Choosing Right Media of Advertisements
Advertising and promoting your business should involve a multifaceted plan that spans many types of media.Product advertisers have a wide selection of advertising media to use to make their brand the one that turns a shopper into a buyer.After defining the target customer for the product,the next step is to place the product advertising in the most cost effective media format.
There are traditional formats,such as television and radio commercials, billboards,direct mail and circulars.There are promotional items,such as pens,tee shirts,gadgets to give away.There are Internet ads,print media ads like on grocery carts or register tape or movie guides.You can even wrap your car with an advertisement and people will see it when you drive around.There are many ways to advertise and in these tough economic times,selective advertising requires getting a good return on your investment by getting the maximum number of impressions for your money.Based on your key marketing goals,the audience you want to reach and your budget,you can choose right ways to get publicity for your product or service.
4.1 On-line Business Advertisements
As with traditional advertising,a well-planned online advertising strategy increases probability of converting visitors to a website,or recipients of an advertising email into purchasing customers.Besides,compared with the traditional TV commercial,on-line advertisement is not so costly.There are several effective ways of on-line business or E-business advertisement.
Websites
One of the most effective promotional tools is a professionally written and designed website.It should be hosted on a reliable server with enough bandwidth to handle heavy traffic,especially if you will be selling products online as well as at your business's physical location.Optimize the site's content with relevant keywords so that search engines will find it more easily.Include an option to sign up for notifications of sales,arrivals of new products,or specials on discontinued products. Develop an online newsletter with tips and information about using your product or service—customers can“opt in”or agree to let you contact them via email if they want to receive it.
Online banner advertising
Advertisers place banner ads on websites to market their products.Banner ads are typically designed as horizontal or vertical squares or rectangular shapes.The objective of the ad is to include copywriting words that encourage the website visitor to click on the ad and be redirected from the website page they are on to the website page of the product advertised.Banner ads are often placed as advertising on websites that attract the target customer for the product.For example,a company advertising suntan lotion could place a banner ad on a website about vacation travel to Florida or the Caribbean to attract people to visit the website to purchase the suntan lotion.
Pay-per-click ads
Internet marketing,also known as Search Engine Marketing（SEM),usually refers to a type of online advertising called pay-per-click.In pay-per-click,the advertiser pays the search engine provider for each visitor who clicks through to the e-business website.
Pay-per-click advertising is not only useful for big companies with a widespread brand.Google AdWords,for example,is one of the most targeted forms of advertising you can buy into.They even recently launched Google AdWords Express, which automatically determines the most common search phrases for your type of business and plugs your ad anytime those phrases are searched for by someone who lives close to you.If nothing else,it increases awareness as people begin to see your business's name pop up in their search results.It is also cheap,and the analytics are easy to digest,so there isn't any reason not to test it out at least once.
Blogging
Cross-blogging remains one of the best ways for people to find out about your business,especially if your business is based online.You send in a couple of articles to different media outlets related to your industry from time to time,and people will begin to see your name,your picture,and the name of your company popping up all over the place.Remember,though,that you can't just write advertisements and expect the readers to only want to read posts about how great your brand is.When you do blog，remember that what you write needs to convince the reader to trust you enough to take your opinion seriously.Look to writing up posts on how-to topics, stories about your successes and failures,and lessons learned in the business to start building up trust and a distinctive voice for your company.
Social media marketing
As an important part of good social marketing strategy,Facebook,Twitter,and Google are the main three international sites your business should have a page on. Renren,Douban,Tianya and Weixin of Tencent,etc.are the domestic sites you can turn to for advertisement.As for content,it is okay to occasionally advertise specials and sales—these deals are one of the main reasons people follow the social accounts of businesses—but mainly social marketing should be used to better connect with your customers and keep your business at the forefront of their mind.If you constantly advertise,they will either tune you out or un-follow your accounts.They are doing you a favor by following you and allowing your business to maintain this ongoing conversation,so treat that relationship with a bit of respect.
4.2 Print Advertising Materials
You can make a lasting impression and provide information with a free but professionally written and designed booklet,brochures,product sheets,business cards,and stationery in your promoting events.Besides,coupons can be used since they visually identify your ad as“direct response”,causing more people to stop and read it（because they know that coupon ads usually offer free things of value).
4.3 TV Commercials and Infomercials
Find out which local station draws the most viewers that fit with your target market demographics.Work with the station's marketing team to develop a professional commercial.Since the traditional TV commercial is very costly,and even a 30-second TV commercial is too expensive for a small company to afford,you can build a relationship with the station's news team and make yourself available as an expert source for news and feature stories—a great way to get some“free”publicity.
Now the infomercial format is widely used to advertise products.Manufacturers use this concept to sell everything from juicers to vacuum cleaners.A widely used format is to purchase an entire 30-minute time slot from a television station and feature the product as the star of the show.The show is typically hosted by a presenter who might be a celebrity,the inventor of the product,or a professional product demonstrator.Many infomercials have the look of a television talk show, including an audience and specially designed studio set.
4.4 Radio Spots
Broadcast advertising includes commercials that air not only on television but also on radio stations.Find out the listener demographics of your local radio stations and determine which ones best match your customer base.Work with the radio station's creative team to develop a professional,memorable radio spot.Add an offer for a discount or free gift if customers mention the radio spot and/or the station's call letters.
Radio advertising is written to be spoken.A script is prepared in which dialogue,sound effects,and music are combined to produce whatever effect is desired.
Radio advertisements draw their hearers'attention by phonological contrasts and effects.They tend to appeal more to the emotion of their audience.For example, a post-Christmas radio commercial goes like this:
“Sound Effect:People having a hearty meal,with murmuring of satisfaction.
Voice:A gain in the lips,a gain on the hips,After the Christmas feasting,many people are now worried about their waist.You don't have to.Join our Slim Fast program,and we'll take off your weight in no time.
Music:Over throughout Voice.”
In this advertisement,the broadcaster makes full use of her tone and intonation to show a mixture of feelings:happiness,satisfaction,worry and encouragement.
4.5 Advertisements on Newspapers
Advertising on newspapers is also popular nowadays.Business-to-consumer advertising depends on impression and style to carry their message.It tends to be brief and can cater to the emotions of their audience.However,business-to-business advertising is designed to sell products and services not to general consumers but to other businesses.Business advertising tends to be longer,more detailed,and more factual.Emphasis is placed on accuracy and completeness.Any technical inaccuracy or unsubstantiated exaggeration is likely to result in compromised credibility of the product or service.It is typically found in specialized trade publications,direct mail, professional journals and special display advertising planned for trade shows.But recently some business-to-business advertisements have also turned up in the mass media.Some of the most used formats in business advertising are testimonials,case histories,news,and demonstrations.But this does not mean that all advertisements should be dull.Warmth,humor,and creativity are also necessary.Besides,another type of advertising“advertorial”is often used to make the advertisement seemingly objective and convincing.
Display advertisement
Introduce yourself to the editor of the business section of your local or regional newspaper.You can make display advertisement on newspaper.Send professionally written press releases with photos when your business introduces a new product or service,or celebrates a milestone,such as 10 years in business.Some newspapers publish separate monthly business tabloids that feature local business.Make yourself available as an expert source for their writers,or volunteer to write a monthly column on your business area of expertise.
Classified advertising
Classified advertising can be helpful if you only want to give simple and direct information.It supplies abundant information about help wanted,used furniture and automobile for sale,apartments for rent,instruction offer,film and theatre,etc. which is all factual.For the sake of space economy,classified advertising is always packed closely together with small print.Most prominent is its use of elliptical sentences and abbreviations.Here is an ad for help wanted:
“ART GALLERY MGR—Upper Geo'twn.Exper.Knowledgeable&personable.Willing to work wknds&some eves.Send résumé to POB 57334，Wash.，DC 20036.202-331-148.”
What is unique here is that almost no sentence is complete and that words can be unconventionally abbreviated so long as they present no problem of understanding in the context,as MGR for manager,Exper for experienced,weknds for weekends,eves for evenings.
4.6 Sponsoring Community Activities
Sponsor a community or school event,or a local softball team.Your business name and/or logo will be seen on signs or on players'jerseys.Sponsor a charitable or fund-raising event.Volunteer to be a speaker at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce or another community organization.These methods help you set a good image of your company and make your products familiar to potential customers.
4.7 Point-of-Purchase Advertising
Point-of-Purchase（POS)is a highly effective advertising strategy to generate product sales,because unlike television,print or magazine advertising,POS advertising reaches shoppers when they are in the act of buying.Tactics used include end-of-aisle displays,checkout register displays and on-shelf advertising.
Space for POS product advertising is negotiated with product buyers,store managers and marketing directors at retail stores and usually requires the product manufacturer to meet space guidelines and finance all costs involved.For example,a manufacturer of charcoal would negotiate with the buyers and marketers at grocery store chains to install a display during the sales season for barbecue grilling products used during the festivities.