adverts must be seen by the general public to take effect. But this might not be happening anytime soon with the virus taking a toll in the country.

With people locked up in their homes, their usual go-to digital consumption services are either social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or streaming services like Netflix, HBO, and Amazon Prime Video. This personal preference is hitting the vulnerable spot of most print advertisements companies.

The Current Statistics

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, almost 24% of media buyers, planners, and brands have paused their advertising spending. Meanwhile, 46% said they would adjust their ad spend across the time period.

In China, the total media ad spending tops digital and television with $81.06 billion and $16.27 billion as of the March 2020 forecast. While these numbers are occurring in the United States and China, which dominates most of the print media, it is evident that amid a pandemic, ad revenue for print advertisements is down and will continue in that trajectory in these trying times.

Numbers do not lie, it is factual, and it is the reality. Though the numbers conclude that print advertisements are long out of the picture, the recent Sunday New York Times turned the tables. It might be a significant risk at this moment. However, the publishing company carried six different long forms of print advertisements where one is a two-page spread from MasterCard to articulate its support for the GLAAD’s NEON Legacy Series, a photo and video collection by Black LGBTQIA+ creators.

Aside from this, brand categories that are not included to be most impacted by COVID-19 saw incredible changes with their business as the pandemic peak.

The Comeback of Print Advertisement

Ryan Zamo, co-founder and CEO of Z-SkinCosmetics, a company that specializes in organic and handmade e-commerce beauty brands, experienced incredible growth in their affiliate marketing because of the hand sanitizers they sell and make.

In line with this, they took advantage of the moment. Z-SkinCosmetics promoted their hand sanitizers while their sports nutritional supplements are down in sales. It can be presumed that a profit increase is gained when the target market wants to be knowledgeable about what is happening around them. This is the marketing strategy that Zamo and his brand did with their hand sanitizer product line.

Moreover, when John Caples created some of America’s long copy of ads back in the 1960s and 1970s, it inspired David Ogilvy, another ad legend. David discovered that long copies sell more than short texts.

Though this may seem in contrast with the digital age wherein time is valued, and everything is fast-paced, characters are limited up to a 145-word count, and a piece of single information must be flashed in no more than 15 seconds. Today, productivity lies in quantity, so as much as possible, the totality of everything must be summarized.

Aside from the pandemic, people had to battle and protest with the LGBTQIA+ community and the Black Lives Matter or BLM movement. These social movements and communities happened to change print advertisements overnight.

Facebook, who acted deaf on its own employees for racist posts, is now advertising a full-page on the significance of voting. This voting information started on the 3rd of July, wherein Facebook users who meet the voting age will see it at the topmost part of their timeline and information on how to vote.

This initiative will also be available on their sister sites and applications like Instagram and Messenger all throughout the summer.

While a vast and famous brand, Procter and Gamble, features Serena Williams for their deodorant and antiperspirant line, Secret, to push for gender equality. The same strategy was done in another P&G product, Olay, featuring a quote from an activist and MSNBC contributor, Brittany Packet Cunningham, who took a stand against racism.

These are just a few of the many businesses who spoke their truth and stand with social movements and initiatives through the print media. This has massively contributed to the revival of print advertisements because the people buy these brands to make a stand.

So gone are the limitations on word counts and characters, because now, people have all the time in the world to read and be educated.

Conclusion

Since we live in an information-seeking environment, advertising your small business can be done in a long copy of print advertisements.

A brand is more than what it offers or sells; it is how they brand their image to other people that reflects who they are. In this chosen medium, a more in-depth understanding may open the hearts of people to entrust their needs to these brands fully.

At this point, print advertisements have fully revived after sitting in the dark for so long. It might be unfortunate to come back during a pandemic and gain profit because of societal inequalities and issues.

However, it is essential for the community and the rest of the world to know the truth and be informed of factual information through these mediums.

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Most Effective Small Business Advertising During COVID-19

June 18, 2020 admin

The COVID-19 pandemic brought in a lot of different challenges, especially for businesses. Many of them had to close, and those that are not closed yet have very low traffic and few clients in between. Since the lockdowns will pass eventually, it’s very important to make sure that we focus on small business marketing. This will help spread the word for your business and bring in more leads and customers in the long run. But what can you do in order to implement the right marketing ideas during the pandemic, no matter if you are a part of print advertising or any other industry?

Creative Advertising

A good way to promote your business right now is to use creative advertising. The #StayAtHome creative ads will help you showcase your company’s ideas while also bringing in a way for people to either stay informed or laugh, based on the situation. You can encourage people to focus more on hygiene and use a hand sanitizer, for example, while also coming with all kinds of simple ideas you can use on a day to day basis. The idea is to adapt and implement new features that really work and which bring in creative benefits.

Including things like social distancing, self-delivery, wearing a mask, and so on will show that you care about your clients, and you are offering them the information they need and the services they require.

Establish a Social Campaign

The COVID-19 pandemic definitely brought in a lot of challenges to many people in very specific fields like doctors, nurses, firefighters, and so on. This is a great time to create social initiatives through which you encourage people to support frontline workers or local communities. You can start volunteering, help seniors, donate for various causes, and so on. It helps your business, and it also shows that you care about the community. That will make your business easier to relate to, and the results can be great.

Free Access to Paid Content

A lot of companies started to offer free access to paid content recently. This is an interesting approach, and they do a very good job with that. The main focus is to show customers that you care about them. It can be one of the most effective small business advertising ideas. People love free content, especially if they can get paid content for free. A lot of companies already started offering freebies, such as National Geographic, Harvard, Netflix, HBO, Apple TV Plus, even the Museum of Modern Art has a set of free online courses.

Why should you use this strategy? It really works; it offers brand recognition, it brings in more brand engagement, and on top of that, it’s a great source for word of mouth. Plus, you can generate publicity and media coverage, offering people the value and support you need during these trying and challenging times.

Create Online Experiences

Due to the pandemic, people have to stay at home, and that means you need to offer them some ways to enjoy their time indoors. That also means focusing on all kinds of online experiences. For example, the Faroe Islands created a tourism remote control that you can use to explore the locations live if you want. Or you can have an online session via Zoom and other tools where you talk with one another and focus on bringing in a very rewarding and powerful user experience. If you’re an offline-only service provider, you need to do whatever you can to enter the online world, and the experience itself can be a great one every time.

Email Marketing

Another great method you can use to connect with people during the pandemic is definitely email marketing. What this does is it allows you to share alerts related to the COVID-19 situation, but also things like being in it together or offering access to the free content available online. You want people to have a reason to sign up for your email newsletter, and this certainly seems like a good idea to focus on. You can also share plans for the future or a source of entertainment, whatever you can in order to show people the value you have and the quality being brought to the table.

Entertain People

Find a way to entertain people if you can. Sharing some fun self-isolation stories and creating all kinds of challenges or contests on social media will come in handy. It’s also a really good idea to prioritize the user-generated content. It will boost user engagement rates, and people will be happy this way too. You can also create live streaming sessions and offer entertaining resources for free or establish online events. Again, the main focus is to connect with everyone to show that you are there for them and that you are bringing all the support you can.

Harness the Power of Paid Ads

Why would you do that? A lot of businesses were closed, so the ad costs are cheaper than before. It definitely makes a lot of sense to promote your business now. Even if people don’t buy right away, they will take notice of your company and buy once the pandemic is over. So yes, this is money well spent if you know how to do it wisely. Use that to your own advantage, and you will find the outcome to be rather interesting and unique at the same time. Just remember that the most important thing is quality and bringing in the best approach to grow your business.

Conclusion

It’s very important to show your support and boost your engagement rates with clients and leads. These are trying times, so offering as much help as possible can really make a huge difference. At the end of the day, what really matters is to understand what challenges are now on the market and how you can deal with them in a proper manner. Try to use these tips and tricks, adapt them to your local audience, and you will start seeing results early on!

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A Brief History of Guerilla Marketing

March 18, 2020 admin

With the outbreak of the coronavirus, what better time is there to talk about viral marketing methods to help your business get through the tough times ahead?

So, just what is guerrilla marketing? We’ll explain how it can be some of the most effective small business advertising.

What is Guerrilla Marketing?

Consider the fact that everyone enjoys the tale of how the smaller guy can overcome the bigger guy using smarts and ingenuity to surprise his opponent. That’s what we call guerrilla warfare. So when a new startup utilizes an underground marketing method to reach success and shock the business world, that’s called guerrilla marketing.

The term “guerrilla marketing” is becoming ubiquitous these days. It’s being used to describe all manner of different types of marketing campaigns. But just what exactly defines guerrilla marketing? What makes it different from more traditional types of advertising? Let’s dive into these questions now.

History of Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla marketing is iconic and frequently controversial, but it didn’t appear in the mainstream until late in the 1970s. Before this period, advertising was all about how big your budget was, how much exposure you got, and whether or not you had a catchy jingle for your business. It was easier to make huge profits while bringing in tons of new customers at the same time.

However, we can contrast this to the beginning of the 20th century up until around the 40s or 50s. At this time, the main goal of advertisers was to educate their target audience rather than entertain or engage them. The primary purpose of an ad was to teach people something that they weren’t aware of before. It didn’t matter what form of media it was, television ads, newspaper ads, radio, posters, etc.; the ad was always trying to educate the consumer about something new.

Of course, advertisers eventually realized that this technique of educating the masses was becoming more and more ineffective. People became increasingly aware of how this seemingly helpful advice was just a disguised sales pitch. So by the 1970s, that’s when everything changed in the advertising world.

In 1984, the paradigm really started to shift when Jay Conrad released his book in bookstores. His ideas were about how to get big advertising results with only a small investment put into it. His book Guerrilla Marketing brought the knowledge of more subtle marketing into public awareness. After the book came out, not even the author could’ve predicted how much his ideas would influence the small businesses at that time to follow these teachings.

The Secret to Guerrilla Marketing

The secret is to not come across as preachy or educational; it’s all about making the prospect feel like they’re being let in on a secret…

The best kind of guerrilla marketing event makes the audience feel lucky to have attended it.

Basically, it all comes down to using unconventional techniques to advertise with the least amount of money possible. That usually eliminates radio and television ads, which means you’ll have to think outside of the box. In fact, forget about the box altogether and turn it into a trapezoid. See what we’re getting at? Think of the “box” as your campaign – make it ridiculous, funny, outrageous, shocking, clever, unique, and so creative that people can’t stop paying attention to it. You’ll, of course, need to back up your claims and have a product worthy of all that discussion.

Levinson’s methods are still used today by underdog businesses to overcome their bigger competitors.

Now for the first time in history, small businesses were able to get more attention than the big dogs. The shock factor was the new “x-factor” of success for small businesses. By being personal, quirky, and full of surprises, these advertisers were able to leapfrog the competition.

Guerilla Marketing in Action

Fast forward to 1987, and we can see one of the most prominent (and still used to this day) examples of guerrilla marketing. It’s called the “buy me a drink” technique. When a pretty lady at the bar asks you to buy her a drink, but not just any drink – only Brand X drink will do. And then she goes on and on about why that drink is her favorite brand of vodka. In that situation, you might just be a happy victim of guerrilla marketing in action. Yes, this technique was so successful that it’s still used by companies to this day when a new drink or liquor hits the market.

Another Guerrilla Marketing Example

Meanwhile, the company Adidas was struggling to stay above water. Yes, even Adidas faced huge setbacks at certain points. Due to unwise changes in management, Adidas needed a miracle. The praise from Olympic athletes was no longer enough.

After French businessman Bernard Tapie took over management of the company, he implemented a brilliant strategy to save the company. His solution? Give away a pair of Adidas to each up and coming rapper in New York.

This was certainly an unexpected move. Who would give away shoes to rappers anyway?

But as it turned out, Tapie happened to strike gold. One rap group called DMC released a single known as “My Adidas.” And just like that, overnight Adidas shoes were being worn by every hip youngster from coast to coast.

This is just one example to show you how an unexpected marketing method can work wonders. However, copying this method today likely will not bear much fruit, since the shoes would probably get lost among all of the other things stealing attention away from celebrities.

Another reason it probably wouldn’t work as well as it did before is that once a guerrilla marketing method becomes known, it loses effectiveness soon after. That’s why to be an effective guerrilla marketer, you must be stealthy and utilize the element of surprise.

Conclusion

In conclusion, guerrilla marketing is personal marketing. A cute girl at the bar selling the merits of that brand of alcohol to you is an example of guerrilla marketing. The rappers wearing those Adidas shoes are guerrilla marketing. And there are many more guerrilla marketing examples out there.

However, you should learn from these examples, but not copy them, because guerrilla marketing requires ingenuity and originality.

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How To Advertise a Startup

February 17, 2020 admin

It’s hard for new startups to stand out when there are 50 million new startups popping up each year. The competition is fierce, to put it mildly.

And even if your product is amazing, top-notch, must-have, etc., you’ll still have to put some funds into promoting it.

Here are a few small-budget ideas that you can use to start advertising your small business today.

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Content Marketing

Content marketing is the best way for a startup company to get new customers and begin advertising your small business. It’s less expensive than paid advertising, and it’s more effective than cold calling.

There are studies that prove this is the case. For instance, Hubspot did a study that found that companies who implemented inbound marketing initiatives saw large increases in their web traffic within 2-4 months. (For those who don’t know, inbound marketing utilizes content marketing as its main strategy.)

Blogging, in particular, proved to be the most effective content marketing strategy for the majority of the participants in the study.

So, if you want to see more sales for your startup company, then follow the lead of the companies in that study, and start blogging! It can and probably will take months to start seeing results. However, if you add in a little bit of paid advertising, you can start to see results even sooner.

So what about the “content” in content marketing? What does that really mean? Essentially it can mean any kind of media asset. GIFS, podcasts, infographics, text, PDFs, videos, and images all fall under the category of “content.” That’s why a content marketing strategy should include a mixture of different content types.

The next question you likely have is, “what kind of content should I create? Also, hasn’t most content already been done before? What new content can I bring to the table?”

To do effective content marketing these days, you have to think outside the box. Even if there is already excellent content out there somewhere on the web, it’s surely not available in every kind of format.

For example, you could turn that awesome blog post you stumbled across into your own video where you can give your perspective on the subject. This is known as repurposing content, and it’s a critical part of content marketing.

You can (and should) also repurpose your own content in order to reach the different audiences who would be interested in your products or services.

An example of repurposing your own content would be taking some of your multiple blog posts and turning them into a free course. That way, your information, and advice can reach more people, the ones who don’t have the time or inclination to get all of the information they need from multiple different posts.

So here’s how repurposing content works in practical terms:

Create your content
Promote your content so that it will reach your target audience
Repurpose the content for another audience on a different platform
Promote the repurposed content
Evaluate the results from both channels and then double down your efforts on the most effective one.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is everywhere these days. In fact, if you don’t have at least one social media account, then you might as well be considered a dinosaur. However, that doesn’t mean you should now start indiscriminately creating social media accounts everywhere. One business’s success on Instagram won’t necessarily translate to your business. As we mentioned earlier, different audiences tend to congregate on each of the different social media websites and apps out there.

So the approach you should take with social media is to harness a specific channel to help amplify your content marketing.

For example, the best places for a visually-oriented business to amplify their content might be on Pinterest or Instagram. On the other hand, Reddit or Twitter doesn’t have as much image sharing going on, so focusing efforts on those two might not work out very well.

So to put your social media marketing plan into action, start with focusing on one or two social media websites/apps. Create relevant and highly sharable content and post it on those two sites.

Also, remember that even though it’s social media, you should still act professionally. Respond to messages and replies in a timely fashion. Don’t act disrespectfully towards your followers. Try to stay involved and active in your new online communities and that will also make other people want to get involved as well. The worst thing that can happen is for your social media pages to look like ghost towns.

Webinars

One way that you can really start advertising your small business and “sell” the solution that your company offers is through webinars. A webinar is typically a one-hour multimedia presentation, which gives you plenty of time to hold people’s attention and promote your product using multiple different kinds of media.

During a webinar, you can generate new leads, show how your product works in action, pre-sell it, and also generate new content that you can, later on, repurpose into blog posts or social media posts.

Webinars may also be one of, if not the most, effective lead magnets available. According to the Demand Gen Report’s Content Preferences Survey from 2018, B2B buyers are more willing to spend time watching a webinar than any other kind of content. Additionally, about three-fourths of them were willing to share their contact information to access webinars.

The actual act of conducting a webinar isn’t that hard. The real challenging parts are going to be coming up with an audience-centric topic and making the right people aware of your webinar. You’ll have to promote your webinar across several different channels if you want to get the most bang for your buck.

You might be tempted to create gated access to your webinar, but in the beginning of advertising your small business, when you’re just starting to build a following, this isn’t likely to work. Streaming it live on YouTube and Facebook can work better, and since video discovery is integrated into these two platforms, you’ll likely attract more people to your webinar that way.

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