Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Business Advertising: 5 Ways to Do It Right




The more you know about your target audience, the more effective your advertising will be in convincing consumers to buy your product or service. Knowing what potential buyers desire, fear, or envy; and what motivates them, how they think, and when they will act, will enable you to tailor advertising messages for maximum effect. Take these tips into your business model to increase visibility and sales.

Social Networking

How are social networks able to attract major businesses and pull in billions of dollars while offering what looks like a free service? It's because their users' willingly share valuable information about who they are, their interests across several industries, their age and gender, where they live, their occupation, and more. This information arms businesses with the ability to micro-target consumers and direct specific, personalized ads to particular individuals, and it also provides them direction on which new products to develop. When your company is using social networks, your goal is to not only post messages, pictures, and updates, but to actively engage your audience by introducing games, surveys, contests, and the like based on information they've already given you.

Product Comparisons

Today, product comparisons are common, particularly for pain relievers, cars, and detergents. Some product comparisons have become legendary. When the makers of 7-Up wanted a share of Coke's market, they dubbed their product "the Uncola." When Pepsi also started to eat away at Coke's business, The Coca-Cola Company responded by saying of Coke: "It's the real thing". Pepsi answered with a series of blind taste tests against Coke that doubled Pepsi's market share within a year. The example shows that going after your biggest competitor head-on isn't a bad idea if you are prepared. The business game is a grueling boxing match and the consumers are the judges.

Attention Please

Another good way to increase the number of people who view your ads is through borrowed interest. Research has shown, for example, that babies grab attention, so many advertisers use babies in their advertising, even if their product has little, or nothing at all to do with babies or children. You can also borrow interest from current or major events. For example, at the close of the Gulf War, a telecommunications company aired an ad featuring a montage of soldiers in the desert, women at home watching war planes on TV, a soldier on the phone, and other images, followed by a shot of planet earth. "Never is information more crucial for democracy than at times like these," read the text, as it rolled down the screen. As a viewer, you would think that this telecommunications company was a crucial player in international communications, however, the company actually only provided local telephone service. Similarly, the advertising of many companies took advantage of the events on 9-11.

The Spending Power of Kids

Children fourteen and under spend tens of billions of dollars a year and influence purchases by parents, grandparents, and others to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Experts say that kids are particularly vulnerable to the persuasive effects of advertising because they lack the skills and the experiences necessary to analyze advertising messages. If done right, you could have great success marketing cool gadgets, games, merchandise, clothing, food, services, and more to children.

Clothing

These days, you don't have to be in the clothing industry to make clothing. T-shirts with slogans on them have become a popular and effective marketing tool that can turn your championed product, service, phrase, or slogan into something viral as fast as the internet. And with people willing to dish out $20 or more for a embroidered T-shirt, you can make an instant profit off your advertising. Don't forget the little accessories that people use daily like hats, sunglasses and even backpack patches or pins. Find small accessories like this at patchsuperstore or other retailers. Make your logo stand out wherever it is by putting it on your customer's everyday items.


As an advertiser, it's your job to know the names and addresses of doctors who own muscle cars, people who raise reptiles, men who are bald, and women in California who vote Republican. You need to know who is likely to buy a truck and who wouldn't be caught dead in platform shoes. How do you find out these things? If you actively engage your consumers, they will tell you.

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