Businesses looking to quickly grow their client base and boost their earnings should invest in advertising to build awareness of their brand among a larger audience.
There are a variety of different advertising approaches that your small business can take. You can focus on digital ad platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google AdWords. Or, you can choose more traditional advertising mediums, including newspapers, radio and local TV. Investing strategically in advertising for your small business can result in a high return on investment, bringing valuable new business to your company.
These topics will help you become an expert on the types of advertising for small business:
7 Types of Advertising for Business
5 Advertising Tips for Business
7 Types of Advertising for Business
Advertising comes in many forms, and choosing the right type depends on your business goals, target audience, and budget. Businesses looking to grow their revenue through advertising need to be sure to choose types of advertising that fit their budget and make sense for their business model. Here are some of the best types of advertising used by small businesses to promote a product, service or content:
Small businesses looking to grow their revenue through advertising need to be sure to choose types of advertising that fit their budget and make sense for their business model. Here are some of the best types of advertising used by small businesses to promote a product, service or content:
1. Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising is a popular and cost-effective option for small businesses because it allows for highly targeted campaigns at an affordable price. You can tailor your ads to reach specific audiences based on factors like demographics, interests, and location. For instance, if you own a retail store, you can serve ads to individuals within a specific age group and a certain distance from your store. Here are some social media platforms that small businesses can use for advertising:
- Facebook: With almost 70% of American adults using the platform and 75% logging in daily, Facebook is an excellent choice for small businesses. It offers a range of ad formats, including video ads, carousel ads, customer offers, and lead generation ads. The platform’s affordability and widespread use make it ideal for reaching a broad audience. Businesses can easily target specific demographics and track ad performance. For more information on Facebook advertising, visit the Facebook Business site.
- Instagram: Instagram is particularly effective for businesses with visually appealing products or services, especially if targeting a younger audience—60% of Instagram’s one billion users are under 30. Like Facebook, Instagram offers various ad formats such as image ads, video ads, Stories ads, and carousel ads, along with call-to-action buttons that can drive traffic to your website.
- LinkedIn: Although LinkedIn ads tend to be more expensive than those on other social networks, it is an excellent platform for business-to-business (B2B) advertising. LinkedIn allows you to target professionals by industry, job title, or company size, making it ideal for businesses that want to reach a professional audience. With over 560 million active users, LinkedIn is a valuable tool for B2B marketers.
2. Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a type of online advertising where advertisers pay a fee every time a user clicks on one of their ads, usually through a search engine. Advertisers bid on ad placements within the search engine, meaning they set a maximum price they’re willing to pay for a user to click on their ads. If a person sees your ad but doesn’t click on it, you aren’t charged anything. The most common platforms for PPC advertising are Google Ads and Bing Ads. PPC advertising is a form of search engine marketing (SEM). It can be a great option for small businesses with limited budgets and according to WordStream, businesses make $2 in revenue on average for every $1 they spend on Google Ads.
3. Mobile Advertising
Mobile advertising is a form of digital marketing where ads are specifically displayed on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. This type of advertising includes various formats such as:
- Mobile display ads
- Mobile search ads
- Mobile video ads
- Mobile app ads, designed to encourage app downloads
- Social media ads targeted to mobile users
Developing a mobile advertising strategy can be highly beneficial for small businesses. With 84% of adults under 30 most likely to shop online via their mobile devices, it’s a powerful way to reach a younger, tech-savvy audience and drive engagement.
4. Print Advertising
Before digital advertising became the go-to method for businesses, print advertising was the dominant way small businesses promoted themselves. Although print ad revenues have declined, print ads can still be effective for certain businesses, especially those targeting local or older audiences who may not be as active online. However, print ads often come with higher costs compared to digital and social media ads, and it’s more challenging to track their effectiveness. It’s difficult to determine how many people who saw your print ad went on to make a purchase or become a client. Despite these drawbacks, print advertising—such as newspaper ads, magazine ads, brochures, and flyers—can still be valuable for businesses aiming to reach specific demographics.
5. Broadcast Advertising
Broadcast advertising refers to advertising through mass media outlets like TV and radio. While TV ads can be costly, local TV and radio stations might offer more affordable rates, making broadcast ads a viable option for small businesses aiming to reach a local audience. The cost of broadcast ads depends on factors like ad length, frequency of airing, and the time of day they’re broadcast. In addition to the airtime cost, you must also account for the production expenses, as creating professional-quality TV ads can be expensive. Radio ads tend to be more budget-friendly, but both mediums offer a way to reach a broad audience quickly.
6. Out-of-Home Advertising
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising refers to any type of advertising that reaches people while they’re outside of their homes. This includes billboard ads, digital signage, transit ads (such as bus stops, train stations, and subway ads), ads on street furniture, and those placed in sports venues. While OOH advertising can be effective for building brand awareness, it can also be costly, so it’s important to ensure that it aligns with your budget and marketing strategy.
7. Direct Mail Advertising
Direct mail advertising involves sending promotional materials directly to people’s homes. This can include brochures, catalogs, sales letters, and newsletters. Though it has become less common than digital advertising, direct mail can still be effective if done creatively and with strong visual appeal. One key advantage of direct mail is that it allows you to engage local consumers on a one-on-one basis, delivering your message directly to their doorstep.
5 Advertising Tips for Small Businesses
1. Target the Right Audience
Maximizing your advertising budget starts with targeting the right audience. Begin by creating a profile of your ideal customer. You can gather insights by surveying your current customers or analyzing demographic data you’ve already collected, such as through mailing list sign-ups. Once you have a clear understanding of your target demographic, focus on advertising platforms that align with this audience and your business’s location.
2. Advertise Where Your Audience Is
Now that you know your target market, choose advertising platforms that will effectively reach them. For instance, if you’re targeting consumers under 21, mobile ads on platforms like Snapchat may be ideal. If you’re exploring print, broadcast, or outdoor advertising, request media kits from potential platforms to ensure the audience demographics match your targeting needs.
3. Track and Measure Success
Monitoring the performance of your ads is crucial for refining future campaigns. Digital advertising platforms like social media and PPC provide detailed reports on spending, engagement, and audience demographics. You can see how many people click on your ads and how many take desired actions, like making a purchase. For non-digital ads, such as broadcast or outdoor campaigns, tracking can be trickier. Try using unique URLs, email addresses, phone numbers, or offer codes in your ads to gauge interest and compare the performance of different campaigns.
4. Get the Timing Right
If your budget doesn’t allow for year-round advertising, focus your campaigns during peak seasons. Review your business’s earnings to identify when customers are most likely to buy. For example, retail stores may see a surge during the December holidays, while landscaping businesses may be busiest in spring and summer. Advertising during these key times can increase your return on investment.
5. Try Remarketing Strategies
Remarketing targets people who have visited your website but haven’t made a purchase. You can display personalized ads based on what they viewed, making the content more relevant to their interests. With the right copy or offer, such as a discount, remarketing ads can help convert these visitors into paying customers.
If you found these tips helpful, give Oryan a call and start your projrct with a strong foundation and a expert team, (810) 771-8605.
