If you want your customers to choose your product over your competitors’ product, then you are required to reach your customers in the right way and create awareness about your product. You need the right advertising strategy to make your customers aware of the presence of your product and what it has to offer. An advertising strategy plays a vital role in boosting your sales by convincing your customers to buy your product. Therefore, it is imperative to learn about the concept of advertising strategy.
In this article, you will learn about what is advertising strategy, the definition of the advertising strategy, how to create an advertising strategy, types of advertising strategies.
Table of Contents
What is Advertising strategy?
An advertising strategy can be defined as a step by step plan to reach your customers and to convince them to buy your products. A well-planned advertising strategy not only conveys the benefits of your product but will also persuade your customers to choose your product over the outcomes of your competitors.
Advertising is a method of promoting your product or service. The purpose of advertising is to reach people who are willing to pay to buy your product and service. And a strategy is a step by step plan to persuade your customers to choose your product and service over the product or services of your competitors.
An effective advertising strategy gives you maximum return on investment. Therefore, it is necessary to choose the right advertising strategy to promote your products and services. The advertising strategy that worked for you in the past doesn’t have to also work for you at present because people change their perception changes that cause the change in requirement.
Why are Advertising Strategies Important?
An advertising strategy is important for any business mainly because it assists in managing advertising budgets effectively. Rather than spending money haphazardly, a well-outlined strategy ensures every dollar is used optimally for maximum return on investment.
Furthermore, an advertising strategy is tailored to help a business reach its specific objectives. Whether it’s increasing brand awareness, acquiring new customers, or fostering customer loyalty, a targeted strategy supports achieving these goals.
Equally important is the role an advertising strategy plays in connecting with the target audience. It’s not just about reaching a vast audience; it’s about reaching the right people. A good strategy helps to identify and speak directly to your target customers, using messages that resonate with them and induce the desired actions.
Lastly, a comprehensive advertising strategy is directly linked to achieving revenue targets. It outlines a roadmap to convert market leads into loyal customers, thus impacting the bottom line positively. By guiding product positioning, pricing, distribution, and communication, it provides a holistic approach that is instrumental in driving sales growth. In short, an advertising strategy is a key to scaling your business sustainably and profitably.
6 Steps to Create Advertising Strategies
Creating an advertising strategy is a creative process. You are required to understand your business and your target audience to create an effective advertising strategy that maximises the sales of your product. In this section, you will learn about the steps that you should follow to create an effective advertising strategy for your business.
1. Determine the purpose of advertising
The first step is to determine the purpose of advertising. There can be different purposes for which you want to advertise. For example, to boost the sales, to promote your newly launched product, to attract foot traffic in the store, to increase traffic on the website, to make people aware of the benefits of the product.
Having the clarity of the purpose of advertising is a step forward in the direction of creating an effective advertising strategy. You can select media platforms on which you want to advertise your product and services and can also decide how much you want to spend on your advertising campaign.
2. Determine your target audience
The second and even a crucial step in creating an effective advertising strategy is to determine the audience that you want to target using your advertising strategy. Knowing the audience that you want to focus on makes your advertising strategy more effective. You will create content that will grab the attention of your target audience.
Determining your target audience is not as easy as it seems. It is a complex process to identify your target audience. Your target customer is a person who will ultimately buy your product. You can determine your target audience by creating a profile of the customer who will buy your product. Next, you should evaluate the influence of the people around your target customer, such as family members, colleagues, friends, etc.
who will influence the decision of your target customer. For Instance, if you are into the business of selling cars, then your target audience will be the people with regular income. The people who have a stable job or who run a successful business. The decision of these people will be influenced by the people they are working with, their friends, their children, and their spouse. Therefore, make sure that when you are creating an advertising strategy, then don’t forget to target this group of people.
3. Decide your advertising budget size
The next important step is to determine the budget for your advertising campaign. It is essential to decide your advertising budget before you decide on your advertising strategy. Your strategies will be ineffective if it does not match your budget.
Sometimes a low budget advertising can do wonders for your business if you choose the right strategy that fits your budget.
4. Selecting media for advertising and deciding the schedule
Once you have determined your product and target audience, the next step that you are required to take is to choose the type of media that you want to use to reach your audience. There are many advertising media such as
1. Print media – Newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, posters, banners, etc.
2. Digital media – website advertising, social media advertising, world wide web, email advertising, youtube ads, Television ads.
3. Direct mails
4. Word of mouth
5. Outdoor advertising – billboards, advertising on public transportation like public buses and cabs.
6. Trade shows.
7. Radio advertising
All of these advertising mediums have their advantages and disadvantages. You can choose one or a group of advertising mediums to implement your strategy. For example, if your target audience is older people than advertisement medium like television ads and newspaper ads will be the right choice of medium to advertise your product.
On the other hand, if you are targeting youngsters, then to reach them, you should opt for social media advertising, youtube ads, and the world wide web. Because nowadays, most youngsters spend their time on these platforms and spend less time watching television or reading newspapers.
Therefore, the right advertising medium can help increase the return on investment on your advertising strategy.
5. Implementation of the advertising program
The next step is to implement your advertising strategy as planned. The implementation of advertising strategies is referred to as an advertising campaign. An advertising campaign is a different concept from an advertising strategy, but an advertising strategy is used as guidelines to create an advertising campaign. As it is crucial to achieving across the board consistency. Everything that is part of your advertising campaign such as music, artwork, images should be as it is decided in the advertising strategy. It is essential to achieve consistency when you are advertising your product through several advertising mediums. Make sure to use one slogan, image, or a music track that creates the coherency of your advertisement on different advertising platforms.
6. Measure the effectiveness of advertising
The last step is to measure the effectiveness of your advertising strategy. Whether your advertising strategy was successful or not will depend on the return on investment that you get by the implementation of an advertising strategy.
Check whether your objective is met or not. For example, if you aimed to boost sales, then check how much your advertising strategy was successful in achieving the desired number.
Types of advertising strategies
The following are the different types of advertising strategies.
1. Seasonal advertising
This type of advertising strategy is used for the advertising of seasonal products or advertising of your business or products during a particular season. Several huge companies swear by this advertising strategy and advertise their products right before the beginning of the season and through the season. This advertising strategy proves to be beneficial as it provides a high return on investment. Because companies spend their money on advertisements when there is a need for their products in the market rather than wasting money on ads throughout the year.
For example, during important festivals like Diwali, Dussehra, Christmas, companies like Amazon and Flipkart run-heavy advertising, which results in the revenue generation of millions to these companies. Seasonal advertising is not only adopted by giant companies, but it is also popularly used by small businesses to attract customers.
2. Social media advertising
Social media advertising is one of the most popular advertising strategies used by companies to advertise their products and services and to stay in touch with their customers. Companies create their social media handles on different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, etc. and share information about their business on these platforms. People can not only learn about the products and services offered by companies but can also interact with the markets through these platforms.
Companies run their advertising campaigns on these platforms and also take the help of social media personalities to promote their products. For example, Olay company advertise their face cream with the help of social media influencers and mobile companies like Redmi and Oppo also support the latest models of their mobile phones on their social media handles and even with the help of social media influencers.
Social media has become the first choice of advertising of both small as well as large businesses. Businesses are not required to spend millions on advertising using social media advertising strategies like they are required to pay when promoting their business on other advertising platforms.
Moreover, using social media advertising, they can learn about the response of people towards their advertising campaign and can make changes as per their reaction.
3. Ownership advertising
In an ownership advertising strategy, you make your customers participate in your ad campaign. For example, coke asked their customers to share their selfies with a coke bottle on their social media platforms and tag them in their posts.
In this way, they indirectly made people buy their product, and by sharing on their social media platform, they make their customers advocate their product to their friends and family.
4. Modeling the advertising strategy
The modeling advertising strategy is when companies make the use of celebrities or renowned personalities to advertise their products. It is an effective advertising strategy as the followers of the superstar will be influenced to buy your product.
5. Utility advertising strategy
The utility advertising strategy is a unique advertising strategy where you advertise your product by helping people achieve their goals.
6. Evocation advertising strategy
This type of advertising strategy to attract the attention of people by evoking strong emotions in them. You create a positive image of your brand and product by connecting with people at an emotional level.
Therefore, many companies are making use of advertisements that reminds them of their parents or children or pets. In this way, they leave a mark in the minds of people. This strategy is useful if you want to make your brand accessible.
Examples of Advertising Strategies
1. Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy used to increase a website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). An example of this is P&G’s skincare brand, Olay, which skillfully targeted specific keywords, ensuring their products appear prominently when customers are searching for skincare solutions online.
2. Social Ads
Social ads are promotional content served to users of social networking platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. A fitting example is Nike’s “Dream Crazy” campaign on Facebook, which focused on emotional storytelling instead of direct product promotion, leading to an increase in brand engagement and conversation.
3. Amazon Advertising
Amazon Advertising is a service that businesses use to promote their products on Amazon.com, in Amazon-owned and operated sites, and across the web for visibility and product discovery. Bose effectively leverages this service, ensuring their high-quality audio equipment is suggested to Amazon users searching for related products.
4. Email Marketing
Email Marketing is a highly effective digital marketing strategy where businesses send emails to prospects and customers to build relationships, brand awareness, and drive conversions. An example is Buzzfeed’s weekly newsletters, which contain engaging content from their site, maintaining readership and website traffic.
5. Native Advertising
Native advertising is a form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed. Airbnb has successfully utilized this tactic by sponsoring content on the New York Times, providing articles that blend seamlessly into the rest of the editorial content.
6. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing engages individuals with influence over potential buyers and orients marketing activities around these influencers. This is evident in Fashion Nova’s strategy, which involves partnering with high-profile celebrities such as Cardi B and Kylie Jenner to enhance their brand visibility on social media platforms.
7. Discounts and Promotions
This strategy consists of offering temporary price reductions or value-added services to encourage higher sales volumes. Notably, Walmart regularly offers “Rollbacks” on a vast range of products, reinforcing its reputation as a cost-effective retailer.
8. Contests
Contests are a marketing strategy that involves game-like elements to spur audience engagement. A classic example is LEGO’s “Ideas” platform, which invites customers to design unique Lego sets, with the potential for those sets to be manufactured and sold.
9. Guerrilla Marketing
Guerrilla marketing is a strategy that focuses on low-cost unconventional marketing tactics that yield maximum results. Red Bull is known for such high-impact, unconventional marketing stunts, like the “Stratos” space jump, generating significant attention and buzz.
10. Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs reward repeat customers with points, merchandise or discounts. Starbucks has effectively employed this strategy via their loyalty program, which offers perks like free drinks and birthday treats, encouraging customer retention and repeat business.
11. Mobile Ads
Mobile ads are internet ads that appear on mobile devices. Coca-Cola effectively uses location-targeted mobile ads, which are triggered when users are near retail stores or vending machines, leading to increased impulse buying.
12. Podcast Ads
Podcast ads are promotional content within podcasts, designed to reach engaged listeners. An example is Mailchimp’s ad in the “Serial” podcast, which not only raised their brand awareness but also engrained their brand into a wider cultural dialogue.
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