Traditional print advertising through your local paper is always a great way to raise awareness of your business and reach more people with the message you’re trying to promote. However, online advertising can be just as powerful and perhaps more effective at reaching specific people when done right.
Online advertising can seem a minefield, though. It can be difficult to know where to begin with so many options to choose from. So here are some key questions that will help you decide how to build your online advertising campaign and how to create a powerful online advert.
1) Who is your ideal customer?
First, think of a generic description of who you imagine your customer to be. For example, what’s their age? Gender? Do they have children? Are they working or retired? How far do they live from your business? By having an idea of who your customers are, you will be able to use online advertising more effectively by targeting them more specifically.
It’s also worth thinking about why these types of customers might buy a product or service from you. Ask yourself is there something specific that only your business can provide? Are you conveniently located for them? Thinking of these reasons will help you to shape what you want to achieve with your online advertising and the types of messages you should communicate.
2) What are your objectives?
Once you’ve identified your ideal customers, it’s important to consider your aims and objectives when creating an online advertising campaign. The obvious answer is to generate more sales but it’s important to understand that increasing sales is often a result of a mix of marketing activities such as online and offline methods. Online adverts on their own can help you to either:
It’s always better to focus on one objective for each campaign so that you can easily track what’s working well and what isn’t. Don’t try to do too much with one campaign as it will be more difficult to achieve the results you want. Instead, keep your goals simple and measurable so you can review the best online tactics that work for your business. For example, a florist may want to promote 20% off all wedding bookings so their online advertising objective might be to drive clicks and visits to their website in order to make an enquiry or booking.
3) How should you communicate your message?
To build the right advert, it's important to understand what it is people are looking for when they come to you.
For example, if you’re a plumber or an electrician, what is the problem that people are looking to solve when they call you? Has their heating broken down, or do they need a new boiler? With these questions in mind, you could create an online advert targeting homeowners with a message prompting them to think about how high their gas bills are which could be a sign of needing a new boiler.
One of the most effective things about online advertising is if you know what your customers might want from you, then you can target people who are looking for something similar.
4) What messages should you use?
This is where real communication skills come in; simple words that can conjure the right image or send the right message to your audience. For example, if you run a children’s entertainment venue, you might use adjectives like ‘magical’ to describe it. Or if you run a restaurant, you might use words like ‘lively’ or ‘atmospheric’.
If you have any business awards, use this to your advantage by including it in your message to demonstrate your expertise e.g ‘award-winning clinicians’.
Finding the time to create these phrases may prove difficult for you though, so why not consider our online advertising service which helps to build the ideal online campaign for your business.
There are many steps to creating the perfect online advert, all of which are vital to consider before you start online advertising so that you know who you are targeting, what results you want to achieve, how you should communicate with your customers and the types of messaging you should be sharing with them. By following the above steps, you are sure to create a winning advert targeted to the right customer.
To find out more about engaging and driving people to your business, read the following articles:
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