Advertising in an Economic Slump
Yes, I said economic slump. Some say downturn, some say recession, and even more say that we are in for a major depression. I think it is more a matter of perception, I like to think of what we are enduring as a slump, those days that we just don't want to get out of bed for. When we have a down day or even week, is our life over? No, we just need to look at things differently. Many of our mothers have said, "Every cloud has a silver lining". Yes the economy is reacting to many different factors and the markets are way down, oil prices are way down and the media is spinning the story more and more to get more attention for their product. Did you know that the number of millionaires in the world is growing despite the economic slump? So what is the difference? Why are some people and businesses still making money while others are losing everything they have? Perception, if you wake up and say this is going to be a bad day, it probably will be. If you say the economy is so bad that less people are going to buy from you, you are probably right. Conversely, if you believe that your product, business and future is the greatest thing since sliced bread, then it can be. That's right, "Can Be" that is if you do something about it. You can say all that you want that you cannot afford to advertise because of the economy, and watch as fewer and fewer people buy from you because they don't know that you exist. Or you can find less expensive and more powerful mediums to advertise on and expand your market. Think of this, if 1 out of every 100 people that know of your business buys from you, then if only 100 people know of your business then you won't be in business very long. However, if 1000, 10,000, 1 million people know of your business you are on the way to being the next millionaire. So what is the answer?
First off, if you don't believe that you have the best company, product, and service, then get a job working for someone else. If you do believe that you are number 1, then tell people, and tell a lot of people.
How do you tell a lot of people, quickly, effectively and cost efficiently?
On the internet, with over a billion people (give or take a few hundred million) surfing the internet at any one time, your chances are pretty good. Think of what they are doing when they are surfing the internet, nothing just reading, watching, and listening. So, send them a message, let them know about your business.
If the internet is such a large captive audience, how do I reach them?
Start with a Website! If you don't have a website, get one and get one as fast as you can, because people need to know how great you and your business are. It gives you the ideal forum to capture and captivate a large audience that is willing to listen to what you have to say.
Is that all I have to do, put up a website and the will come?
No, there are a number of factors that you need to consider when you make the investment into a website and all are very important or it will be an expense and not an investment.
Some companies choose to buy a domain name, pick a free template on-line, find a place to host the site and boom they are on the web at little to no cost. Cost effective? Maybe. Will people find them, and if they do will they come back? Not likely. If the site is not marketed properly to the search engines, people won't find the site. If the site is not graphically appealing and looks like every other site, they won't come back. So you have made a sign, and turned it backwards so no one can see it. Cost = very little. Effective = not at all.
The next option involves spending a some cash, but how much now, and how much later is up to you. For under a $1000 you can have a very nice static website built that has a couple of pages and may include a small amount of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). A static website means that it does not change and with having some SEO work done people can actually find you if they look hard enough. But after seeing your site once, why would they come back to see the same thing. A website should change frequently, the layout can be the same but the content (text & pictures) need to be fresh everytime your potential customer comes back. However, you have opted for a static website, so you will need to hire a webmaster to update your content, over time that can get expensive.
Another option involves spending a fair bit of money ($5,000-10,000) but results in a great creatively designed website with usually superb SEO that you can change as often as you want. It is called a dynamic website and includes a content management system that allows you to be the webmaster. This is one of the best options, but for many new and small companies it is out of reach.
So what is the best answer, a website from Advertising In Focus with the new AIFPlus Content Management System. Check out Our Rates to find the website that will work for you now and into the future.
