advertising university

Advertising University: CPC (Google 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.

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.

http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-advertising-fake-likes-2014-2

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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Advertising University: Broadcasting 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.

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
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