What to Consider When Choosing to Advertise?

When looking for new customers, the golden rule to get golden results is to fit the marketing research with the correct media source.

Let’s ask some key questions:

First, let’s think about who my audience is. Is my business targeting other businesses or end clients?

Is my business a local service or a product that can be shipped with no borders?

What is the most appropriate age group, demographics, economic status for my product or service?

After you answer those key questions, we can move on.

What is My Budget?

How can I maximize the income with the budget I have? How to anticipate spending and advertising cost on each platform and what is the return?

To budget correctly, we usually ask how much each new client is worth? For example, if I am a Karate studio and my average student pays $100 a month and stays for about 12 months, this equals $1200. That is the value of a new student. So based on this calculation, you are not going to spend more than $1200 to bring a new student.

Now that we have some kind of idea of how much a new client is worth, we can ask the next question.

When is the Best Time to Advertise My Business?

Landscaping businesses in New England will not start advertising in October unless they are doing leaf pick-up. Even then, this only gives them a limited amount of time to make money when weighed against the time it takes for the job. They will start to advertise in March or April when people in New England start to dream about summer. In essence, don’t sell your brand until the time is right. Spend that reserve time and cash plotting for now. Snow removal services will not advertise in April or May. Got the idea??

Local Businesses Compared to Global Businesses

It used to be that TV ads, local newspapers, or mailed flyers were the way to advertise. Today, your advertisement can be by the click of a mouse, viewed by virtually anyone around the world. Now that's the new age of mass media.

How Can I Choose Local Targeting?

As an example, Craigslist is generally a platform for small businesses with limited capital. It advertises local services and employment. On the other hand, LinkedIn is geared toward the business crowd, and where demographic age is not a factor. It’s like Craigslist in a three-piece suit.

Some local services that use wide-scale Search Engines for advertising like Google or Bing will put in some codes behind the scenes to localize the advertisement. On the other hand, Global Businesses will advertise on any platform with no specific limitations. Pitfall, however…as the ad space opens up, all the other competitors hit the same markets. So what can you do next? Build a better mousetrap.

What is a Search Engines Job?

The Search Engine’s job is to find the best fit for your search. For example, if you typed in your search “vacuum cleaner,” the Engine will try to match you with the perfect websites that sell or give information about different vacuum cleaners. But, on the other hand, you don’t want the Engine to give you websites that sell carpets.

The Search Engine's job is to find the perfect fit, and it does it by reading millions of sites and using algorithms to study the user's behavior when visiting different websites. Most people use Google or Bing for their search.

How Does Google or Bing Know How to Find the Right Website?

You probably heard the term SEO - or Search Engine Optimization. As a website owner, the content you put on your website tells the Search Engines what kind of a website you are. This is the “target word” that the search engines “read” and see if a website is relevant for the search that the end-user put in.

If I'm looking for “dog food”: the search engines will look for specific codes on websites to see if it is relevant to my search. Another thing that the search engine will take into consideration is my location and filters so if I am looking for “dog food with added chicken”, the search adjusts.

A Picture is Worth…

If your website contains mostly pictures, the Search Engines cannot “read '' your website (no one can find it). However, search Engines can read words and phrases as well as some special codes we can add to the site to describe the picture content to the Search Engines. We call them keywords. You want your site to have all the possible combinations of keywords about your service or product. Have you ever mistyped a word in Google search and are asked automatically “search includes ...” and then adds on the properly spelled word? This is an example of a how search engines help users find your site, even with typos. It expands your vocabulary, and the more keywords you can use, the better.

Paid Ads Vs. Organic Traffic

What is the Difference Between Paid Advertising and Organic Traffic?

Organic traffic is the interest that the Search Engine generates based on the relevant keyword that the customers find on your website. For example, when you search for “dog food” the Search Engines will find all the relevant sites for this specific word. It will show them in ranks of first paid ads and then the most relevant sites. All the people that will “click” and visit your site will be “organic” because you did not pay money to the Search Engine to be on this list of relevant websites.

The simplest way to separate the two is to remember that “organic” means free or as close to free as possible. In gardening, for example, organic is free of synthetic chemicals, but you still have to pay for the product unless you know how to do it yourself.

Paid advertisement does not mean that you will be on the top of the first page for your most desired service or product. The Search Engines are “smart” and take into consideration how much you pay for your ad and if your ad is relevant for the search the user put in. The Search Engine compares your ad to your competitors. Are people that “clicked” on your ad staying on your site, or are they leaving after a short while?

This gives the Search Engine an indication if your ad is operating at peak potential and is the optimal representative for the product—another example of the match fit synopsis. Search Engines are great, but they exist to make money, and just like any workplace, if your “employee” isn’t meeting the job requirements, then there is no point in continuing the working relationship. You place an ad for a candidate who CAN do the job.

How Does Each Platform Work and Charge For the Advertisement?

Every ad platform has its algorithm built in to them and specifies how they charge per “click” or per impression.

Pay Per Impression or CPM (cost per 1000 impressions) means the advertiser pays for the number of times the advertisement is displayed on the publisher's website. With the algorithm in a PPC (Pay Per Click) ad, there is no need to base out on the percentage of users who see your advertisement; you only pay for the ones who “clicked” on it. Your goal, then, is just to get as many high-quality clicks (from people likely to buy) as possible. This is one of the main differences between impressions vs clicks.

Your cost per “click” or “impression” is based on your competitors and how many businesses like yours share the physical location and area, how much are they paying, how are their ads esthetically compete against yours, and if their website has more relevant content… so it is not really a cut and dry business.

Hopefully, you get a sense of how all ads can be of equal value but not all platforms charge the same for the same service. So the decision of where to advertise is based on many components. Sometimes you need a guide to show you the light.

What is a Shared Lead?

Angi’s, Thumbtack, and HomeAdvisor are examples of shared leads platforms. What does that mean from a business point of view and an end-client point of view?

In a shared lead-based platform you pay a fee and they give your name and your competitor’s name to the same potential clients.

For example, I am a homeowner that is looking for a plumber, and I search in Angi's. I can get 5-8 plumbers to call me to do the job, but those 5-8 plumbers are competing for the same job - kind of like a live online auction. So as a business owner, you need to be fast to call and have a good price for the job.

As a homeowner, all I needed was to search once and get all those plumbers bidding on my job.

Advertising on Social Media

This is a whole new animal. Those wonderful platforms talk to different generations. Younger generations spend their time on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Older generations spend more time on Facebook and maybe news outlets.

How Does It Work and How to Choose the Right Platform?

Let's take a look at Facebook as an example. According to a study released on Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms | Pew Research Center, their findings on surrounding finding leads through a mutual friend’s list came up with these figures:

• 93% of Facebook users say they are Facebook friends with family members other than parents or children
• 91% say they are Facebook friends with current friends
• 87% say they are connected to friends from the past, such as high school or college classmates
• 58% say they are connected to work colleagues
• 45% say they are Facebook friends with their parents
• 43% say they are friends with their children on Facebook
• 39% say they are connected to people they have never met in person
• 36% say they are Facebook friends with their neighbors

So using those numbers, one can glean the best way to make use of Facebook is to also become available to associated groups. If you deal in outdoor adventure tours and hikes, you might want to follow some friends who share similar interests in RV groups for example.

Do I Need a Lot of Followers on Social Media to be Seen?

Not necessarily but hey, everyone wants to have followers, right? It’s like being the popular kid in school. Although both Facebook and Instagram offer free-follower options, keep in mind that a lot of small business leads and customers are found by “word of mouth” and recommendations. Have you noticed that Facebook will occasionally recommend a list of a few friends suggestions for you? They are in the background, subliminally diverting traffic flow to you on a personal level as well.

Social media advertisement is like any other. If you Googled “Pure Vida bracelets,” for example, or you visited homedepot.com, next time you visit your Facebook page, you will find advertisements from these websites. If by any chance you “clicked” on an advertisement for L.L Bean snow boots, next time you jump on your Facebook you will be inundated by boot and shoe stores and outlets. This is how Google, Facebook, Instagram, and your generic or specific “web-window shopping” searches are all connected. It’s like an internet game of ad tag called Retargeting. So even if you are a business owner, you don’t necessarily require followers you just need to advertise your business, and the Search Engines and Social Media will find you and show your ad to potential customers. If you pick up followers along the way by chance, they can be kept as backups and fillers.

What Can We Do for You?

Give us a call and let’s talk about your options.

By offering a variety of low-cost small business options to get the most out of your budget and potential customer base and along with your constant input, we can rework the fit of your campaign.

code[RELIABLE] custom creates various low-cost small business options to get the most out of your budget. We stand tall and specialize in helping small businesses generate more sales and leads. We work with you as an extension of your business to make the most out of your campaign. We specialize in keyword optimization, Google maps, PPC, Social Fortress, generating Organic Traffic to your website, and all of these tailored to your specific service or product.

Consultation is always free. You can book one now at your convenience at: https://www.codereliable.com/free-consultation

Or just pick up the phone and call: 978-401-4404. We are here to answer all your questions.