Top Tips To Save Money On Advertising
Customers are the lifeblood of any business
The lifeblood of any business, whether in a physical location or online, is customers. Without them, you don’t have a business just an expense that over time will bankrupt you. Like most companies you want to get the best value from your advertising budget. In this article we will discuss how to save money on advertising whilst also getting results.
So, the most important thing you have to do once you have your product or service sorted out and running smoothly is to find a steady stream of customers through advertising.
Understanding your buyer journey
If you’re selling anything more expensive than a few pounds, snap purchases become less likely. Your customers will be somewhere on the Buyers Journey. Here they move from awareness of a problem, considering their options to making a buying decision.
- Awareness – are aware they have a problem or a need that has to be addressed
- Consideration – is when they begin looking at the options to solve their problem
- Decision – they’re ready to buy
knowing what stage your buyer is at can help you streamline your advertising and save you money in the long run.
- Are they ready to buy, just researching or only just decided that they have a need?
Without this information, you will only reach a very small percentage of the customers you are trying to attract.
To save money on advertising you need to know the type of information that your customer needs and give it to them in a form they like and in a place they hang out.
Adopting scatter-gun advertising in the hope that something will stick is pointless and expensive.
Traditional Advertising is effective (and expensive)
Traditional advertising is expensive.
By its nature, it’s akin to blanket bombing the market in the hope that a proportion of the people who see the advertisement will be sufficiently interested to go to a website or ring a telephone number for more information.
Though it is viewed by some as the way to make people think you are a ‘serious brand’, the downside is the eye-watering costs of traditional advertising.
One primetime TV ad spot1 can cost £11,000, with production costs ranging from £10,000 to £250,000.
If you have the money and want to make a big splash then TV, bus and tube posters and magazine advertising will get you exposure, but it won’t be cheap.
For most businesses there are many more cost-effective solutions that can be aimed at the section of the market you want to attract.
Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising lets you target the people you want to attract using demographics and location. You can also test variations of your advert to see which format works best on the platform you choose.
However, before you begin it’s important to know what you’re looking to achieve. Do you want to increase site traffic, visibility of your brand, engagement, lead generation or sales?
Having a clear idea of your objectives as well as knowing how effective a channel is for your business, will help you spend your advertising pounds wisely.
Depending on what you want to achieve you could use one of the following platforms:
- Facebook – great for business to consumer sales. Lots of ad formats that let you get deeper into your audience.
- Instagram – highly visual content that lets you show off products
- Twitter – great for increasing brand awareness and driving website clicks
- LinkedIn – ideal for business to business advertising as it is a professional network
- Snapchat – has a younger demographic that wants to be engaged
- Pinterest – used to generate immediate sales and work as an additional avenue to your web store
These advertising channels are all relatively low cost! You just set the budget and duration that your advert is to run.
Search Engine Advertising
Search engine advertising or search advertising is where you show your ads to people who have searched for the keywords you are using. You are charged each time your ad is clicked on, hence Pay Per Click advertising.
This type of advertising is very effective as it is shown to the people you want to attract.
In-depth keyword research is vital to uncover the most appropriate terms so that you are not missing your target audience. Additionally, choosing the right keywords, ones that have a high volume but low competition, helps your advert rank higher on the search page and cost you less.
Targeting your niche market
What if you could invest some of your marketing budget into a lead generating portal focusing on your market? A company focusing on your target market can help you laser in to your market for a fraction of cost.
Lets consider a website called Parklink which has been built for holiday & residential parks in the UK. Members receive online exposure as well as sales enquiries from people interested in owning a caravan, lodge or park home of their own.
Targeted advertising is the opposite of blanket bombing the market because you are showcasing your product directly to your niche audience. This helps to save money on advertising because you are focusing your efforts on your target audience.
These people will be interested in what you have to offer and are at least in the ‘research’ phase of their buyer’s journey. This will mean your chances of success is significantly increased.
How can Parklink help with holiday home sales advertising
The Parklink website specialises on the following:
- Static caravans
- lodges
- Park homes
- Residential Parks
- Holiday Parks
- Leisure & lifestyle
Customers visit the Parklink website for the following reasons:
- Search and discover parks offering holiday homes & residential homes for sale.
- Find out information on holiday home ownership
- Request information from relevant parks
- Search properties for sale in the UK
- Request a brochure by post or download instantly
- Read interesting blogs & articles relating to leisure & lifestyle
We help over 100 parks increase sales by offering a platform to promote their park and properties for sale. This essential lead generation supports their overall sales strategy and creates sales!
Parklink member pages display the following:
- Park information, description & images
- Display all sales units, including static caravans, lodges & park homes
- Google map showing the location & directions
- Brochure download facility
With your park on Parklink you’ll receive:
- Park-specific leads – People requesting an ownership brochure on their specific park
- Regional enquiries – People which would like info from parks in a specific region
- Holiday home sales stock – Receive a direct message on specific sale units you have listed on Parklink
- Brochure download enquiry
Holiday parks on Parklink save money on advertising because as they target holiday home enthusiasts! Parklink visitors come to the website looking to buy a holiday or park home in the UK. This is the most cost-efficient type of advertising that reliably generates leads and sales month after month.
Are you a holiday park operator interested in promoting your park and generating valuable extra leads to convert into sales? Come and visit our park operator page here and contact us today to discuss getting you listed.
Inbound Marketing will save money on advertising
If you’re playing the log game then inbound marketing can be a great way to save money on advertising. Inbound marketing, though not advertising as such, is your most organic method of attracting the right people to your product or service. This method would work great alongside other method which we have mentioned so far.
It is a slower path than advertising, as it relies upon the content that you produce to be seen and read by potential customers.
Content that is based around relevant keywords and phrases that your potential customers are searching for will rise through the rankings.
This can add a significant lift to your traffic at no cost to you, other than the effort it takes to produce the content.
For most businesses in this digital, online age, focused advertising that uses the mediums that your customers use is the most cost-effective way to reach them. This undoubtedly will increase brand awareness and sales.
Thanks for reading!
  
