Advertising For Your Small Business

Customers can’t give you business if they don’t know you’re there. You can’t get a client base, let alone repeat customers, if you don’t advertise. Your budget may not allow for prime-time TV spots but you have to prioritize getting your name out there. What you can do with a smaller budget than large corporate competitors is still big and a draw for clients. Use creativity and watch what happens.

Ads

Audio and Video

The holy grail of advertising is TV spots. And, there’s a reason for that. The pricing for primetime 30 second spots can consume your entire publicity budget. You can get effective TV ad time without huge investment if you know how to get started. What does your company offer that others don’t? Get some informal awareness of your products/services and their innovative qualities out there.

Get some attention in the community and the local media will perk up their ears. Look into ad rates for non-prime TV time, too.You can negotiate a discount for these blocks of time. And, don’t forget radio ads. Radio still holds public attention at times that TV doesn’t. Drivers and commuters are a captive audience for your business. Drive time radio ad space is cheaper than TV time but just as effective. Creativity is the key to capturing customer attention, regardless of the medium. Your ad time should receive the utmost attention from your creative staff members.

Print and Visual Media

Don’t ignore more traditional advertising. Local newspaper ad space — start there. The rates are affordable and your ad will be widely seen in your area. Make every word count in these ads. The importance of verbal impact outweighs visual in a newspaper, especially black and white pages. If you’re exploring larger impact, look into full color signage. Check out online retailers and printers for custom signs made for you. And merchandising with Lanyards, stickers, badges & reels will surely help you Brand your business even more!

Small signage works best in public spaces. Work with other local, non-competitor, businesses and offer to post their ads as well. Also look into getting your signage posted in bus stops, transit stations and along areas of high pedestrian traffic. You can go really big and get a billboard, too. You get the high-impact visual element and a captive audience (if only for a short time) of drivers and commuters.

Billboards not only capture immediate attention, they stay with people after they’ve driven past. The truly memorable ones can become topics of conversation. Again, go creative. Feature large, good-quality images and bright colors. Come up with a catchy slogan and you have a perfect piece of advertising to attract and interest potential clients.

A small business needs big advertising just as much as big corporation. Maybe more. You need every advantage to get your client base in the door not just once but repeatedly. You have to make it top priority for your business and staff to research, create and keep creating effective and vivid advertising that works in your market areas. The more invested you are in effective advertising techniques, the better the results will be.