The advertising landscape is becoming more convoluted than ever. There are so many different advertising mediums and platforms businesses can use to their advantage, such as web, print, social and traditional media, to reach their target audience.
With the wide array of options available for businesses to advertise their products and services, they sometimes struggle to ensure their marketing budget is spent on mediums and campaigns that actually generate results with the right audience.
Let’s take a look at some of these popular advertising mediums and the pros and cons of using them.
Online Advertising
With online advertising, everything becomes reachable because it does not have any geographical barriers. This fact allows international brands and companies to connect with anyone using the Internet via platforms such as blogs, websites and social media channels.
The methods of display advertising and Pay-Per-Click (PPC), are campaigns used in association with search engines or social media. Google and Microsoft’s Bing are the Search Engines that dominate online search.
According to a comScore report in 2016, Google performed 63.8% (approximately 11.1 billion) of desktop searches and 21.1% (about 3.7 billion) for Bing sites, conducted in December 2015. Through proper utilisation and optimisation PPC and display ads, a business can increase sales and leads.
PROS: In a modern-day world, the large majority of people engage with the Internet on a daily basis. Therefore, considering advertising on a website or in search results can help you to easily get information about your products and services in front of your audience.
You can also analyse the effectiveness of your online advertising by looking at the traffic that comes to your website and the conversions that result.
In the case of social media, using social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn are also good.
CONS: According to Hubspot’s marketing statistics, in 2017 63% of marketers say generating traffic and leads is their top challenge. This indicates that it’s not always easy to use online advertising and you need to ensure you seek the right help to ensure it’s effective.
Print Advertising
Print advertising is not yet dead. People may think it’s a dying medium, as technology continues to develop, however print is still as alive as ever and continues to evolve.
Based on Pitney Bowes survey, 76% of Small Businesses Believe Ideal Marketing Mix Includes both Physical and Digital Communications.
PROS: Although print is not new, consumers and businesses use it because it can be quite cost effective. In variable printing, they also can leverage the advancements in printing technology. For example, in printing business cards, they have the option to customise and put every element to make something eye catching.
For business starters who lack the resources for advertising, print ads are a perfect choice.
They can run mailer campaigns and customise a postcard with the receiver’s name on the product. They can also create coupons with serial numbers as a bonus gift to loyal customers.
According to a survey conducted by Statistic Brain 72% of the sample population responded “yes” to the question, “Do you judge a company of a person by the quality of their business card?”. The card printing business is important because they print business cards that can help an individual or a company to build its image with potential customers.
People who choose to sit down while reading or scanning brochures, magazines, and newspapers are not easily distracted. They opt to be more engaged in what they are doing. It’s also a plus when pass-along readership happens, where a reader doesn’t only read the print material but also passes it on to family members or collegues.
Billboards and outdoor signs also quickly catch the by-passers’ attention.
CONS: The thing with print advertising is that it’s hard to manifest the Return on Investment (ROI) to a marketer because it’s a one-way communication.
Sometimes, it’s not undeniable that print has a limited readership and that you don’t always have the control of ad placement, especially in newspapers.
For outdoor signs, people may not even notice the advertising and exposure is often short.
Traditional Broadcast Media Advertising
Traditional broadcast media advertising transmits ads and information through the use of television, radio, films and music.
PROS: The good thing is that it can reach to wide-range audiences at the same time.
Credibility can be established faster, especially if there is an emotional impact felt by the viewer. Through visual elements and sound, viewers can understand more of what the product or service is all about.
Infomercials are also another popular medium where products may require some explanation or demonstration of the functional benefits to buyers for them to consider.
CONS: Using broadcast media advertising can be very expensive.
Your potential audience may also switch to other channels or pre record shows to fast forward during the ads to avoid watching them.
While reaching wider audiences is an advantage, the con is that it lacks specific targeting. For this reason, there is no guarantee that a company can even reach the right audience.
Email Advertising
Email marketing campaigns and eNewsletters reach the intended audience via the email medium.
In this type of advertising, a company sends an email message directly to a customer or potential customers Inbox. They directly promote a product or service and can offer discounts or special promotions that may encourage shoppers to buy.
PROS:
Marketers can deliver a lengthy message if needed and as a reader, they have time to go back to it during their free time. You can measure if email marketing engages with readers by monitoring the analytics around the open rate, click-through, and leads.
CONS: If the receiver of the email subscribed to your list or is a previous customer, it can have a positive impact. If you approach someone ‘cold’ from a marketing list or similar, it could result in frustration by the receiver and a negative association with your brand. Or they may just delete or ignore your email.
Customers can also experience “Inbox Fatigue” where they’re constantly inundated with email marketing. It can result in frustration and people either send the emails straight to their trash or spam folder.
So How Do You Know Which Mediums to Use?
To know what type of advertising platforms will work for you and your business, you need to do your research, develop a clear strategy and test the results so you can refine your approach. As a study by Nielsen found on Global Trust in Advertising, “Reaching the right audience, having your message resonate positively and driving the desired customer reaction is required for advertising success — no matter the medium. There is considerable upside potential to using a digital strategy, but using it effectively is critical to success”.
For more reading on advertising and how you can use it more effectively in your business, check out these related Marketing.com.au articles: