The advertising industry in the United States is worth over half a trillion dollars. To say that businesses invest a lot of money, time, and workforce in advertising is an understatement.
As a business owner, you know that advertising is essential. If your advertising strategy hasn’t been as successful as you’d like, it’s time to make some changes.
Are you still trying to figure out where to start? Keep reading.
Below, you’ll find 12 strategies for effective advertising.
1. Start with a Brand Audit
Before diving in headfirst and revamping your advertising strategy, look at your existing approach. Evaluate all aspects of your brand — your website, your social media presence, your online and print ads, etc.
Assess your brand and consider what’s working and what isn’t. Taking the time to do this helps you decide what you and your team need to focus on moving forward.
2. Set Specific Goals
Once you’ve conducted a brand audit and evaluated your current advertising strategy, set some clear goals for the future.
What do you want to improve in the coming month, quarter, or year? Do you want to sell more of a particular product? Do you want to drive more traffic to your website?
Make your goals specific, measurable, and time-based. For example, you might say that you want to double the sales of one of your products by the end of the fourth quarter.
3. Create Educational Content
Regularly publishing content is one of the best ways to spread the word about your business and get people interested in what you’re selling. You’re especially likely to see these results when you create educational content that provides value to your target audience.
Think about the types of questions members of your audience might be asking online or the kinds of problems they might be struggling to solve. Then, publish content that answers their questions or solves their problems.
4. Personalize Communications
Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of consumers say they’re frustrated by impersonal shopping experiences, and 42 percent are frustrated by impersonalized content.
The more you can tailor your messages to individual audience members, the happier they’ll be to shop with you. For example, you can use behavioral segmentation to reconnect with people who previously looked at an item on your website or abandoned their shopping cart.
5. Make Data-Driven Decisions
In the world of online advertising and digital marketing, it’s easier than ever to monitor the performance of your ads and see which approaches resonate the most with your audience.
For example, you can look at website analytics or social media analytics to see how much attention a post got and how many people clicked on a link.
Use this information to make informed advertising decisions and avoid wasting time on techniques that don’t work.
6. Conduct Market Research
It’s hard to create effective advertising campaigns if you don’t know whom you’re trying to reach with your ads.
Conduct market research to learn about the people who buy your products or invest in your services. Find out their average age, gender, where they live, what they do for work, their hobbies and interests, etc.
Learning about your audience helps you tailor your content to them and make stronger connections.
7. Refresh Existing Content
You can boost brand recognition and reach a larger audience by refreshing old content.
Look at past blog posts, for example, and find ones that are still relevant today (this is known as evergreen content). Take that content, make any necessary changes to ensure it’s accurate and up to date, then reshare it on your social media platforms or in your email newsletter.
8. Step Up Your Email Game
Speaking of email newsletters, email marketing and advertising are effective ways to reach your audience, remind them of your brand, and get them excited about shopping with you.
Connect with your customers directly in their inboxes and tell them about upcoming sales or new product releases. You can also use email marketing to remind past customers that it’s time to restock a product they bought previously.
9. Don’t Sleep on Social Media
Social media ads are powerful. After all, nearly 4.5 billion people use platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok for entertainment, information, connection, and more.
Regularly publishing content on social media is the bare minimum. To make your advertising strategy more effective, invest in paid social media ads to reach certain members of your audience, generate more leads, and increase conversions.
10. Invest in Video
Video advertising is non-negotiable in 2022 (and beyond). Eighty-six percent of marketers use video creation as part of their strategy, and 92 percent say it’s critical to their overall marketing plan.
Video ads are highly engaging and help you stand out to your target audience. They’re memorable, too, and bolster your brand recognition.
11. Time Your Ads Right
The timing of your ads also significantly impacts the number of people who see them and the likelihood that they will follow through with your call to action.
Pay attention to the data you’ve already gathered about your ads to determine when they get the most attention.
Consider current events, too. For example, if you’re releasing a special holiday ad, don’t pull the trigger on it until the big day gets closer and you know people are starting to prepare for it.
12. Partner with Professionals
If you’re still struggling with your advertising strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out to an expert. Advertising and marketing professionals can assist with audience research, segmenting, data collection, data analysis, and more.
Look for a team with experience working with brands like yours. Then, when you find a good fit, get in touch and schedule a consultation.
Try These Advertising Tips Today
It doesn’t matter what type of business you run or what kind of audience you’re trying to reach. These strategies for effective advertising can help you promote your products and get people excited about trying your brand.
Add one (or more) of them to your company’s advertising plan today!
