Aug

31

Modern Advertising Methods For Buyers and Sellers

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Just because there are masses of new and almost fashionable advertising formats out there, it doesn’t mean that all of them will work in the type of industry you are in, or meet your requirements as a buyer or seller. We take a look at some of the options in the ever changing world of advertising.

Even though there are many modern advertising methods to choose from these days, it doesn’t automatically mean that the most up to date and technologically driven formats are the best and most cost effective to use.

There is no doubt that advertising is all around us and our acts and behaviour can sometimes be influenced by advertising on the TV, radio, traditional media formats and the internet.

Of course, they push our buttons in many different ways and the human mind can react to different designs and messages in a very focused, direct or an almost subliminal fashion. It is this diversity that makes advertising so exciting.

Some of the most modern advertising methods involve technology and it seems the next big response generator will be the format that has a certain WOW factor attached to it.

The three big players leading the way are in the areas of outdoor, mobile communications and the internet.

If you take a trip outdoors, you’ll see that a lot has changed since the introduction of standard billboards on the side of the road, motorway or highway.

It is now more about positioning and impact than ever before and if you can add a highly desirable and interactive value to this, it becomes an accepted and targeted proposition for advertisers and consumers respectively.

One of the striking new formats to emerge in this area is in underground and subway stations. This digital screen format allows advertisers to show short, high quality video ads to commuters on a high definition moving canvas. What is also very exciting is the fact that advertisers can target consumers by changing campaign messages to match things like in-store promotions and other special announcements at the touch of a button. This now becomes a very powerful promotional tool for the advertiser and one that is difficult to avoid for consumers.

Not only are these ads situated on the platforms facing the passengers, but they are also located on the entire length of the adjoining wall on moving escalators. They are making an appearance in locations all over the world and can be a highly effective tool in attracting a busy, affluent, reactive and highly social audience.

With mobile communications, the concept is simple, but the impact has already been huge.

A lot of major players in the marketing and advertising game are convinced that mobile phone advertising will be the next big thing and as phones get even better online browsers, more and more people will be using them to buy, sell, communicate and generally spend enough time online to receive targeted offers from regional and national advertisers. The fact is that mobile communications equipped with GPS technology will allow advertisers to focus in on their specific targets by sending offers and messages to consumers within a very short distance of their establishment. New technology certainly plays a big hand in the main development issues here and although there are certainly opt-in rules in place, it won’t be long before the ads will become part of the functionality and overall user experience.

Finally, we take a brief look at how web advertising has evolved and what we can now expect as we move into a more sophisticated and interactive marketplace.

Although the days of traditional banner advertising bringing in massive reponses seems to have gone, the standard size formats for leaderboard and skyscraper banner ads still seem to play a role in developing brand and producing a decent number of click throughs.

What seems odd is that we now refer to older online style adverts as branding or awareness ads, much in the same way as we term larger ads in magazines as corporate style advertisements.

The truth is that no ad format is producing the high click through rates we used to see when it all started in the mid to late 1990’s. Back then it was a new and exciting concept and people were clicking on ads and exploring the internet at much higher ‘per page to per user’ levels than we are currently seeing.

It is now more about getting the targeting right on specific pages and sections rather than seeing general page impression rates on run of the mill pages. Now that more people are advertising online, they have to justify their spend by constantly providing evidence that it is not only good value but also providing a good return on investment. Most online advertising (and their providers) should now offer some form of tracking and if they can’t provide buyers with stats, it is a sure sign that they are hiding something.

One of potential big players in this online marketplace is video. This format can not just capture our attention quickly, but it can also communicate messages in a way that we can understand and relate to. Although we are used to seeing graphics and animation, it is real-life footage of situations that we can relate to that will really hit the spot.

Video does this so well and with the introduction of Google video via You tube, it is now possible to closely match the video with the content of the pages we are looking at. This is just a developing strategy of a hugely successful contextual text and image ad set up that is now part of the largest ad coverage in the world.

There is no doubt that online advertising is evolving as our appetite for quick and interesting content becomes more of an issue and a main requirement. Watch this space for the next big update.

Article by Andrew Long
This article May be used on other sites but this resource box and all live links MUST be left intact. Andrew Long runs a subscription service for webmasters and website owners called ARC, which includes topics about Advertising For Your Website and Advertising Space On My Website

Aug

31

Going Local With Your Pay Per Click Advertising

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Sure the Internet and search engine advertising is a fantastic way to reach thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of people with your product or service. From your home town to the far reaches of the world people could be searching for what you do or sell and finding your website through Google, Yahoo or MSN. But if you have a local dental practice, landscaping service or real estate office you probably dont need to reach that many people or people so far away.

In fact, if you are using some form of pay per click advertising such as Google Adwords or Yahoo Search Marketing you could waste a high percentage of your budget by advertising to people who would be extremely unlikely to come in to your office or use your local service.

Examples of types of businesses who would need to localize their pay per click campaigns would be:

Medical Imaging Centers

Dental Practices

Real Estate Offices

A Local Shoe Store

Local Paving Company or Landscaping Service

Chimney Sweep

Piano Turner

All these types of businesses can do well with Internet Pay Per Click advertising if they make sure to use geographical targeting

With Google and Yahoo Pay Per Click services you can take advantage of geographical targeting in two distinct ways.

One way is to simply put the names of the cities or areas you serve as part of your search terms. When you do this be sure to put these terms in quotes. Youll also want to make sure you or your search engine promotion company makes a very complete list of the cities and areas you serve including zip codes. When you limit the area you advertise in you also obviously limit your potential clicks. The good news is that you will be getting very targeted visitors. There is no down side to this as long as you use enough terms and location to make sure you get enough visitors to make the advertising worth doing.

Here is an example of how such a campaign could be organized:

We do promotion for a small computer repair service that wants to operate only in a limited portion of the Los Angeles area. (This is only a sample and is not a replication of the entire campaign.) First we list the areas.

Burbank

Pasadena

La Canada

La Crescenta

Tujunga

Altadena

Eagle Rock

Mount Washington

Highland Park

90041

91501

91502

91504

91011

91012

(There will be many more zip codes.) We will also add CA and California to the cities in the list.

Then we list the terms. Are partial list could as follows:

Computer repair

Computer virus removal

Speed up your computer

Fix computer

Computer technician

Computer networking

Computer network installation

Then we merge these. Dont forget the quotes.

burbank computer repair

computer repair Burbank

burbank ca computer repair

computer repair Burbank ca

Burbank California computer repair

computer repair Burbank California

You get the idea. The more complete the list the more visitors your site will get. And with such targeted traffic, if you have a decent website, you are sure to get a good conversion rate.

The second way you can determine your geographical area, also called geo-targeting, is to set up how many miles around your location you want your ad to run. You can do this in Google by listing zip codes or cities or by drawing a circle on a map. Both Google and Yahoo give pretty clear instructions on how to set up Geo-Targeting. If you have a local business just make sure you take advantage of this feature. It will keep you from wasting your advertising budget while keeping you ad in front of your real potential customers or clients.

Article by Meridith Berk
Meridith Berk is one of the founders of UltimateSitePromotion.com one of the oldest and most respected Search Engine Optimizing and Pay Per Click Management firms on the Internet. To find out more about Local Pay Per Click Management you can visit her site at http://ultimatesitepromotion.com

Aug

31

Email Marketing Success Tips

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3 Keys To Effective Email Marketing

Email marketing is becoming a popular tool for many small and home based businesses around the world.

Email marketing allows businesses to eliminate expenses for things like paper, ink/toner, envelopes, postage, etc., and these savings make it a very attractive method of promotion.

Done properly, email marketing can be very effective. Unfortunately, too many businesses let the excitement of a low-cost marketing campaign overshadow their business sense.

Done improperly, your email marketing campaign becomes nothing more than a mess of sending the wrong message to the wrong market.

There are just a few key elements to launching and managing a successful email marketing campaign. They are:

- The list (your database).

- The offer.

- The follow-up.

Start With the Right Email Marketing List

The temptation is to rush out and purchase a list from brokers or leads suppliers. The harsh reality is that most of these lists are simply harvested email addresses from search engines. The so-called “savings” of purchasing a list of email addresses can be effectively wiped out when email addresses begin bouncing and recipients begin complaining to your Email Service Provider for sending Unsolicited Commercial Email (or “spam”).

The best (and only truly safe) way to build your database is to market effectively. This can be done both online and offline. Traditional methods such as collecting business cards in a drawing and offering free information in exchange for contact information still work very well.

Additionally, Search Engine Optimization strategies can be very effective. The key is to get prospects to visit a “capture page” that is designed to entice them to give their contact information in exchange for something you are offering, such as a free report or free download.

As your list begins to grow, if you have targeted your market effectively, you will find yourself with a considerable database of motivated and targeted prospects.

The Offer

Email marketing is about getting your offer out in front of your database. Yes, they have joined your list voluntarily but keep in mind that you are competing with hundreds of other email messages they may be receiving that day.

Your job is to make sure your email marketing message is opened and read by your prospects.

The key is to create a compelling subject line. Where possible, use the prospect’s name in the subject line. Most recipients are much more likely to open an email addressed to them by name.

Once your message is opened, the copy must create a compelling interest so that the reader will want to learn more.

The key here is to think like your prospects. They all have the same question on their mind when they open their email:

What’s in it for me?”

Answer that question in your copy and your email marketing campaign could be a huge success. Focus on telling prospects about the benefits of your offer. What will it do for them? What can they expect if they order from you? How will it help them save time, increase revenues, lose weight, feel more attractive, etc.?

The Follow-up

The next step is to follow up with your prospects. Studies have proven that prospects need to see your message over and over again before they make a decision to purchase. Using an AutoResponder to follow up with prospects can dramatically increase the response rate of any email marketing campaign.

The ability to follow up with prospects over time is critical to your success.

Your follow-up letters should essentially repeat your original message. Maybe each follow-up message can stress a particular feature and continue to reinforce the benefits to your prospects.

The idea behind an effective email marketing campaign is to …

… Tell them.

… Tell them again.

… Tell them what you just told them.

Attention spans are short. Competition is high.

Keep your messages to the point and focus on benefits, benefits, benefits.

Make your prospects WANT to buy from you by consistently keeping your email marketing message in front of them.

The reward for a job well done will be increased revenues and customer loyalty.

Article by Brian Rooney
Brian Rooney is Co-Founder and Managing Member of TrafficWave.net LLC. TrafficWave.ne provides AutoResponders and Email Marketing technology to thousands of businesses worldwide. Visit Brian online at http://www.trafficwave.net/

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