Sending email is
free, creating a Facebook page is free, Twitter outreach is free, cold-calling
is free, publicity is free, referrals are free and advertising costs money.
So why is it that
even with all of these wonderfully low cost and free ways to promote your
business we contend that you must make advertising one of your core lead
generation tactics?
Advertising is in
fact one of the marketing tactics that comes with an invoice. You must write a
check to run ads or send direct mail, often before seeing any results. In my
experience people shy away from advertising, not because of the cost, because
they don’t know how to get results and they don’t understand the long-term
residual effects. Think about it, if you knew that for every 100naira you spent
you could produce 200naira, you would get out your check book and spend away,
right?
To get results from
advertising today you must
·
Be laser focused on
a specific ideal client
·
Create awareness
for valuable content with a call to action
·
Measure leads and
conversion fanatically
When done
effectively advertising is an essential part of the mix because:
1. Advertising is the only medium you can control.
If you want your message to hit on
the day a product launches or event is about to happen, this is the only
vehicle you control completely.
2. Advertising allows you to target ideal customers only.
When you match a very personal
message to a very select audience you get far greater connections.
3. Advertising creates awareness for your content.
The force that drives a great deal of
conversion and trust building these days is educational content – ebooks,
seminars and blog posts – advertising is a great way to help get that content
found and consumed once you’ve gone to the effort to produce it.
4. Advertising Allows Your Business to Continue Operating.
You will always have overhead; bills,
telephone, rent/equipment, your time. Advertising creates the AIR that overhead
breathes. Advertising is the portion of your business
responsibilities that rejuvenates and draws new life (revenue) into the
process.
5. Advertising amplifies everything else you’re doing.
When you are using advertising to
create awareness for your content you automatically create more awareness for
everything you are doing. Journalists find companies that advertise, referral
sources remember companies that advertise, people fan and follow and friend
from ads, and employees can point to well-placed ads as a source of pride in
place they work.