Advertising Strategies That Work

Advertising is an important part of a business operation that involves selling of goods or services. One would like to reach as many potential customers as possible and the best way to do that is by adopting advertising strategies that work.

Whether you are going to place advertisements on traditional media like print, radio or television or embarking on online advertising, it pays to take note of these advertising strategies that work.

First, come up with a well-planned advertising plan. The important questions to answer include how much is your budget, who are your target media, how frequent or until what time your advertising campaign will be, what will be the actual ad content and most important of all, who will be the target of your advertisement? In coming up with a plan, make it realistic, achievable and most of all, measurable in terms of changes in profit (sales, demand, product turnaround) and public awareness about your goods or services (through surveys).

Second, review and compare. Pick two to three products in the same category as yours that are being advertised. Observe how the sales pitches are presented, the strategy used to entice public attention and what is its effect to you as a viewer or a listener. Then, jot down the things you like about the strategy and the things that you don't. You can use the data you get from this comparison strategy when you conceptualize your own advertising campaign.

Third, establish presence where it matters. For some advertisers, “the more, the merrier,” when it comes to establishing presence. This could be good if your goal is to saturate every possible user demographic (adult, teens, students, men, women, professionals, skilled workers, etc.). But quantity will never substitute for quality. And by quality, we mean placing ads where your target market is most likely to browse.

This is the same concept used in television advertising, where women's programs are generally the territories of household products, personal care, food and lifestyle products. Sports programs, on the other hand, are saturated by advertisements on cigarettes, beer, leather goods, men's hygiene lines and similar products or services. This is to ensure that you maximize the "views" for your ads on people who are more likely to purchase or avail them (translating into prospective profit) than wasting "hits" on markets that don't have a need for them.

As advertisers, you must emphasize the selling points of your products or services, what makes it positively different from competitors. Get into the psyche of your target consumer and "hype" up on the values that they will most likely use in deciding whether to buy. By "hype" we assume that the selling points you will use are true. If you say that "our salads and sauces are made fresh everyday to make your burger meals healthier," we trust that your really serve sauces and salads that are prepared fresh everyday, no more, no less. Also, remember that consumers are smart nowadays and they can distinguish between fake and sincere ads. Truth in advertising will always be the ultimate test for your ads.
Donald Varner
http://advertisingagencies.org/

Advertising and Marketing Staff