Advertising seems to be a bit of a dirty word here on the Great Sacandaga Lake! We spend all this money on an ad, then don't see an increase in our business - or even know if it REALLY worked for us.
Wouldn't is be great if every customer came in and told us how they heard about our special or what made them come in THAT day? Then we would know where to spend our money and what had a good return for us!
I know that most of us are pressed for time, and we generally so what we have always done because those are the people that come and speak with us. HOWEVER, I encourage you to take a look at what you spent on what last year. Then take a look at sales and see if there is a correlation between ads and sales.
Another tool is to look at your web site traffic during the duration of an ad campaign - to see if more people than normal looked at the site. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to see if traffic converts to sales.
So you are looking at the numbers ... and you are not thrilled with the results..... Now what????
It is possible to come up with a plan and allocate your advertising. Print is expensive, but many tourists - and local people pick up the local papers to see what to do and where to go. You can always downsize your ad to a quarter page and still have a presence in these papers. Consistency is key!
Also - USE your Facebook and Social Networking pages. Make sure to get a QR code that drives people to your web site or Facebook page - THEN UPDATE your pages!!!!
Smart phones have changed the world, and even when using print you need to follow through on your web work.
Facebook allows you to set a daily or lifetime budget for an ad campaign, so you can throw $10 at it and see if it works for you. I did - and it did!
I also found a great publication that has done a REALLY great job for many of my retailers, restaurants and crafters. The Adirondack Explorer. It caters to small businesses like ours, has affordable pricing and hangs around for a long time because there are great articles about hikes to do etc. They also work with an online Almanac called the Adirondack Almanac which is a blog with much traffic. Anyway - if you are looking to speak to people outside our immediate area but still visitors to the park ( And IF you sell anything on line) I encourage you to check out this publication.
SO in recap What should your advertising plan be?
Wouldn't is be great if every customer came in and told us how they heard about our special or what made them come in THAT day? Then we would know where to spend our money and what had a good return for us!
I know that most of us are pressed for time, and we generally so what we have always done because those are the people that come and speak with us. HOWEVER, I encourage you to take a look at what you spent on what last year. Then take a look at sales and see if there is a correlation between ads and sales.
Another tool is to look at your web site traffic during the duration of an ad campaign - to see if more people than normal looked at the site. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to see if traffic converts to sales.
So you are looking at the numbers ... and you are not thrilled with the results..... Now what????
It is possible to come up with a plan and allocate your advertising. Print is expensive, but many tourists - and local people pick up the local papers to see what to do and where to go. You can always downsize your ad to a quarter page and still have a presence in these papers. Consistency is key!
Also - USE your Facebook and Social Networking pages. Make sure to get a QR code that drives people to your web site or Facebook page - THEN UPDATE your pages!!!!
Smart phones have changed the world, and even when using print you need to follow through on your web work.
Facebook allows you to set a daily or lifetime budget for an ad campaign, so you can throw $10 at it and see if it works for you. I did - and it did!
I also found a great publication that has done a REALLY great job for many of my retailers, restaurants and crafters. The Adirondack Explorer. It caters to small businesses like ours, has affordable pricing and hangs around for a long time because there are great articles about hikes to do etc. They also work with an online Almanac called the Adirondack Almanac which is a blog with much traffic. Anyway - if you are looking to speak to people outside our immediate area but still visitors to the park ( And IF you sell anything on line) I encourage you to check out this publication.
SO in recap What should your advertising plan be?
- Some AFFORDABLE Print with a QR code (you need repetition, so pick a series of ads rather than just one big one)
- Use your Facebook and other social networking. Just take the time once a week to post SOMETHING! A new product, daily specials, an old favorite and pf course PHOTOS!!!! People love looking at pictures. Pick a post and test it with a $10 ad - and see what happens!!!!!
- If its appropriate - use an area guide like my VisitSacandaga.com People are using their phones to find info now - be where they can see you!
My site is a little different than most as the focus is to send them to YOUR web site and social networking rather than keep them on the site. We are up to 30,000 unique visitors/month in our top months and looking at 5,000 Facebook likes by January.
There are also great seasonal guides put out by the local papers. Since they hang around all season and have web support they may be worth it for you. - What ever you choose, make sure to be consistent and repeat your ads. Look at your traffic and see what works for YOUR business!!!
Good Luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment