Maximize Your Message: The 3 Top (Paid) Methods of Local Small Business Advertising

Marketing and advertising encompass many different ideas, methods and motives. But when small businesses start to strategize about where the most “bang for their bucks” are, there’s no question that there are three main types of advertising that will deliver their message precisely and effectively. Print, Outdoor Digital and Online advertising are by far the best investments for smaller companies due to their cost effectiveness and targeted delivery, among other advantages.

Print
Effective small business advertising depends on one thing: ROI. What’s coming in versus what’s going out is the main concern and traditional print advertising is in no way a great example of an exciting (or even visible) ROI. However, there are several ways to make print work for your company in a big way. Instead of larger local dailies, seek out smaller weeklies or dailies that are locally owned and produced. Every major Canadian city has dozens of smaller papers targeted to not only the mass public, but also to smaller sectors of your audience. Generally these organizations are much more likely to give you a deal on a bigger spot or a package for return customers as well. One big advantage of print as well is that paper tends to stick around a little longer.

Outdoor Digital Advertising
Long thought of as terribly expensive and only for larger companies, today’s digital outdoor advertising companies are breaking off into smaller, locally owned business ready to help other locally owned companies make their mark on the town. Digital advertising is the most effective out-of-home advertising platform; LED technology can rotate the images so quickly that the drive-time audiences have no choice but to take a gander at companies’ larger-than-life graphics. And contrary to popular opinion, this form of advertising can be much cheaper that many others, including print. The key to hitting it big with this platform is finding a smaller company with stellar locations around the city.

Online Advertising
Quickly becoming the marketing darling of local business marketing, online ads are fast proving their worth in regards to cost and ROI. Online giants like Google offer quick, free keyword research tools and a cheap extremely target way to reach target audiences. Using previously stored information about everyone and anyone who has used their search engine services, these companies know exactly who to flash a company’s ad to. Other organizations and online platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have followed suit complimenting their free services with paid, pay-per-click ads. Companies only pay when an ad has been “clicked” or followed to the exact path the has been strategically optimized for potential customers. ( An important note here is to have a fantastic landing point for those who are clicking on the ads – your website should be a virtual sales tool, and how!)

Advertising tools and marketing for small business shouldn’t have to be hit or miss – the methods are there, the costs can be low while the impact colossal. Smaller companies need to squeeze the life out of every marketing and advertising dollar and these three platforms are the best and most successful way to do so.