The blog is arguably one of today’s greatest tools for small businesses. Why is the blog so great? Here are a few reasons:
There are two parts to any successful online campaigns – the website and online marketing. Often we see small businesses complete their website and stop there as if the job is done. It isn’t. In fact, it’s only the beginning.
Having a good website does not only mean having a website that looks “good”. Yes, it should be easy to navigate, easy on the eyes, well organized, etc. A good website also offers your customers and your visitors something of value, perhaps something that can make their lives a little easier. (Unfortunately, telling them about your business or talking about your products or services alone does not necessarily constitute “making their life easier”. There needs to be more.) Continue reading
Successful Advertising by Thomas Smith in 1885
The first time people look at any given ad, they don’t even see it.
The second time, they don’t notice it.
The third time, they are aware that it is there.
The fourth time, they have a fleeting sense that they’ve seen it somewhere before.
The fifth time, they actually read the ad. Continue reading
Advertising is important. If you’re not sure why, this article may serve as a reminder. In this article, you will see a comparison of traditional media advertising costs vs. online media marketing costs. It can help you make a more informed decision as to what approach in advertising may fit your business best.
Firstly, “advertising” and “marketing” are two different things. Wikipedia defines “marketing” as “the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers.” It goes on to add “It is a critical business function for attracting customers.” Wikipedia defines “advertising” as “a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage, persuade, or manipulate an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group) to continue or take some new action.” So to be clear, advertising is one form of communication used in marketing whereas marketing is a process that contains many different forms of communication.
Sample of Traditional Media Advertising (In This Case, a Major National Newspaper)
Below we have some actual numbers from a media kit of a major newspaper. As you will see from the snippets and from our mathematical break-down, a 3-inch by 3-inch advertisement (9 column inches) would cost: