Maybe you have also wondered how some businesses succeed in selling and making profits in a shorter period of time and go through the steps of success one after the other, you should know that this issue is directly It is related to the method of setting up the advertising strategy. As you know, advertising is an inseparable and important part of any business, and in other words, it is the beating pulse of business, but the important point in this direction is the strategy and arrangement of the process of this advertising, which attracts more users and audiences. . In this content, we intend to get acquainted with the advertising strategy, which is one of the most important parts of digital marketing, and to know its correct path.
Table of Contents
Definition of advertising strategy
Advertising strategy is a plan by which to attract and persuade audiences and customers to buy a product or service. In other words, advertising strategy is a plan that encourages customers to buy or use services. A bold advertising strategy should address the problems and opportunities that can have the greatest impact on a company’s sales, profits, and value. Authors such as Alexander Hyam and Charles de Chauve have stated that a business’s advertising strategy “determines the character of the company’s public face.” Sometimes a small business has limited capital and cannot spend as much on advertising as a large company, but can still create a very effective advertising campaign. The secret of this success is creative and flexible planning, which is based on deep knowledge of the target consumer and knowing the ways that can be used to encourage users.
Positioning Statement
Formal advertising strategies are based on the “position statement”. Position statement is a specialized word in the field of marketing and advertising, and it means where the company’s product is located, how it differs from competitors’ goods and services, and how it is available to the customer. The concept that lies in the position statement is called the product concept. The concept of the product introduces the values that the product or service provides and the framework in which it fits. The concept of the product determines the choice of text, image and message to be used in the advertisement. A definition of the target audience and the reason for choosing and buying the product should also be hidden in the position statement.
According to the explanations given, this is where the importance of market research becomes more apparent. By identifying the market, you can understand the needs of your audience, measure their places of travel and present your ad at the right time and platform.
Trends and basic elements of advertising strategy
1) Identify your target audience
Behaviors – When considering consumer behavior, the advertiser should consider the consumer’s awareness of the business and its competition, the types of sellers and services the consumer currently uses, and the types of appeals likely to persuade the consumer.
The first step in advertising strategy is to identify the target audience. Unfortunately, I have to say that the goods or services offered by your company are not suitable for all people in the world. Many small businesses do not have targeted advertising campaigns; while determining the target audience is one of the first stages of online advertising. In fact, you should be able to identify your target audience well based on the data you collect. With this information and what you know about your current customers, you can target people who have similar characteristics with them with good advertising and thus collect more customers. It doesn’t matter if your ads are online or not; you just need to make sure that your ad text and images are a reflection of the customers you want to work with. This is the key to proper targeting.
2) Brand positioning and good branding
Identify the position of the brand and its products in the market and present your work to customers and users who need your goods or services. If you start offering services or products in any market without research, you will definitely fail because not all people will buy your goods or services. Also, in this situation, you should carefully check the conditions of your competitors and know how many people prefer it. Let them buy from your competitors. By doing this, you help the quality of your goods and services and attract more customers.
Create a brand that will be remembered by the audience. Can customers recognize your ad based on text, images, color choices, logo or typeface at a glance? If this question seems funny to you, it is better to take a look at the advertising campaigns of important and famous brands. Many times, you can tell what brand they belong to just by looking at their color. Over time, customers will recognize your advertising plan and communicate with it. Your goal should be to display your brand in specific platforms with advertisements that are familiar to the target audience.
3) Know when to advertise
At first glance, advertising throughout the year and setting aside a certain monthly budget for this seems wise. But it is not possible to advertise in the same way and with the same type of strategy throughout the year. If your products are seasonal, you need to maximize the promotion in the right season. It is better to start a little earlier than the season and leave some advertising methods for later. It is always better to set aside more money for advertising during peak sales times. Finally, it is better to always be aware of your competitors. If you set aside a seasonal advertising budget in advance, you might even be able to beat your competitors.
4) Use your resources well and determine the advertising budget
We all know how important it is to rank in internet searches, but maybe you don’t have enough time and resources to come up with new and creative content for your website. In such cases, it is the best opportunity to use services such as Google AdWords to appear in high positions in the SERP results without having to optimize your content and keywords. If you have enough budget for advertising but don’t have time to prepare content, you can use these resources.
If you have a small budget for advertising, it is not wise to spend money on advertising in an expensive magazine. A social media campaign is much smarter and you can control your daily spending this way. Honestly evaluate the resources that are readily available to you and use them to grow your business.
Determining an appropriate budget for advertising is very important. The money added from other parts cannot be spent on advertising. By allocating enough money and using the most suitable channel, you can achieve the result you expect; or at least improve the current situation. Since you are paying a fixed monthly fee for this, it is better to evaluate the effectiveness of your ads.
5) Show yourself on the right platform
It is dangerous to have too many assumptions about your target audience. For example: if there is a radio program that you like and you think your customers will also like it, it is not wise to spend a lot of money on advertising on the radio program; Because it is both expensive and proven not to be very effective.
There are many opportunities to save money on advertising. If you advertise on the wrong platform, you are wasting your money. Instead, it is better to know your customers. Then, evaluate them. Think about what websites or social networks they like to spend time on, where you can find other like-minded people, what books or magazines they read, and what podcasts they like. When you know your customers, you can better attract them to your business.
6) Evaluate and track your ads
Many small businesses have no idea if their ads are working or not. Online advertising platforms like Google AdWords and Facebook provide you with a lot of information about your ads, which helps you understand whether your ads are working or not. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to personally test your ad, but it does mean you can make faster decisions about your next steps.
If your ad is not online, be sure to provide an email or phone number to better understand how things are going. At the same time, customers can also communicate with you in this way. Also, one of the important points in the field of integration advertising means: creating continuous communication solutions with customers to increase purchases. Advertising should be done continuously and according to customer needs in different ways to lead to purchase. You can never sell a product to a customer by showing it once! So the solution is to integrate advertising. We must keep in mind this important point that evaluation of advertisements is with you in all stages because no advertisement will be successful except by evaluating and finding weaknesses and strengths.
7) Implementation and management of advertising
In fact, this means that goals must be clear, the environment must be understood, tools must be ranked, and choices made based on available resources. Effective product evaluation, market definition, media analysis, and budget choices lead to an optimal plan. All these steps are written in a written and detailed plan and delivered to the advertising executive team. This plan is called an advertising plan or a marketing plan or a road map.
These elements are the core of an advertising strategy and are also known as “creative mix”. Again, what most advertisers emphasize from the start is clear planning and flexibility. And the key to these goals is creativity and the ability to adapt to new market trends. A rigid advertising strategy often leads to loss of market share. Therefore, the main elements of the advertising strategy must be combined in such a way as to allow the message to cover the target customer and provide sufficient opportunity for this consumer to become familiar with the advertising message.
What are the right platforms for advertising?
After the product, its environment, and the target customer are defined, the channels through which the customer can be reached (i.e., communication media) must be evaluated. 5 main channels are available to business owners:
- Print: newspapers (daily or weekly) or magazines
- Video: promotional videos, TV sales
- World Wide Web
- Direct email
- Environment such as billboards, advertisements on public transportation (taxi and bus)
Each of these channels has its own advantages and disadvantages and price patterns. Therefore, an important step in the advertising strategy is to pay attention to this point: how to choose the best tool according to the budget we have in order to deliver the most appropriate message to the largest number of customers.