As a design / marketing person – and as a person with an undiagnosed slight case of O.C.D. – there are often marketing campaigns that physically cause me pain. By the way- our Rainbow Graphic for this is a perfect example – it uses the fonts I hate the worst – and it illustrates that design CAN be bad, and that it matters. Throughout the month of October, as we get closer to the spookiness of Halloween – we’re look at some of the SCARIEST marketing pieces that I’ve ever seen!
2012 London Olympics Logo
Oh my word The Olympics for some reason seem to be the heroes of missing the mark when it comes to graphic design. The London Olympics proved this true with a logo that just doesn’t make any sense.
What are the shapes? Why does it look like the drop shadow is coming from two different light sources? Why is a multimillion dollar global event producing work that a sixth grade could have created?
What if your website content could have extra value?
Content is king in today’s online marketing world with new search engine algorithms that promote websites with well-written, quality content over others.
As a design / marketing person – and as a person with an undiagnosed slight case of O.C.D. – there are often marketing campaigns that physically cause me pain. By the way- our Rainbow Graphic for this is a perfect example – it uses the fonts I hate the worst – and it illustrates that design CAN be bad, and that it matters. Throughout the month of October, as we get closer to the spookiness of Halloween – we’re look at some of the SCARIEST marketing pieces that I’ve ever seen!
This ad frequently shows up when I’m watching Hulu – and physically hurts.
1. I don’t know who any of these spokespeople are – other than Youtube tells me it’s “Hope Solo” – Who is she? Is she the daughter of Han and Leia? (Nope – because then I’d know her)
Regardless – the people in this ad don’t “sell” it – they act like they’ve never been on camera before – and it just doesn’t feel right…
I hear horror stories all the time from business owners who say, “I’ve spent thousands of dollars on XX (type of advertising) and I’ve never had a single call from it!” I think the key is in learning how to make the most of that advertising, so you can reap the benefits.
I am often asked about Cost Per Click Advertising with Google – and I’ll let you know – if you are hoping to snag people who are using google to find you – this can be an effective tool.
If you’ve never done it before – Google has a phone number – and they will walk you through the process. They will also often give you $50, $75, or even $100 if you spend your first $25 with them.
I don’t recommend using Google Ads unless your site is optimized, and unless you’ve got it just the way you want it. You may want to have a marketing specialist like myself look over the site – to make sure it’s ready to capture leads, and direct people to spend money!
Ultimately, what Google Ads do is give you more opportunity for people to find you when they are searching for you. Google your keywords to see if any competitors are showing up – because if they are spending money – then you need to be doing the same!
Advertising University: Social Media (Facebook Ads) 101
I hear horror stories all the time from business owners who say, “I’ve spent thousands of dollars on XX (type of advertising) and I’ve never had a single call from it!” I think the key is in learning how to make the most of that advertising, so you can reap the benefits.
Facebook ads can be a mystery – and I’ve seen a lot of people BLOW money on this – because facebook is gaming you.
If you are going to pay for “likes” or interactions on your page – you want to pay for them from a real person who might buy from you.
How do you do this?
1. Target your ad to a specific geography. – Fake likes are often from overseas. You’ll get more real genuine likes if you target to the specific geographic area that is most likely to buy.
2. Don’t just “Boost Post” without checking the targeting and setting that right.
3. Don’t pay for “impressions” – pay for clicks, or pay for likes.
4. Bid a little lower or at the bottom of the recommended bid amount. You may get a little less exposure if someone else bids more – but you also won’t be paying more than you should.
5. Plan on budgeting a minimum of a dollar a day- and if you don’t want to do $30 a month – just run it so many days through the year.
6. Spend some time playing around with the ad maker – you can create campaigns without making them go live – so you can see what your options are.
7. Use facebook’s stock photos! They look great!
8. Be prepared for rejection – facebook won’t let you use pictures that are more than 20 percent text. Use your text for the text portion of the ad – not the photo.
Tune in next week. We’ll be discussing Advertising University: Cost Per Click (Google) 101
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I hear horror stories all the time from business owners who say, “I’ve spent thousands of dollars on XX (type of advertising) and I’ve never had a single call from it!” I think the key is in learning how to make the most of that advertising, so you can reap the benefits.
Radio and TV ads can be very effective, or they can fall on deaf ears. Let’s talk about some ways to make them more effective.
TV
1. Small town appeal – TV Ads – if you are in a small market – you want your ad to show local people. There’s nothing like flipping channels and someone saying,” HEY! That’s Joe from down the street! He’s on TV!” This makes them watch your spot.
2. Pay extra to get prime time. News sponsorships, football games, and prime time television are when people are watching. Don’t waste your money on anything else.
3. People are not going to remember your number, so don’t waste valuable time on it… unless you have one of those cool numbers like Celino and Barnes (888-8888) instead – purchase an easy to remember domain name – and make sure your website is ready for the traffic! Say your domain name several times, and have it at the bottom of the screen the whole commercial!
Radio
1. Make it catchy. A well written jingle, or a hilarious ad will get noticed or remembered.
2. Don’t record it yourself unless you HAVE a voice and personality for radio.
3. Pay extra for a news sponsorship – or an interstitial where the DJ talks about you during his breaks. It’s worth it.
4. People aren’t going to remember your phone number – just like TV. Don’t waste your airtime on it. Get a catchy domain name – ie AKRON GET HELP NOW.COM or something like easy to remember – and point it to your website or a landing page. repeat that domain name several times.
Tune in next week. We’ll be discussing Advertising University: Social Media Advertising (Facebook) 101
Don’t want to miss a post? Subscribe, and get our posts in your inbox!
I hear horror stories all the time from business owners who say, “I’ve spent thousands of dollars on XX (type of advertising) and I’ve never had a single call from it!” I think the key is in learning how to make the most of that advertising, so you can reap the benefits.
Today, I’ll give you a few tips that I’ve learned about Newspaper Advertising – and how to make it more effective.
1. People read News, Not Ads.
Before you think about taking out an ad – thinking about writing a press release. That means you have to have something newsworthy – but it’s possible. Also – especially with small town newspapers – your news story is most likely to get a little extra space and coverage if you also fork over a little cash for advertising. News coverage is tainted if you pay for it- but I’ve occassionally seen editors give preference to paying customers.
2. Consider an Advertorial.
This is a newspaper ad that LOOKS like a news article. Most of the time it has some kind of marker that says “Paid Advertisement” on it – but if it’s placed above the fold – it often gets read.
3. Go big or go home.
Let me remind you – people don’t read ads. Especially not those dinky business card sized ads. You are better off saving up and buying a full page, half page, or quarter page ad – especially above the fold, then you are running multiple smaller ads.
4. Consider an insert.
A nice, glossy, full color insert falls into their lap when you open the paper. This gets noticed more than an ad inside the paper.
5. Most important things!
I can’t tell you how many ads that I have seen that do not include the most important things: Your Call To Action and your Contact info. Don’t forget them!
Tune in next week. We’ll be discussing Advertising University: Broadcasting 101 Don’t want to miss a post? Subscribe, and get our posts in your inbox!
The Dog Days of Summer Marketing: Blogging
In the heat of August, it’s often easy to get lazy with your marketing. “Eh – we’ll start back up again in the fall!” Instead – why not find ways to try something new this month!
Last week I mentioned that the tradition of “back to school” in the fall is something that seems to resonate across out culture – even if we aren’t going back to school, and if we don’t have kids. As summer comes to a close – people are thinking less about the “freedom” of summer, and about getting back to the grind. This is something to keep in mind as you thinking about blogging.
Post “back to school” specials, or talk about the new fall tv lineup. Talk about fall sports like football – and use the excitement of starting something new to drive the feel of the posts that you write!
The Dog Days of Summer Marketing: Social Marketing
In the heat of August, it’s often easy to get lazy with your marketing. “Eh – we’ll start back up again in the fall!” Instead – why not find ways to try something new this month!
Using social media is really not as complicated as you might think.
I think the key is just looking for natural, organic things to post about. Post pics from around your office. Comment on the weather! Ask questions. Be inspiring. Think outside of the box.
Don’t just try to sell your product. Your social media is about building a relationship with your readers – not just selling.
My “rule of thumb” – you have four fingers – one thumb. For every one sales-y type post – have four other interesting posts that don’t sell anything at all – but build relationship.
Something to think about – as August comes to a close – people are gearing up for the fall! It’s natural ebb and flow in our culture, thanks to years of “Back to School” – everything from entertainment and sports to school itself is rooted in that “settling in” and “starting up” rhythm. Plan your marketing accordingly!
Tune in next Monday for our next #MarketingMonday installment: The Dog Days of Summer Marketing: Blogging
The Dog Days of Summer Marketing: Email Marketing
In the heat of August, it’s often easy to get lazy with your marketing. “Eh – we’ll start back up again in the fall!” Instead – why not find ways to try something new this month!
It’s not hard at all to get into email marketing. Here’s what I would recommend.
1. Set up an account at Mailchimp. Why? it’s easy, it’s free, and it’s versatile. Plus – it has all the right stuff to keep you from getting your web address blacklisted for spam.
2. Build your list.
-Ask every customer for their email, and send them a request to subscribe.
-Make coupons valid only if they provide their email address. (you can put a disclaimer saying that they’ll recieve a message to opt in to your list.)
-. Do a giveaway and collect email addresses for entry. (Great way to build your list!)
3. Make a plan.
You can set up email lists that work on based on your website updates. You can also write a unique email weekly or monthly – and it’s not hard at all to work ahead with these!
Tune in next Monday for our next #MarketingMonday installment: The Dog Days of Summer Marketing: Social Marketing
As a design / marketing person – and as a person with an undiagnosed slight case of O.C.D. – there are often marketing campaigns that physically cause me pain. By the way- our Rainbow Graphic for this is a perfect example – it uses the fonts I hate the worst – and it illustrates that design CAN be bad, and that it matters. Throughout the month of October, as we get closer to the spookiness of Halloween – we’re look at some of the SCARIEST marketing pieces that I’ve ever seen!
