First Advertising Campaign?
Updated: May 16, 2023
Advertising is a powerful tool that can attract new customers, inform them about your product, and build customer trust3. The action of persuading someone to buy your product or service through a paid promotion is advertising. This can be done through several mediums, such as print, television, radio, or digital media3. In this article, we will provide you with the best steps to promoting what your business has to offer.
Launching your first advertising campaign?
As a small business owner, you may have a limited team, and adding advertising to the mix may seem like a daunting task. Whether or not you have experience in marketing, we are here to help! SBDC – Lynchburg Region offers free training and advising services. We want to provide you with the best tools and steps to advertising your small business. If you are ready to increase sales, inform customers, introduce products/services, retain customers, build your brand, and more, you will need an advertising campaign3. Here are six steps to take to launch a successful advertising campaign.
1. Set your marketing goal
The first step is to define your goals. It’s important to be realistic about what you wish to achieve to get the most out of your time and money. Having SMART goals will help you hold yourself accountable when getting into the nitty-gritty of your campaign goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. It’s important not to bite off more than you can chew. Therefore, we suggest starting with one of the following goals and making it as specific as possible.
Promote a new product/service
Generate new revenue
Increase customers
Grow brand awareness
Improve customer retention1&5.
It’s not enough to select one of these goals; you need to make it more granular and quantifiable. Make it into a SMART goal. For example, say you may want to promote your new product. Here’s how you can turn it into a SMART goal.
Therefore, the goal should be “We want to promote our new product X that is releasing in the fall. We will promote it on Instagram, Twitter, and eBlasts to sell 50 product X within a month of its release.”
2. Set a budget for the campaign
Budgeting is crucial to your campaign. Setting a budget based on what is affordable will set the parameters for how you will advertise your product. As a small business, you may be working with a tight budget. But that’s alright! Amazing ads can be created and perform successfully at low costs. To understand what you can afford, calculate how much income the average customer generates. This is known as the Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)5. Then estimate how many customers the campaign could realistically bring in.
3. Define your target audience
Next is understanding your target audience. A target audience is the specific consumers likely to want your product or service4. Identifying these consumers will help define key aspects of the advertising strategy, such as design and ad location. Understanding the target audience will allow you to build a relationship and communication with consumers and increase ROI (return on investment)4.
To determine who your target audience is begin with analyzing your current customer base. Next, research your industry. Ask yourself who can benefit from your product/service and how. Finally, begin creating the personas of who the ideal consumer is. Some of the characteristics will include:
Once you know your audience, you will understand the best platforms to reach them, which leads us to the next step. Understanding your audience is one thing, but connecting with them is another1.
4. Identify your marketing channels
Now that you have identified your audience, it is time to figure out where to reach them. Social media, television, radio, events, digital or online media, direct mail, and email are all channels that can reach your target audience. You may choose one or multiple channels. Understanding your budget and target audience will help you make that decision5. Reaching your target audience is not just about where to reach them but also when to reach them4. You want to be sure your ad is being presented when your consumer is most likely to engage with it.
5. Create the content
Ads are everywhere these days. You know your audience and where to reach them, but now you need to create content that will stand out. The ad graphic and copy are equally important in persuading viewers to be interested in your offer. An advertisement graphic should be eye-catching to compete with other designs2. Your ad should be designed with a Call-to-Action (CTA) that encourages the audience to respond1. Depending on the budget, a graphic designer or writer can be hired for this task.
6. Launch your campaign
Finally, it is time to launch your campaign! Establishing a time frame for the start and end of the campaign is essential so that you will not be working with no end in sight1. This will help determine how many mailings need to be sent, or how long an ad will be up on a website. Be sure to analyze how the ad is performing. When it is time to analyze your results, you can determine what changes need to be made to improve the next ad.
When launching any advertising campaign, research is the key. Advertising should follow a standard of ethics and morals because this will directly reflect your organization. Your ads are meant to build trust with your audience for them to consider your products and services.
Hopefully, this seemingly daunting task is now an encouraging project. Remember, we are here to help. For more information and to learn about the additional resources we offer head to www.sbdclynchburgregion.org.
References
Alscher, D. (2020, February 20). How to launch the World’s greatest marketing campaign. Learn Hub. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://learn.g2.com/marketing-campaign
Broz, M. (2022, August 28). Graphic design in marketing and advertising (2022). Photutorial. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://photutorial.com/graphic-design-in-advertising/
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, December 14). What is the importance of advertising? (plus definition and tips). Indeed Career Guide. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/importance-of-advertising
Marketing Evolution. (2022, July 20). How to find your target audience: Marketing evolution. How to Find Your Target Audience | Marketing Evolution. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.marketingevolution.com/marketing-essentials/target-audience
PaySimple. (n.d.). How to launch a marketing campaign for Your Small Business in 7 easy steps. PaySimple. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://paysimple.com/blog/how-to-launch-a-marketing-campaign-for-your-small-business-in-7-easy-steps/