6 Ways To Plan Your Small Business Advertising

Planning small business advertising is in some ways quite simple, but as in everything, the devil is in the details. Most small businesses know that they need to do more than just throw ad dollars and marketing budget into oblivion. That’s more than just a hunch; there’s a host of data that supports the claim that strategy increases the effectiveness of advertising dollars.

But while many small businesses know this fact, very few are able to successfully implement advertising strategies that increase their overall marketing strategy. After all, they’re often busy dealing with vendors, new products, and the overall health of the business. Niche types of advertising strategies just aren’t something that most businesses have the time to delve into.

Luckily, the advertising team here at JSL Marketing & Web Design has some recommendations for you!

Read onto learn how to plan your small business advertising!

Advertising & Marketing

Before we get too far, it’s important to define advertising. Most small businesses understand that the two aren’t interchangeable, but it can still be easy to conflate the two. There are a plethora of ways to define advertising, but ultimately, it’s the act of buying a space, whether digital or physical, to display a message to an audience about a topic. More simply put, advertising is a subtactic of marketing, focused on putting the right message in front of the right person.

Marketers have a number of different mediums to educate their target audience and advertising is just one of them. We could speak at length to branding, market research, web development, customer marketing, SEO, and how all of these elements fit into a comprehensive strategy. But in the interest of time, just know for now that advertising is how marketers reach their audience via paid media.

These are some of the more common ways of advertising.

• YouTube Ads
• Paid Social Media
• Google Ads
• Broadcast Television Spots
• Digital Display Ads
• Billboards
• Brand Collateral
• Online Video
• Over-the-Top Television
• Digital Out-Of-Home
• & More!

Different Types of Small Business Advertising Goals

At the end of the day, all marketing strategies can be reduced to four steps. This plan will look different from brand to brand and industry to industry, but all typically involve….

• Defining A Goal
• Determining How It Will Be Measured
• Designing A Strategy
• Executing

We started with this framework to illustrate where advertising comes into play. That might seem extremely straight forward. Advertising is clearly a part of Step 4, the execution phase, right?

Well, yes and no. While advertising would be a tactic within the execution phase, it’s important to remember what your main marketing goal is when planning an advertising strategy. Google Ads, for instance, are a great way to drive clicks and site visits. However, if your main goal is to increase brand awareness, then Google Ads might not be the right advertising for your main goals. Now, if your brand sought to maximize Return On Ad Spend, Google Ads would be a great tactic.

The point is to remember that advertising is an extension of your marketing strategy, not vice versa. Remember what your overall marketing goal is and keep it in mind when crafting an advertising plan to support it. The best ad campaigns in the world can’t drive results if you haven’t aligned your ads to your marketing goal. Start with the strategy first and then move onto the specifics of how you will use advertising to get there. Your bottom line will thank you.

Advertising Goal 1: Increase Brand Awareness

This is likely the most common use of advertising. The average American sees some 1,000 to 2,000 ads in a day and it can be difficult to drive sales if your audience has seen your competitor’s ads more than yours. Making regular touchpoints with prospective customers via brand awareness advertising, often through social media, can be a great way to stop of mind as the audience considers you.

Advertising Goal 2: Increase Return on Ad Spend

If you utilize this advertising strategy, you’re focused on reaching the right audience as they get nearer to purchase, with the ultimate goal of maximizing the dollar value attributed to that ad campaign.

Advertising Goal 3: Message To Existing Customers

Many small businesses think of advertising as a way of reaching new customers only, but that can be a mistake. Advertising can be a great way to touch existing customers and keep them informed of new products, offerings and programs!

Advertising Goal 4: Increase Leads

Many small businesses want to increase the number of sales-qualified leads they’re seeing and advertising can be a great way to see results here. However, it is important to remember that not all advertising mediums are created equal for leads. YouTube advertising and Facebook advertising might be great ways to increase brand-awareness and move ecommerce products, but they’re not the best advertising approaches for a company that is looking to increase the number of B2B leads. LinkedIn, on the other hand, is probably a better fit for an advertiser looking to increase  brand awareness with a professional audience AND increase the number of business leads. Regardless of your unique situation, match your tactic to your end goal for best results!

Advertising Goal 5: Competitive Conquest

If you’re a smaller brand on the scene, it might be a good idea to competitively conquer other brands. In this strategy, your brand uses advertising to make touchpoints with consumers who have a competitor’s product or solution. This approach isn’t for everyone; it often is more expensive to attempt to conquest another brand’s customers. Still, if you are a small business, a competitive conquest campaign is a good way to keep top of mind with a competitor’s customer and increase market share, especially if you offer a unique service or product that your competitors do not.

Advertising Goal 6: Promote Industry Content

We usually recommend this for Business-To-Business companies. The more complicated your product is, the more complicated the advertising becomes. To help educate your audience, we recommend using ads to drive to a whitepaper or blog page for your brand. This ad strategy gives you a low-cost way to get your audience researching your brand and learning why you are an expert in the industry.

Advertise With JSL Marketing & Web Design

It’s tough out in the digital marketing world. Keep your brand’s message in front of your customers and potential customers with JSL Marketing & Web Design! Whether you’re running display ads, passing out branded sweatshirts to your customers, or revamping your Google Ad campaigns, our team is here to help!

Remember, advertising isn’t a stand-alone tactic. It’s a small but vital piece of a comprehensive marketing plan. Small weaknesses in your overall strategy can reduce overall advertising efficacy, whether it’s low brand awareness, a website experience, or unclear target audiences. Partner with JSL Marketing & Web Design to overcome these obstacles and maximize your marketing and advertising strategy!

We offer…

• Custom-Tailored Ad Strategies
• Regular Strategy Sessions
• Market and Ideal Customer Research
• Brand Development
• Ad-Complementary Landing Page Design
• & More!

Fill Out The Contact Form Below To Get In Touch Today!