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Promotional Campaigns Free or Fee: Online and Traditional Advertising

Tips to promote your business and generate more profits.

Do you have an Action Roadmap™ to increase sales? Like you, many small business owners, start-ups, and entrepreneurs are unaware of their options. Six ways to promote your business for free:

  1. Set up a business profile on Google Places (Google Plus) and Bing.
  2. Register with online directories of your local Chamber of Commerce, college or university alumni and associations you are a member of. Request a link to your website (which is excellent for your SEO).
  3. Please read our blog to learn about the top online directories in Toronto and Canada.
  4. Utilize social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest
  5. Post comments on business- and industry-related blogs
  6. Upload your video to YouTube. Often, journalists search YouTube for local business people to interview. Create a business video to be “seen” and “found” on the internet.

Advertising is defined as paid media space, including traditional advertising such as TV, radio, and print. Online advertising includes Google’s AdWords (pay-per-click advertising), banner ads, mobile marketing, directory listings etc.

Wherever you advertise, it must be part of an overall marketing strategy and plan. Rifle shooting, i.e. trying a little of this and that, hoping something will be successful, is not the right approach. McCabe Marketing will develop your Marketing Action Roadmap™ before you invest in any advertising. As a business owner, you can’t afford to take “detours” that waste your time and hard-earned profits!

SUCCESS TIP 1: To evaluate your investment, every marketing and advertising initiative must be measured. Ensure that you have a plan and that your staff records the source of every contact, such as phone calls, emails, walk-ins, and referrals. It is critical to capture this information at the initial point of contact when it is fresh in their mind.

Clients often mention that most people have found them online, and we always ask our prospective clients how they heard about McCabe Marketing. If they say online, it is essential to probe and ask relevant questions just as we do:

  • Did you read the online article in The Toronto Star or watch the online interview on the CTV website? (The objective is to reinforce the marketing expertise and authority of the company by mentioning the media in which you appeared.)
  • Was it an online directory?
  • Did you find us on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn?
  • Was it Google? Were we at the top of the page on Google? (which may mean it was an ad.)
  • Most importantly, what keywords did you type in to find us?

Online Advertising

What’s the digital version of the Yellow Pages? Google Ad. Because 85% of Canadians use Google, McCabe Marketing only runs our “pay-per-click” (PPC) ad campaigns on Google.

How does it work? As the advertiser, you write a short ad using 130 characters maximum. You bid on “keywords,” which are groups of words that your prospective customers type into Google’s search bar. When you set up your campaign, you “bid” how much you will pay for an ad.

How many people see your ad (known as ‘impressions’) is not essential. What’s fantastic is that you only pay for people who click-thru to your website.

Once a potential client is on your website, the rest is up to you. Do you have the information they are looking for? Is your website easy to navigate? Is your contact information (telephone and email) available, and do you have a clear call to action? Learn more about practical, easy-to-implement website marketing tips.

Client case study – Dream Home Creations doubled their sales leads.

Dream Home Creations is an interior design firm and home renovation services specialist. They had written their own Google ads, which had limited results. The company wanted improved outcomes and needed an overall marketing strategy to generate more leads. McCabe Marketing developed a comprehensive marketing strategy, which included an analysis of their Google ads, the results of these ads and a review of their website. Other key recommendations included website changes to improve usability and content, in-depth keyword research (words that are typed into Google to find you), rewriting their ads and creating a landing page. McCabe Marketing also recommended a top Search Engine firm specializing in managing Google ads (PPC) campaigns.

McCabe Marketing developed a comprehensive marketing strategy, which included an analysis of their Google ads, results, and website. Key recommendations included website changes to improve usability and content, in-depth keyword research (words that people type into Google to find you), rewriting their ads, and using a landing page.

Hiring a professional versus the “do-it-yourself” approach made sense to Dream Home Creations. Why? Many prospective customers contacted them when they were “over their heads” with their home renovation project. Please contact us now to learn how we can help your business become more successful.

SUCCESS TIP 2:  You should never pay the published rates known in the advertising industry as a rate card. You shouldn’t pay the sticker price on a car or your print, TV, or radio ad!

Local TV Advertising

Regional advertising on a TV listing channel or a local station is probably more affordable than you think. There are often specials for first-time advertisers, slow periods (when discounts are usually offered), and bonus periods (when you provide more than the basic ad). Are you interested in learning more?

Surgical Weight Loss Centre specializes in medical treatment for weight loss and obesity and offers the Lap-Band and Gastric Balloon programs. SWLC was open to trying TV advertising as part of its integrated marketing plan. However, based on previous estimates, SWLC felt the cost to create and air a commercial was too expensive.

McCabe Marketing had been hired to project manage the creation of a series of videos and proposed to create a commercial leveraging the production company and actors already engaged. The incremental cost to write and edit the commercial was a fraction of the cost of producing a commercial from scratch.

McCabe Marketing project managed the commercial from start to finish. By understanding the client’s key messages, a creative brief was written, a script was developed, and the commercial was filmed. We worked closely with the production company and played an integral part in the editing process. The ad has aired in local and regional markets.

We can recommend the best options for your marketing dollars when you contact us for a free, no-pressure consultation.

Outdoor Advertising

If your office is located near a billboard, bus, or subway station, an outdoor ad may be a great way to increase your walk-in traffic and attract new customers. As a small business, we realize you don’t have a considerable budget, so McCabe Marketing will only recommend cost-effective options that can help increase your profits.

A new client across the street from a subway station was open to trying an advertisement in the subway or on a billboard. Together, we researched his options. He obtained a quote from a company, and compared to their “rate card,” the quote was reasonable. However, McCabe Marketing negotiated a better deal, and no commission was paid to us. How was that possible? A savvy marketing consultant is familiar with the media buying process and knows how to negotiate ‘extras.’ Typically, in these situations, the sales rep is eager to close the sale, and the media company is more flexible when a consultant or agency acting on behalf of a client is involved.

Tips for revenue-generating ads:  Less is more! Fewer words, a good image (picture), and a solid call to action, such as a time-limited discount or special offer, are critical.

We can recommend the best options for your marketing dollars by developing your action roadmap. Contact us now to explore your options.