If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. Zig Ziglar
We build our businesses through relationships and great service. Some entrepreneurs like ourselves go the extra mile to show our customers that we care by remembering their birthdays and even their first names.
In the good old days, the local store knew your name, your children, and even had time to have a conversation with you. You were able to build your business through strong community relationships. If you wanted to market yourself, you could do some flyers and have them dropped in the mailboxes or maybe an advert in the local newspaper or community newsletter. However, times have changed.
Today, advertising is an act of promotion that aims to sell a product or a service to the target consumer. Advertising is one of the oldest forms of marketing which influences the target audience to buy, sell, or do something with that advertised product. With a specifically designed message, the advertisement can either be targeted to a very specific audience or to the audience as a whole.
Marketing activities like Email Marketing and Search Engine Marketing came way after advertising was introduced. Ever since the internet grew common, advertising has been divided into traditional advertising and digital advertising.
Forms of traditional advertising include print, TV, and radio advertisements. The most effective advertising is print media because it revolves around a target audience that personally receives the advertisements through flyers, newspapers, and mail.
Any advertising activities fall under the category of digital advertising, such as Social Media Advertising, PPC, Display Advertising, etc. This is a cheaper form of advertising and is easier to track. Therefore, it is a more widely used form of marketing (Oberlo, n.d.).[1]
Importance of Advertising
Today, businesses use advertising, and companies place ads in diverse media to accomplish goals. Besides advertising products traditionally in newspapers and general magazines, businesses use the media with the highest number of reach. For example, a portable device used for communication is advertised on a social media site whose audience is mostly the younger generation. The importance of advertising can be understood for the following reasons:
Introduction of the Product and Awareness
When a business comes up with a new product, advertising helps make the market aware of the new product. Often, ads are presented with a solution to a common problem. For example, ads for new cellphones presented that it could solve the problem of a "dropped call." Similarly, ads for anti-frizz treatments show the results after using the product, so the market is aware of how effective the product is.
Events of Product Sale
Advertising is a great way to get a message out to the market about a limited time offer on products. Ads that are sale-based can be generated by local shops, or they can come from the manufacturer of the product. In a lot of cases, the manufacturer and the retailer both split the amount of the ad. This advertising is known as "co-op advertising." It uses the graphics and the design provided by the manufacturer. Only the retailer's name is added to the ad.
Product Differentiation from Competitors
Businesses use advertisements to demonstrate that their products are more beneficial and more effective than the competitors' products. In some instances, retailers think it is necessary to advertise their products because they have flooded the newspapers and the television with their ads. If the retailers do not market their products in abundance, it is possible that the customers just overlook the product.
Advances in the Product
Advertising is a tool used to communicate any advancements in the present product. By September 2003, the "Advertising Age" was a time of the soap wars where manufacturers aggressively advertised their products. By 1980, the first liquid hand soap was introduced. This soap promised to solve the problem of leftover soap residue on the sink. This product was then purchased by a national brand, after which competitors also came up with their own liquid soap products.
Institutional Advertising to Depict a Good Image
Companies use institutional advertising to communicate information about their operations or show why their products are the best choice. Zig Ziegler claims that this type of advertising is not meant to increase sales. However, it gives out a good image of the company and about the product. This advertising will then lead to sales. Ziegler says that even if the customer does not purchase the product now, the company will have his name for the future (Hazelden, 2019).[2]
Kinds of Advertising
At this stage of this book, you have a clear understanding of Search engines, how local search works, and the importance of a website. The next step is deciding the kind of advertising and the different platforms to advertise on.
Print media include newspapers, catalogs, magazines, direct mail, and program books. This form of advertising allows customers to spend as much time as they want with your ad. They could either see it in one look or return it to you when they are done. You must use someone who has knowledge of advertising, layout, and design when creating your ads.
Radio
Radio adds a dimension to your advertising that print cannot. That is sound. Pick an announcer who will attract your customers and catch their attention. Radio can be more effective than print if you have commuters in your target audience.
Television
As cable and dish channels have emerged, TV advertising has become much more affordable than in the past. It allows you to reach better audiences. Along with the sound, TV also offers a vision that lets you showcase your product better than any other media of advertisement.
Outdoor
Another way to build a reputation with the commuters is to catch them outdoors. You can opt for billboards, signboards on the buildings, park benches, buses, cabs, and sidewalks. Your messages should be short for the commuter to read as they pass by them.
Internet
With the emergence of the internet today, advertising is making its way to people's screens. Over the internet, you can buy static or animated banners, sign up for PPC (pay-per-click) on websites that attract word searches, or use social media tools like Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn (Milano, n.d.).[3]
As we move on further into the chapter, let's take a look at how advertisements work over the internet.
[1] Oberlo (2020). What is Advertising? Retrieved from https://www.oberlo.com/ecommerce-wiki/advertising
[2] Chron (2020). Importance of Advertising in Business. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-advertising-business-3260.html
[3] Chron (2020). Different Advertising Platforms. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/different-advertising-platforms-64606.html
