Archive for September, 2009
Why Small Businesses Should Advertise During Hard Times
Posted by The Appleton Team in Business on September 29th, 2009
By Peggy Tee ©
Battered by low consumer confidence and reduced availability of credit, small businesses are cutting it close during these times. Businesses react to shrinking profits by reducing costs such as advertising, often to the bare minimum, and occasionally stop marketing their business completely. However, Appleton feels, this cut-and-slash approach to cost management can lead to a loss of customers, reduced future revenue and smaller market share. Multinational companies like American Express and Kelloggs are maintaining or increasing marketing spend in the recession because branding is a key value driver for these companies. (“Best Global Brands,” Burt Helm, Business Week, September 2008). Small businesses should follow these successful companies lead – albeit on a smaller scale – as there are considerable benefits to maintaining a consistent marketing plan during hard times.
Attract new and keep old customers
Small businesses need to reel in new customers and keep existing ones through effective and sufficient advertising exposure. Rather than cutting back on advertising, businesses should reassess their marketing budget for ineffective spend. For businesses that rely mostly on local custom, an expensive advertisement in a national newspaper is unlikely to affect revenue significantly. We believe, small businesses should focus on effective media, such as targeted advertising in the local newspaper. A white paper written for the Customer Collective by Joshn Gordon espouses increased focus on shifting more product to current customers as opposed to chasing new customers. This approach is more profitable, easier and helps improve customer relationships. The small business that takes this approach will need local and targeted ads to carry the message of new products and packages to their existing customers. Appleton can help you with your message and create a plan that will work.
Maintain customer influence
Advertising is a powerful tool that can be used to convince customers of the reliability of the business and is ironically, even more influential during a soft economy, a time when businesses are intent on reducing costs to stay afloat. An Ad-ology Research (“Advertising’s Impact in a Soft Economy”) found that almost half of American adults believe a reduction in advertising by a shop, bank or car dealership during these times indicates the business is struggling. On the other hand, businesses that continue to advertise are seen as competitive and committed to doing business. The study shows that cutting back on marketing during soft times can adversely affect customer relationships with small businesses and lead to a reduction in future revenue.
Find a competitive edge
An effective marketing strategy that focuses on online advertising, such as Search Engine Marketing, listings on Yahoo! and monster.com through local digital media companies, is a cost-effective way for small businesses to increase visibility. Research by Opus indicated that almost 45% of all small to medium enterprises had intentions of moving towards online advertising (“Aug 2008, US Small Businesses). Savvy business owners could find a competitive edge and increase their market share with a well-timed, integrated print and digital marketing campaign conducted through local newspaper and media companies. Millward Brown, the leading British research company, found that businesses that increased marketing investment while their competitors cut theirs substantially increased the prominence of business’s brands.
For more ideas or to talk about your advertising campaign, call Appleton Creative: 407.246.0092 ext. 1#.
Google Adwords for Beginners
Posted by The Appleton Team in Web Hints on September 22nd, 2009
Google Adwords is a great way to advertise your products or business online. Google will post ads in a relevant search depending on the amount that is paid for a particular search term. Popular terms can be expensive, such as ten or eleven cents; however, less popular terms can be as little as two or three cents. Google uses a PPC system, or pay per click. This means that Google charges a certain amount of money per click on each ad determined by the keywords used in the search. Google Adwords supports a number of countries and languages, so it is possible to advertise to a wide range of potential customers.
The first step in creating an Adwords account is to create an ad and determine specific keywords for it. This is the most important part of the process and the chosen keywords will play a great part in determining whether the ad will succeed or fail. These keywords will signal Google to display the ad whenever a potential customer uses one of the keywords in a search. This is a simple idea; however, Google has also set up a tool to help with keywords. Google Trends is a great way to research the keywords that would be best for a certain ad.
The second step is to bid on the keywords. The highest bid per keyword will be placed first in the results, followed by the second, and so on. Google does not charge when an ad is displayed, only for the clicks on the ad. Choosing a budget for the ad will prevent costs from rising dramatically. There is no minimum budget. Google will simply display your ad until the price of the added clicks equals the amount of the budget. Then, since this budget is based on a day to day basis, Google will display the ad the following day until the budget is maxed again.
Due to the fact that Google is making a profit off of the Adwords program, the process of setting up an Adwords account is quite simple. However, for the campaign to succeed, there are a few main rules to follow:
- Conduct as much research into the keywords as possible. Check the campaign every day for statistics on keywords and make changes accordingly.
- Write compelling advertisements that will draw particular customers to your site.
- Create attractive and inventive landing pages for your campaign. Explain to viewers why they should use the products or services that are being advertised.
- Use negative keywords to prevent your ad from appearing to people who are not looking for your specific services. For example, a site selling cosmetics may use the negative keyword ‘surgery’ to prevent the site from coming up in a search for ‘cosmetic surgery.’
Once a campaign is begun, it is the advertiser’s responsibility to oversee it and control it. If the basic principles listed above are followed, then there is no reason why a campaign would not be successful.
Good luck with your campaign and if you need any help, please call us at 407.246.0092.
Viral Video Marketing – Become an Expert Vlogger
Posted by The Appleton Team in Web Hints on September 15th, 2009
Vlogging or video blogging is an “in your face” viral marketing strategy that works every time. Video blogging definitely has its advantages and web users usually respond positively to sight and sound, as opposed to just text. Video blogging brands your company and puts your name out there quickly. Use the following vlogging tips to outsmart your competition.
- Step WAY ahead of the competition – Not all bloggers understand how vlogging works. Sites such as YouTube have turned videos into a viral marketing phenomenon, but the competition may not quite be there yet. Jump onboard now by adding videos to sites such as YouTube.
- Grabs attention FAST – People have short attention spans and don’t like reading text. Videos engage audience members quickly. Intrigue them with eye-catching videos and they’ll come back for more information and videos
- Use videos as an educational tool – Produce video tutorials that explain complicated technical jargon in “easy-to-follow” visual steps. Tutorials are very popular tools – add to blogs and see the results (and hits!)
- Create your own videos – What better way to promote your business or product by showcasing yourself? A friendly face adds credibility to websites and is another powerful way to brand companies/products. If potential customers can’t trust you, who can they trust? Videos make people feel comfortable. Become a trusted expert in your industry – “wow” them with your expertise and knowledge
- It’s SIMPLE – You don’t need to be an expert videographer or web developer. You just need a digital camera with video features and plugins (such as Flash Video Player or Windows Media Embedding). Figure out what software works best for your blog. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to look and sound like an expert vlogger).
- Spread the word – Use social networking and bookmarking sites like Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Digg and other social media sites to promote and market your vlogs.
If this type of marketing interest you and you feel you need a professional touch, Appleton Creative can help. Our creative teams design in a variety of media including video, film and web. Give us a call and we will show you your options. 407.246.0092 ext.1