A Guide To Advertising In The Media By Abdul Rahim Khurram

 

A Guide To Advertising In The Media By Abdul Rahim Khurram

The media is a tremendous force; the average person spends a substantial portion of their lives consuming it in one form or another, and will spend a significant portion of that time looking at, listening to, or watching commercials in one form or another. If you want to harness the power of the media, though, you must first understand what you're doing.

Advertising through newspapers and magazines is another option.

There are two types of advertising that can be found in newspapers and magazines: classified advertising and display advertising. Unlike classified advertising, which are often modest and tucked away towards the back of the journal, display ads can take up practically any space on a page, from a little corner of a page to a full-page spread.

In order to find out what rates a publication charges, either go to its website (rate card section) or phone its advertising department to inquire about the newspaper in question. Take a deep breath and lift your jaw off the floor. Yes, advertising in the print media is extremely expensive, and for most home companies, it will not be cost effective in the long run.

There is one exception, however: specialized and trade publications. If you've ever browsed through a newsagent, you'll be aware of the sheer number of magazines available, each one covering every imaginable niche in the market. To find the magazine that people who are interested in your services would read, you must first identify the magazine. When searching for magazines to advertise your services as a wedding photographer, consider titles such as "Your Wedding," "Bride," or something similar. Advertising in these periodicals will be significantly less expensive than placing an ad in a general-audience publication, and it will be significantly more likely to generate responses.

Advertising over the radio is a popular choice.

Regardless of where you are, there is almost certainly a local radio station broadcasting. Once your home business has grown to a respectable level, you may want to consider investing in some additional time in it.

In reality, though, the only type of home business that may benefit sufficiently from radio advertisements to warrant the expense is one that has anything to do with automobiles. Because radio is almost exclusively used for in-vehicle entertainment these days, you know that practically everyone who hears your advertisement will be a car owner, and as a result, they may be interested in what you have to offer. If you give something that people require at a low cost or even for free, you will likely receive a large reaction.

Unfortunately, the response might be a little too overwhelming; because radio broadcasts are time-sensitive, you'll be swamped the next day, and then everyone will forget about you. Radio advertising does not provide the listener with the option of saving your advertisement and referring to it later, or of finding it again in the future. You will see that any advertisements that include a phone number are completely ineffective.

Advertising on television is a form of public relations.

This would be a really bad idea unless your company has grown to a significant size. Even on local cable channels, it would be difficult to produce and show a commercial for less than $10,000 dollars. If there's a market for your product and you have the resources to pursue it, you might as well take a chance and make a fortune. The home businesses that tend to do the most out of television commercials are those who have a 'unique and helpful invention' product with benefits that are easy to demonstrate — think infomercial — as their product. According to research, if you have a 60-second ad, a free phone number, and a price point of $19.95, you can sell practically anything online.

Advertising on billboards is a form of public relations.

Here's one that gets forgotten all too frequently, but if done correctly, it may be really successful. Billboard advertisements are very expensive, but they often remain up for a lengthy period of time and can be targeted very specifically to a certain area — the one in which they are physically placed. Putting one close enough to your business that it may say something like "turn left at the next junction" or something along those lines will yield the best results. Phone numbers are, once again, largely ineffective, however you might have some success by including the URL of your website on the page.

At the movies, there is advertising.

Finally, here's one that gets forgotten all too often. If you arrive at the cinema early, you may have noticed that, before the big-budget advertisements, commercials for small businesses are shown. A excellent venue to promote for a relatively low cost in a relatively high-profile manner, this is especially true for takeaway food businesses, which can benefit from it.