Choosing the Right Traditional Media for Your Company

Using Traditional Media (newspapers, magazines, television, radio, billboards, etc.) may not be for everyone and it is certainly only a portion of your overall marketing efforts. Once you determine whether or not these advertising vehicles even make sense for you, it can definitely become a daunting task. With all of the options and media reps constantly vying for your business, it is easy to get distracted and not use the best choices for your business.

Now more than ever, companies are being extremely careful and cautious when it comes to spending money. It seems that advertising budgets are being cut left and right. Instead of thinking about cutting your budget, perhaps it is time to reevaluate your spending to make sure the best possible choices are being used. A few tweaks and changes could prove to be more effective, yielding you a much better result for the same amount of money! Who wouldn’t want that, right?

Here are some basic tips for making the best media choices:

When deciding on the right mediums for your business, take your target audience into consideration.

Many of my posts preach about carving out your niche and deciding on your target audience. This is because having a grasp on this information can save you a truckload of money and instantly make your advertising more effective. For example, if your ideal customer is female between the ages of 35-54, you may want to look into certain lifestyle magazines or radio stations that are programmed to attract this listener. The point is, do not purchase your media with the sole intent of reaching the most people. You will end up paying way too much money to reach an audience that may not be the best.

Targeting also allows you to use advertising consistently. Back to my previous example, TV spots in the evening news may be too expensive to purchase consistently. You may have reached more people, but you were not able to achieve the amount of repetition necessary to be effective. Instead, looking to certain cable channels that appeal to your demographic will allow you to spend less and hit this targeted audience more frequently.

Become familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of each advertising vehicle. Click here for a list of some of these advantages and disadvantages.

Determine your advertising goals.

Are you suffering from a wrong branding perception? Then it would not benefit you to run a one week radio schedule. Are you holding a blow-out fall celebration sale? Then a heavy campaign during the week leading up to the campaign would be appropriate and beneficial. Weigh your goals against what each medium does well.

Weigh the costs

Cost to your budget is usually the main concern when buying traditional media. How much are you willing to spend for a customer? Based on the cost of the advertising and the amount of people in your target audience that you will be reaching, is it worth it? What do you need to break even? Are the results you desire a reasonable expectation?

Hopefully, using these tips as part of your overall marketing plan will help alleviate some of the stress of traditional media buying. Have other tips? I would love to hear them!

Discounts and Coupons are Not Always the Best Form of Marketing in a Down Economy

A coupon or discount strategy, especially in a down economy,  might seem like a logical and sure-fire way to draw new people into your doors. I would have to disagree with this way of thinking for many reasons. Take a look at this example:

The List, A New Business Intelligence company that helps businesses with lead generation and business prospecting based out of Atlanta, Georgia put out a great publication entitled: Prevailing: Strategies for Marketing in a Recession. In this article, Mark Mears the CMO of the Cheesecake Factory was discussing the ways their company has remained strong with their restaurant’s marketing efforts in this economy.

According to this article, “One way the company has reemphasized its unique points in a non-traditional fashion is through the celebration of its 30th anniversary. Instead of doing direct mail, or a coupon or advertisement in the newspaper, The Cheesecake Factory reached out individually to guests through a multi-paneled print piece detailing its heritage, signature cheesecake and philanthropic efforts. The company has also offered destination sweepstakes contests and instant win games, where guests can win free meals at The Cheesecake Factory restaurants in various cities.

‘Instead of dropping a coupon, we’re telling a story. We’re trying to get them to understand how special they are by inviting them to celebrate our 30^th anniversary with us, engaging them in online sweepstakes and having them come in on future visits and receiving something that we know they love,’ Mears said. ‘A non-traditional way we’re marketing The Cheesecake Factory brand is in a way that builds on the brand’s heritage and unique culture as opposed to discounting the brand.’”

Remember when you are tempted to use price as your draw:

• You do not create any unique value propositions: Instead of selling based on price, if you sell based on what makes you unique you will be extremely more competitive.

• When you create a low price mentality, people are not loyal: As soon as another coupon from a competitor rolls around, your business will be lost to your competition.

• You miss out on word-of mouth advertising opportunities: Instead of focusing on the “one-time hit” of someone using a coupon, focus your efforts on “wow-ing” your current customers and turning those people into your biggest fans.

• You are missing out on long-term benefits: Discounts and couponing are short-sighted methods. Once the coupons go away, you run the risk of your business going with them. Long-term value and unique experiences will last much longer and foster repeat business.

Social Media is Killing Business

I just read an article in Ad Age Digital that inspired me to write this blog post. The article entitled “Why I Hate Social Media” by Matt Jones struck a chord with me for many reasons and I absolutely agree with his premise.

To summarize the article, Matt is explaining how marketers are taking their same, old, stale ideas and translating them into social media. He says, “Let’s get really radical and stop trying to keep marketing 1.0 thinking alive with Web 2.0 media.” He is very clear that he is not discounting the social web or the transformative power the technology holds. He claims that there are brands who are utilizing these tools for the betterment of their consumers and companies, but at the same time, there are those brands that totally miss the mark on authenticity and the proverbial “point” of social media. All this brings him to the conclusion that instead of intensifying their mundane messages, companies should focus on creating better stories. The line I love the most is “Most people are still looking for real things: experiences, connections, value, stories, emotions.”

Cartoon by Geek and Poke

That line is what I want to talk about.

It is so easy to get caught up in what’s new and right now [social media] that many other important marketing aspects are left to the wayside. How often have you heard someone complain that Comcast gives better service on Twitter than they do in “real life.” In my opinion, then what’s the point? You can create a tantalizing message via social media, but if you can’t follow through with TRUE value and experiences, then it is completely useless. By true value, I am referring to what a customer actually receives when connecting with your brand. Businesses that are in a B to C environment especially need to put effort into the experiences and authentic emotional connections with their customers. When this happens, your customers will become your biggest fan and advertise for you through their positive recommendations and word of mouth!! This is the ultimately goal.

So the question remains, how does your brand create those stories…stories that engage, connect, and create emotional impact?

I don’t think anyone says it better than Seth Godin. Seth wrote an article for ODE Magazine, entitled “How to Tell a Great Story.” I have included it below:

A great story is true. Not necessarily because it’s factual, but because it’s consistent and authentic. Consumers are too good at sniffing out inconsistencies for a marketer to get away with a story that’s just slapped on.

Great stories make a promise. They promise fun, safety or a shortcut. The promise needs to be bold and audacious. It’s either exceptional or it’s not worth listening to.

Great stories are trusted. Trust is the scarcest resource we’ve got left. No one trusts anyone. People don’t trust the beautiful women ordering vodka at the corner bar (they’re getting paid by the liquor company). People don’t trust the spokespeople on commercials (who exactly is Rula Lenska?). And they certainly don’t trust the companies that make pharmaceuticals (Vioxx, apparently, can kill you). As a result, no marketer succeeds in telling a story unless he has earned the credibility to tell that story.

Great stories are subtle. Surprisingly, the fewer details a marketer spells out, the more powerful the story becomes. Talented marketers understand that allowing people to draw their own conclusions is far more effective than announcing the punch line.

Great stories happen fast. First impressions are far more powerful than we give them credit for. Great stories don’t always need eight-page colour brochures or a face-to-face meeting. Either you are ready to listen or you aren’t.

Great stories don’t appeal to logic, but they often appeal to our senses. Pheromones aren’t a myth. People decide if they like someone after just a sniff.

Great stories are rarely aimed at everyone. Average people are good at ignoring you. Average people have too many different points of view about life and average people are by and large satisfied. If you need to water down your story to appeal to everyone, it will appeal to no one. The most effective stories match the world view of a tiny audience—and then that tiny audience spreads the story.

Great stories don’t contradict themselves. If your restaurant is in the right location but had the wrong menu, you lose. If your art gallery carries the right artists but your staff is made up of rejects from a used car lot, you lose. Consumers are clever and they’ll see through your deceit at once.

Most of all, great stories agree with our world view. The best stories don’t teach people anything new. Instead, the best stories agree with what the audience already believes and makes the members of the audience feel smart and secure when reminded how right they were in the first place.

Social Media is an excellent avenue for getting your story out, but just make sure you have the “real stuff” to back it up.