Advertising

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In my last post, I talked about forward planning, and how I intend to do more of it this year. Looking into January and beyond, there are a few things to plan for. Advertising and marketing are key areas which need attention.

Advertising is important for any business, and I’ve tried various approaches before. With varying degrees of success. It’s never cheap to advertise, and you need time for adverts to gain any traction. The newspaper and magazine articles which I’ve run in the past have been expensive and ineffective.

In the age of social media and other forms of digital advertising, the marketing maxim of the ‘Rule of Seven’ is achievable within hours. The Rule of Seven suggests that prospective clients need to see or hear your advertisement seven times, before they will act and buy a product or service from you.

  • A full page advertisement which was an expensive way to advertise
  • Excerpt from a newspaper advert

With a limited budget, I plan to advertise generally, highlighting the business and what’s available. I’d like to target specific times of year, when people are most likely to look for products and services. We complain about shops having very early displays at certain times of year, but consumers also plan ahead. I need to be proactive in reminding people of times of year when they might want photography services. Or be looking for gifts.

Rather than aiming at readers of hard copy print media, which carries an exorbitant advertising fee, I’m going to make greater use of leaflets and social media. If I’m looking for something specific myself, I turn to a search engine, ask for recommendations, or look through my folder of business cards and flyers.

  • A5 leaflets
  • A4 tri-fold leaflets

Word of mouth is a strong marketing tool. If someone I trust recommends a service provider, their recommendation carries a form of pre-approval. With this in mind, I’ve created new leaflets, and am recruiting friends and colleagues to share these. Many are people who run their own businesses, and have used my services before.

I mentioned social media. There are options to pay to advertise on social media platforms, which I’ve found somewhat effective in the past. The danger of advertising this way is that people grow tired of seeing your advertisements. It’s possible to manage this up to a point by specifying your preferred audience demographics. And of course a key feature of anything online is the option to scroll. If people don’t find the adverts relevant, they can simply move on.

Social media is a fickle beast and it’s very time intensive to keep an active presence. I find that aiming for quality but targeting quantity is the best approach. People enjoy seeing nice pictures, but they’re more likely to see these pictures if you post regularly. Instagram and Twitter are my preferred options for social media sharing. Facebook is the one I use for paid advertising.

Advertising, Emma Lord photography, Etsy

Over to you, the readers. Where do you find information on products or services? What sort of advertising catches your eye? What time of year do you tend to look for products and services? Or do you have direct experience of advertising and marketing, which you’re willing to share?

Thanks as always for reading and wishing you a very happy and peaceful new year.