25May

30 Marketing Ideas to Kick-Start Your Year!

Posted by: IndiVisualCreations Categories: Marketing TIps
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Holiday Marketing has already begun to make headway and the end of the year is quickly approaching.  Many businesses are beginning to look over their fiscal year. Sometimes changes need to be made, and with advertising taking on both a traditional and non-traditional approach, it can be hard to decipher which works best for your company.

IndiVisual Creations decided to come up with a checklist to help you. We created 30 ideas that we hope will further strengthen your customer relations and gain a greater reach in the new year!

There’s only 2 month and a half left of the year, and now is the perfect time to reflect on last year and start planning ahead.

  • Online Sales:  Value-Driven Call to Action Offers:  This can help promote discounts and specials that catch the eye of your customer and can be very influential to their purchases.
  • Packaging:  Supply something free within a package to help up-sell an event, promotion or product.
  • Promo Codes:  Offer your customers a chance to get discounts for the holidays, or throughout the year. Promo codes help track your advertising and also make the discount only available to those you advertise to.
  •  E-mail Marketing:  Are you utilizing your e-blasts to their fullest extent? You can use more aggressive tactics in e-mail marketing to provide exclusive offers to your opt-in subscribers. This is a great way to stand out from your competitors.
  • Building Databases:  Databases are a great ways to reach specific people and can even build relationships. Customization is key during this process, so be sure to spend the extra time maintaining them. You could even create a database of customers that have been with the company for years and create exclusive discounts and offers to show that you appreciate them.
  • Cross-promote E-mails and Social Media:  This is a great way to get people on your Facebook page. You can offer coupons and discounts that will be given if the customer “likes” your page
  • Social Media Outreach:  When planned and executed well, can be an excellent means of generating leads and demand.
  • ABC’s of Social Media:
    A.) Solid First Impression: Have Clarity, Consistency, Balanced emotion and logic, Usefulness (at least 50% of your posts must be directly useful to your audience)
    B.) Content Promotion: Craft the perfect descriptions (with hashtags to attract your audience), Time you Publishing Right (when the maximum number of your audience members are on the social media platform), Target your content right (through relevant social media groups), Create an emailing List (Share your social media content via email on a regular basis (every week, every two weeks or each month), and use social plug ins for easy sharing.
    C.) Getting Introduced: When implementing a marketing strategy on social platforms, it’s important to give just as much attention to fostering relationships as most businesses generally give to creating and distributing content. Since LinkedIn has a system for introductions, you can leverage that to make the right connections.
  • Connecting on Social Media: People working in the same industry as you are, people in the same company, and people whose job descriptions match yours are the obvious ones.  Based on the audience your business is targeting, you could extend your reach beyond those categories (to your high value target audience).
  • Contests: Facebook contests are a fun way to create some excitement on your Facebook page. Customers can enter into the contest for their chance to win a free pass to your park or a free dinner out with the family. It’s a great way to keep your customers engaged, increase your likes, and put your company in the spotlight.
  • Groupon: Groupon and sites like it provide a unique way to promote a product or service to the community. It provides an extensive reach so you can connect with customers who may not know about your company.
  • Business Partnerships: Mass Distribution Promotional Campaign: This is a great way to spread the word about your business, and can be used to offer promotional discounts. Focusing on partnering with businesses that have multiple units is a good approach, that way you get more out of your partnership. 20 locations x 6000 guests per week x 3 weeks = 360, 000 impressions!
  • Tourism Partnerships: Lodging Facilities: Pitch your product to a lodging community. When visitors come to a new area they want to know what they can do while they stay on vacation. Put your business in the spotlight with this partnership.
  • Media Partnerships: Third Party Promotion or Event: Competitions with winning prizes draw a lot of attention. Publications and radio outlets can give you free ”ad” space in their print issues or online sites in exchange for the value of the actual prize to be won.
  • Community Partnerships: Big Giveaway: This is a great way to build partnerships with other businesses in your community. Each of you can offer a free promotional item, like a free dinner or 2 night stay at a certain location. This creates a lot of excitement for your business and the ones you decide to partner with. It can be a collective effort, and is very beneficial.
  • School Partnerships: Get Involved in Various Programs: Promote your business while also showing your support for education. By partnering with school programs you can offer rewards, prizes, group packaging and help with fundraisers.
  • Fundraising: Hold a Fundraiser at your Location: Designate a day or night at your facility where a portion of the proceeds collected will go back to helping a non-profit in your community.
  • Charity Tie-in: If you have a special event going on you can collect a donation which will go directly to a charity that you partner with. This will give you media exposure, create goodwill and expand your audience.
  • Special Events: Create a Contest: Contests are good to promote a new product or even revive an existing product by creating excitement that revolves around it.
  • Appreciation Based: Show appreciation to different groups in your community by offering an exclusive discount on a specific day. Support your teachers and even your local police, fire fighters, doctors, or military.
  • Employee Appreciation: Show your employees how much you care by providing a specific day where they can receive discounted prices.
  • Character Appearances: Create some excitement at your location with some fun-loving characters. You can hold a breakfast at your facility, where a character will appear and greet guests. This can help promote a new game, and create stronger branding for your company.
  • Create a Holiday: Whether you’re celebrating the anniversary of your company or trying to promote a new product, creating a holiday with discounted prices will create a lot of excitement and further enforce your branding efforts.
  • Create Packages for Existing Holidays: Is an easy opportunity to share specials with your customers on a day that they’re looking for something fun to do on their day off. President’s day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Easter, Memorial Day, and Labor Day are just a few holidays that offer an opportunity to promote special price points. Embrace the 3-day weekend!
  • Holiday Marketing: Cyber Monday: This is the new Black Friday for many shoppers looking for a great deal. Put your specials online, and draw your customers in. T he best part is most of your customers are already looking for great savings, so make your specials stand out from your competitors.
  • Gift-Card Promotions: Gift-cards are a popular present during the holidays, and many businesses offer their customers a discount when they spend money on a gift card. For example, if a customer spends $100 on a gift card they will receive a $25 dollar gift card free.
  • Past Party Participants: Keep in contact with customers who have held a birthday party at your location by reaching out to them through monthly direct mail or through an e-mail campaign.
  • New Potential Partiers: Create an offer to draw in new customers. Give them a free pass on their birthday and make them feel extra special.
  • Party Giveaways: Get in contact with your local radio stations, publications, schools, Facebook fans, and other businesses to promote a free birthday party to one lucky winner. You can also use e-mail blasts to help reach your audience and provide a wider reach.
  • Online Party Reservations: This provides a convenient way for your customers to book a birthday party, and you can list the different types of parties you offer with pricing. This provides an organized way to keep track of your reservations, and paints a picture for your customer. An online reservation system can also be used to help book large group events.
  • Media Kits: Impactful Presentation: Media kits are a great way to create a lasting impression and also highlight what makes your business unique. They can be used for many different promotional opportunities and are a great way to explain what your company offers. You can include your operating schedule, brochure, fun facts, contact information, company overview and previous press releases.

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16Nov

5 Ways Marketing Can Drive Higher Online Commerce Revenue

Posted by: IndiVisualCreations Categories: Marketing TIps
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Online retail and e-commerce are booming. By 2019, e-commerce is expected to hit $480 billion in revenue. With 800,000 online stores to choose from, even big players like Amazon face fierce competition within the consumer market…

Turning Transactions Into Revenue, Relationships, and Advocates
Now a staple in the diet of cross-channel interactions, e-commerce and online retail has grown substantially, with estimates placing it at $480 billion by 2019. According to Forrester, nearly 70% of consumers purchase online regularly.  Even with household names like Amazon.com, competition remains fierce and diversified to reach these consumers.  Customers in the US now have more than 800,000 web stores from which to pick products. 

But with this opportunity comes great challenges for online retail and commerce companies. With huge growth goals, they struggle to keep their costs low while growing revenue rapidly. More than 40% of retailers said that their marketing cost per order increased in the past year, and 46% said that their new customer acquisition costs increased.  Part of the challenge rests in customers receiving messaging and advertising that isn’t targeted based on their interests, resulting in wasted advertising, bad product targeting and, ultimately, low (2.6%) conversion rates. 

The underlying cause of these high costs and low conversion is sub-optimal alignment between marketing and commerce from a process, technology, and data perspective. Some technologies take up to 24 hours to share customer data. Without the right data, customers don’t receive the experience they need and move on to competitors. From a technology and process perspective, disparate applications are used to message to customers, with just 7% of marketers saying they’re equipped to do true cross-channel marketing (eConsultancy), compounding the problem for customers. In fact, according Accenture, nearly 80% of consumers receive a fragmented experience as they move across digital channels such as commerce.

What if we told you that commerce and marketing platforms no longer had to sit in their own silos? In this paper, we’ll examine what best-in-class companies are doing to deliver more consistent experiences that drive commerce revenue and more consistent customer experiences across marketing channels. Here are the five ways they are making a difference.

 

1. Use Commerce Data to Inform Top-of-Funnel Acquisition
Today’s online customers have all the information they need about your company at their fingertips. They can easily research your products and brand throughout the course of their day, wherever they are, and on multiple devices.  How can you capitalize on the product research your customers perform to encourage purchases?

To start, you need a plan for capturing commerce data to inform your acquisition strategy.  Data management and tracking capabilities can help your company obtain customer browsing data on your website and share it with your marketing platform.  Using those insights, you can launch product education campaigns to help customers find the information they need based on the products they’re researching. As customers see your offerings and learn more about them, you can guide them to the point of purchase as they understand how the product solves their problem.

Key Tactics for Getting There: What types of data must you collect?
To engage with your customers on a 1:1 level you first need to know what
kind of data to use.  A good rule of thumb is to start with these five main categories:
1.  Product Preferences
2.  Past Purchases
3.  Activities
4.  Behaviors
5.  Communication Preferences

As marketers, it’s important to know what your customers like and want to see about your products (Product Preferences), which products they have already purchased (Past Purchases), how your customers are currently interacting with your brand (Activities), when and how your customers are engaging with your brand (Behaviors), and how your customers want you to engage with them (Communication Preferences). When we are able to tie in at least one customer attribute from each of these categories, the right message is being delivered at the right time, resulting in a highly informed and satisfied customer.

Use Case Example
Let’s say that our organization sells outdoor apparel and our customer, Chris, has been browsing our website to search for a new winter jacket. There are a lot of options we could recommend to Chris but the commerce data shows us that Chris is particularly interested in two specific brands based on his browsing activity. Using this data, we can send Chris an email campaign that highlights the benefits of each brand, helping with his research and bringing him closer to the point of purchase.

Key Ways to Measure It
• Site Traffic
• Page Views Per Visit
• Products Purchased
• Site Abandonment Rate
• Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate
• Exit Pages
• Days and Visits to Purchase

2. Improve Targeting By Building a Comprehensive Profile for Commerce and Marketing
Customers can be underwhelmed by the typical life-cycle marketing campaigns used to retain or engage them for up-sell opportunities. How many times have you received an email that just said “Happy Birthday [insert name here]”?

The promise of personalization is vital and a promise that you should keep with your customers as 61% of customers feel more positive about a brand when marketing is personalized.  If you treat your customers like individuals (not just another number in your database), and consistently recognize them and their preferences, the likelihood of them buying and remaining loyal to your brand improves.  This starts by creating a more robust, unified profile between  your commerce and marketing technologies.  When commerce and marketing platforms are seamlessly integrated, you have a comprehensive view of your customer and are able to create highly-personalized, 1:1 content for each individual customer.  Using commerce and marketing data together, you can engage your customers with the tailored experience they want, leading to deeper, more profitable, long-term relationships.

By using past purchase and profile data, marketers can deliver engaging 1:1 experiences to their customers.
Key Ways to Measure It
• Page Views Per Visit
• Product Relationship (products viewed consecutively)
• Site Traffic
• Time On Site
• Average Order Size
• Average Order Value (AOV)

3. Let Offline Behavior Fuel the Right Commerce Messaging
Just as you need to provide personalized and relevant content to your customers, you also need to provide unique cross-channel experiences for your customers to feel as though you are speaking with one voice.  This is critical because customers are 72% more likely to purchase additional products if they receive a positive cross-channel experience.  To deliver on this, commerce and marketing teams need to act as one to have a single voice coming from your brand in marketing and transaction messages.

When commerce and marketing teams are seamlessly integrated, they can share customer data that spans the entire customer life-cycle.  The commerce platform needs to gather customer data from various interactions and share that data with the marketing team so they can speak to customers with your brand’s unified voice.  This is important to your brand’s success because using the same voice throughout customer interactions can provide a sense of comfort for the customer leading to enhanced customer experiences and a lift in lifetime revenue.

When your marketing team sends tailored campaigns that use a consistent voice with data collected through your commerce platform and offline data sources, the customer life-cycle can be more rewarding for both your customers
and your brand. 

Key Ways to Measure It
• Percent of Sales From Repeat Customers
• Average Time Spent Per Page
• Page Views Per Visit
• Conversion Rate
• Product Affinity (products purchased together)
• Product Relationship (products viewed consecutively

4. Improve Conversions with Cross-Channel Re-targeting

Customers are often browsing and shopping online only to be distracted by something happening near them.  Frequently, the products that the customer was looking at are left and forgotten, resulting in a lost opportunity.

If you were to remind customers of the items they were considering, many customers would return and follow through with their purchase. When commerce and marketing platforms are in silos, it can take up to 24 hours for the marketing team to receive the abandonment data from the commerce platform. By that time, there is a good chance your customer visited a competitor to complete their purchase.  When commerce and marketing platforms are seamlessly integrated, you can engage your customers in near real time.  This provides a friendly, timely reminder through their preferred channels to reconsider your products before they look to a competitor. This collaboration enables you to drive more traffic to your site and build deeper relationships with your customers by using accurate, real-time data.

When commerce and marketing platforms are seamlessly integrated, you can engage your customers in near real time.  This provides a friendly, timely reminder through their preferred channels to reconsider your products before they look to a competitor. This collaboration enables you to drive more traffic to your site and build deeper relationships with your customers by using accurate, real-time data.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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11Nov

Cross Channel Marketing

Posted by: IndiVisualCreations Categories: Marketing TIps
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]CROSS CHANNEL ORCHESTRATION FUNDAMENTALS:
ALIGNING WEB WITH ALL MARKETING CHANNELS

Today’s consumers are demanding: they have become more unforgiving of a poor customer experience and expect interactions on their desktop and mobile devices to be responsive, intuitive, and easy to use. Marketers understand that delivering the most relevant experience is the key to gaining continued satisfaction and loyalty from their digital consumers.

Oftentimes, however, when it comes to marketing to consumers there are two dynamics. On one hand you have what consumers say they want out of a customer experience. On the other hand, there is what they actually receive. 

What they want are experiences that are personalized, contextually relevant, and consistent— regardless of online or offline channel or life-cycle stage.  What they too often get, however, are experiences that are disconnected, not contextually relevant, and inconsistent across channels and life-cycle stages.

Given the following data points, this is highly problematic for a great number of marketers.
• Two-thirds of all shoppers regularly use more than one channel to make purchases
• The average number of channels used before conversion rose from 1.25 in January 2010 to 3.25 in 2014.2
• The average shopper now makes on average 9.5 visits to a retailer’s site before deciding to buy
• Customers who shop on more than one channel have a 30% higher Lifetime Value than those who shop on only one
It’s no wonder that, according to Econsultancy, a mere 5% of marketers say they are “very much set up to effectively orchestrate cross-channel marketing activities.”

Who’s Responsible?
Well, to put it bluntly, marketers themselves are partly responsible. The customer experience is broken because the marketer experience is broken.  But it’s not entirely marketing’s fault. It’s the legacy technology that provides only a distorted view of the customer that creates the broken experiences. It is the same technology that, while providing rich behavioral, demographic, and preference data, does not allow for silos of data to be shared across channels.

Is it any wonder that according to Nielsen only 11% of marketers have high confidence in the audience they’re targeting?  There is far too often a disconnect between marketing and commerce that prevents progress, which means that despite having similar goals, campaign planning and campaign execution often happen in a vacuum.

How To Fix What’s Broken
Now that you know what’s broken, it’s time to fix it—a.k.a., use the right technology that will provide you with the capability to personalize the full customer experience at a higher resolution across messaging, web, mobile, and applications.  For B2C marketers it is vital that the technology you use enables you to orchestrate the full experience from message to conversion, as well as extend personalization and consistency across channels—all while increasing engagement by speaking to customers through their channel of preference.

You need to be able to connect the digital dots and create holistic customer profiles: digital dots such as website behaviors, browsing data, physical location, and demographics. You then need to be able to combine those dots with cross channel unique IDs, customer preferences, behavioral data, and channel preferences.

Testing & Optimization
It should come as no surprise to learn that 96% of marketing leaders say customer experience optimization is key to their bottom line. The problem, however, is that these same marketers continue to struggle to understand what content should go to what segments at what point in the customer journey for maximum ROI.

Marketers have a clear and inherent need to optimize a consumer’s path to purchase.  And the way to do that effectively is via testing and optimization. Optimization is about using data to systematically discover and deliver what customers want—and it all starts with testing.  The challenge, though, is that testing needs to be easy enough to be something we always do, yet powerful enough to deliver real results.

The technology you use as a marketer should empower you to find and deliver the best-performing experiences for every journey your customers take as they move between desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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8Apr

Is Marketing Expensive?

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[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Is Marketing Expensive?” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1491642933871{margin-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1491643010158{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]

Expensive mistake: Being cheap about marketing

The related myth is that you can rely on social media to build vitality and attract customers for free.  “Social media is not free, to do it properly takes unbelievable amounts of time, and it’ll typically take six months to a year before you’ve got even slight momentum–it’s not fast.”

If you’re not sure how much money to budget for marketing, it’s suggested to aim for 10 to 20 percent of your targeted gross revenue.  

Marketing is what we like to refer to as Image Development. 

  • Logo
  • Branding
  • Advertising
  • Networking
  • Writing
  • Social Media Development
  • Press Kit Creation and Professional Bio.

I recommend always using an experienced marketing professional for this work and remember when getting quotes…if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Experienced design professionals are worth their weight in gold and while it may be costly, you will save money in the long run by not having to pay someone else to “fix” what wasn’t done correctly the first time.

Costs – Marketing
Marketing is not an expense it’s an investment and it’s important to have a clear understanding on where to start investing. If you can get this, you are one step ahead.  Good marketing is critical to the success of any business.

Many companies view marketing as an expense. Truth is when a business understands the importance and the role it plays in growing a business it’s clear on why it should be considered an investment.  Marketing is crucial when it comes to gaining the attention of prospective consumers and clients, developing products or service demand and turning those prospective consumers into customers.  Marketing has an affect on your sales, pricing, promotions and your advertising strategies.  When understand the importance of marketing you can use it to promote the ongoing transition of your services and products to the consumer; this can create success in your small business.

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16Dec

Reaching Millennials through Smart Marketing

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Millennials, young adults who are currently between 18 and 34, control $1.3 trillion in annual buying power.  This group, making up 25% percent of the population, are so powerful, but also so unique to generations before them.  Their differences touch many aspects of millennials’ lives – from work ethic and preference, to spending habits and value of technology.

The biggest threat to advertisers today is their over-dependence on “traditional” advertising.  Millennials have become one of the smartest, most opinionated and globally aware group of consumers. As a demographic they can be marketers’ worst nightmare, but also potential best friend.

Millennials Express Themselves through Brands, Millennials want brands to have more than just a logo. They want a brand to have a personality, which they can display their ideals through.  This generation shows their beliefs by what they choose to purchase.

The best way for brands to get their messages heard by millennials is to market within them.  Millennials don’t trust advertising; instead they go to their peers for new information.  It’s estimated that 98% millennials are more likely to engage with a friend’s post over a brands post.

The terms “Instagram Famous” and “Facebook Famous” are very existent in today’s society. It doesn’t take you to be an actor or singer anymore to grow a following; instead posting images that have a high relevance to fellow followers can create stardom. These social-media focused millennials grow their own personal following, by posting lifestyle images that express themselves. These images often market brands they believe in, making these “famous millennials” a public to target.

Millennials Want to Be Your Friend, Millennials have more friends online and probably offline than any other generation.  Social media has created an online community for millennials with 46% of the generation reporting to have 200+ Facebook friends, compared to 19% of non-millennials. Millennials base their social existence off their online following, and what their friends think of their image.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MARKETING EFFORTS?
When marketing to millennials it is essential to develop your brand in such a way that millennials would like to befriend it. Millennials don’t want to be “sold” an idea on social media; instead they want to relate to your account. Gain followers, or friends, by posting about more than just the item itself; instead post genuine and sociable core attributes of your brand.

Everything is a Branding Exercise.  The generation is self-absorbed; the reason why millennials constantly post status updates, tweet and are on Instagram. They make statements of where they go and what they wear, as a way for others to notice them. Take notice of the not so subliminal messages millennials are sending through social media, and make your brand relatable.

Millennials Want to Make a Difference. Millennials are loyal to brands that they believe are making a difference. With their generation being the technology era, they have become more aware of the demand to be philanthropic in today’s world. This generation is less motivated by cost, rather by the aim to make the world more compassionate, innovative and sustainable. Brands that stand for more than their bottom line, receive greater millennial brand love. They support cause-campaigns, with almost 50% of millennials more willing to make a purchase if it supports a cause.

SUMMARY:
Reveal the behind-the-scenes story of your brand, keeping authenticity in mind. Millennials are mindful of their impact on the environment, and want to know how your product is made. Highlight your philosophy and reasons behind it.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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23Nov

Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Media

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With the new year upon us, resolutions can be hard to accomplish – especially for businesses. Whatever your resolution may be, changes in your marketing strategies can be a positive step to consider. It can put a fresh spin on gaining more outside interest in your company, and give you the extra push you need to accomplish your goal. In today’s world, there’s a struggle between the choice of using “traditional” and “non-traditional” media.

Whether or not to advertise through a print medium, online advertising, radio advertising, or jump on the band wagon and start posting about your business on Facebook can be a difficult choice.

The question that most people seem to be asking themselves is, “Which is more beneficial?”

Traditional media still reaches the masses while non-traditional has the ability to hone in on your target geographically and behaviorally.

The truth is that both are equally important. There is an emerging trend of businesses using social media and non-traditional media platforms, but traditional media is still valuable, important and resourceful. Combining both options is optimal.

The secret is figuring out which media source reaches your customers specifically.
Each platform serves a different community, so you will need to do some research, and find out what your customers use to receive information.

Due to the variety of platforms available, it’s crucial to understand and acknowledge where they receive their information. Even with this knowledge, marketing can still be daunting and tedious.

At IndiVisual Creations, we’ve had a lot of success for our clients by combining traditional advertising with new media options.  We tailor-make our services to fit each of our clients’ needs, and put our best foot forward to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. We take pride in supplying you with services you can rely on. Give us a call, or visit our website to learn more.

“Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Media”

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25May

Using Social Media as a Tool for Success

Posted by: IndiVisualCreations Categories: Digital & Social Media Marketing
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Social media is similar to starting a new business, and with it comes many obstacles: how to treat your customers, present yourself to the community, and effectively spread the word about what you do and what makes you different from your competitor.

Same as a new business you have to hire a friendly person to work the front counter is a good way to create a welcoming atmosphere.   Your Pages should be just as inviting.  If done correctly, you will begin to build your clients, generate a voice in a online community, and keep your fans coming back.

This might sound easy, but Social Media can be hard to maintain once you get it started.  What to post about and who to build relationships with can be tricky.  Here’s a list of tactics to use to keep your Social Media thriving:

Actively Engage with your Customers:  Don’t post only about your company.  Use interactive ways to promote your business by talking about current events going on in the community, or sharing posts made by others that will generate conversation relevant to your customer”s interests.

Measure your Success:  Track who your followers are, and make sure you are reaching out to the appropriate audience.  Having your message fall on deaf ears is not only frustrating; it’s a waste of time.

Ask for Advice from Others:  Using other people’s strategies to your advantage can really help, and most people are willing to share how they use their Social Media pages.  Getting advice will not only help you, it will let you engage and build stronger relationships in the online community.  After all, social media is a group effort.
Get into a Routine:  Make sure you stay on a schedule.  This gives your fans a time frame for when you will or will not post, which helps keeps things rolling.
At IndiVisual Creations, we provide customized Social Media Packages to fit our customers’ specific needs.

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15Apr

Getting More Exposure without Spending More

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]First of all, no matter what type of business you have, it is valuable to the media. Not only are you going to potentially spend money with them for advertising, but your customers are also an asset, along with what your business offers.

Assign a value to your assets.  This is important when it is time to negotiate your advertising schedules.  Assets include what you can use to leverage your media buys.
-Can you include the media on onsite signage or promotional pieces?

Assets include more than brick and mortar:
– Do you do special events that the media can be a part of?   (Ex:  Sponsorship Spot Opportunities)
– What about promotional materials such as brochures?  (Ex: The companies Logo placement on xyz brochures)
– Does your website reach a large audience?  (Ex:  Offering Backlinking – which is a double win with SEO increase on both ends)
– What is your email database quantity?
– Whatever you are using to reach your audience, this is worth something to the media.

Once you’ve assigned a value on everything you can offer the media, it’s time negotiate!
– Offer your assets in exchange for more spots, bigger ads and extra exposure.  There are several other ways you can save your company money and get more “bang for your buck” with the money you do spend which include: On-Air Giveaways:  Media outlets love to do giveaways.
– Do you have something to offer them to give away on the air or for online contests?
– Give them something to give away, along with talking points about your business and what you offer.
– Having a deejay talk about your park may seem more credible than your spot to a consumer.

Trade:  Trading for air time is a great way to increase your schedule without paying hard costs.  However, if you trade, make sure you are trading “dollar for dollar,” meaning, you want to be able to decide when and where your traded spots are running, not ROS (run of schedule).  It would be wasteful if your traded spots ran overnight or in a time period when no one is listening or seeing your advertising.  Billboards/Sponsorships: Radio and TV stations have opportunities to “sponsor” a weather forecast or traffic update.

WINNING TIP TO SAVE YOU!  Never buy media without asking for a billboard, for no extra charge.

Third-Party Tie-ins:  Your media reps are certain to have other clients that could benefit from associating with your business.

If you are buying media to promote an event:  Offer event inclusion to your media account reps’ other clients.  For example, one of their clients may be trying to launch a new product or service.  Let them set up a one-day product demonstration in exchange for more exposure on the radio or TV station media you are paying for.

Digital (website, email blasts, e-coupons):  All media outlets are using digital components to reach their listeners and viewers. Ask for inclusion on their next email blast. Being associated with the radio or TV’s brand is a great way to extend that loyalty to your business.

Other ways you can enhance your print media buy without spending additional dollars is to ask for: Larger ads: Since you are already committing to advertising in their publication, ask for a larger ad. If you want to run 3 ads in a publication, ask for the 12x rate. They may not give that to you, but they are probably willing to compromise by offering you the 6x rate.
Color: Ask for color even if you are buying a black and white ad. You can provide them with a black and white and color version of your ad, and if they have space on a page that is already going to be in color, they may give it to you instead of running a “house” ad, just to keep you happy and also make their publication look better. Website exposure:   Ask for exposure on their website as added-value to your print schedule, as well as inclusion on e-blasts.  Do you like the added-value ideas outlined in this article?

Don’t have time or have a person on staff dedicated to solely to marketing or advertising? Let IndiVisual Creations help you get the most out of what you plan on spending. Contact us and we’re ON it!’, ‘Getting More Exposure without Spending More'[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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