Encyclopedia of Marketing. Promotion of advertising services: how to survive in the advertising business What benefits does your organization have?
Low-budget marketing... Every business owner's dream. And it would be even “dreamer” - if at the same time the recognition of the company (product) would grow exponentially... and the sales curve would bend steeper and steeper every day...
But the reality is that marketing budgets ( advertising, PR - highlight what is necessary) are laid out using methods known only to the “layout designer” himself ( read - marketer, advertiser...) laws... And, with rare exceptions, they are a weak reflection of the reality and the company’s need for contacts with the target audience.
They say that the true professionalism of a marketer lies in bringing a company (product) to the market without a budget... Well, or with the minimum necessary cash injections.
I don’t know how true or controversial this statement is - I can’t imagine Coca-Cola, Mars and Adidas in the market without budgets... but still. The fact remains, and the realities of the market are such that not everyone has the budget to pay for “multi-layered” advertising campaigns. In addition, due to the still prevailing mentality of Russian business owners, who are skeptical and distrustful of their own marketing services, small and medium-sized businesses are not yet ready to part with money for advertising and other marketing communications (because there is no clear understanding of “how will all this come back to us...”).
So, what low-budget ways do you use to market a company or product?
I can offer you tools that I have used quite often in my practice, which have been tested by the market and have shown their effectiveness, and which have helped me out more than once.
1. Barter. Many people don't like this word. Especially in accounting departments. I don’t really like it myself. But I must admit that such a cooperation scheme is quite common in the Russian business segment, even among large and respected players (for example, such as Rosinter). Of course, if you have something to offer your potential partner. And, obviously, the value of your offer for your partner should be no less than what you expect (ask) from him.
2. Exhibitions. Yes, your industry exhibitions are a good reason to promote yourself in your own market among your partners and target audience. And no, you don’t have to buy an expensive place and set up a stand. Be more creative - push the boundaries of your imagination. There are many other ways to make yourself known at the exhibition, distribute your contacts and collect the ones you need.
Carefully study the proposal of the exhibition organizer, the site where the exhibition will be held - look for opportunities for a low-budget “performance”.
This could be simply placement in the exhibition catalog, posting on the website, renting 2-3 square meters at the entrance to the exhibition, placing a girl/boy with the distribution of samples (or just some “goodies”-useful things with your contacts), investing in a package participant, organization of a photographer with instant printing of photographs against a press-wall background with your logos, and so on - think of it! (by the way, such participation can also be closed through barter)
3. Internal events. This means your personal events for your target audience, for your potential clients. Create some kind of useful event for your customers - what is their pressing problem? What critical question do they have that they typically pay money to answer?
Give them this answer for free! Perhaps in the form of a mini-seminar or micro-training for 4 hours, maybe together with a representative of an authoritative opinion for them (for example, if this is medicine, then this can be the head doctor of a serious clinic, if trade - the manager of a large network, the head of the tax office, top - bank manager, etc.).
You can agree on holding such a seminar with the owner of the premises, who is also interested in the audience that overlaps with you, but is not a competitor to you in terms of services. For example, it could be a cafe, club or restaurant that is simply interested in visitors and sales of the kitchen and bar. In addition, in your pre-PR campaign to recruit participants for your event, you will promote them, as well as in post-releases and reports after the seminar. Don’t forget to mention this in negotiations with the site owner.
4. External events. Many people forget about the most useful semi-informal get-togethers or, conversely, professional “meetings” of their decision-makers (people who make decisions on cooperation) in the form of various chambers, clubs, communities, and so on.
Look for it - probably in your city there is a Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which periodically organizes parties for general or financial directors. Look for different fashionable features, such as a mafia game club for HR directors. For accountants, these could be seminars conducted by the local Federal Tax Service. Find out where the marketing directors in your area hang out (if you offer printing, design, or advertising services, for example...). Find out where logistics directors live (if you are courier service or transport company).
If it’s completely boring in your city and poor decision makers stupidly go home after work - see the point above: come up with it yourself! Your own events. Finally, create your own club of mafia players for ____ ( insert the position you need)! Your expenses include purchasing or ordering printing of special cards, blindfolds and beautiful rules on A4 sheets!
Any restaurant in the city will be happy to lend you space on Wednesday evenings for such a theme. In addition, it is not necessary to make such evenings free. Freebies are relaxing. And the mafia club requires discipline ( read the rules on the net). Therefore, take 100-500 rubles from the players. per evening (the amount should be such that it can be dealt with painlessly, and the value received in return will significantly cover such a “loss” from the wallet).
5. Press releases. Make it a habit to issue press releases about your company's activities every Tuesday. Releases should not be large and voluminous - make 1/2 of a printed page of text plus a couple of key sentences about the company.
Look for news updates within the company all week! Set up a system for collecting and processing news and, in general, everything that happens in the company. Any sneeze should flock to your department. And you can decide for yourself whether to air it or not ( together with the business owner, of course).
And regularly distribute your press releases over the network and through all communication channels available to you: website, corporate newspaper for clients, newsletter, bulletin board in trading floor or reception... Register your press releases in free press release directories ( they can be easily found in any search engine). Send your news to interested publications in your region - both print newspapers and magazines, and online media.
6. Publications. The same goes for longer-form press publications—provide free content to journalists and media outlets. These could be interviews on your market, on some problem of your consumers, analytical reports and cross-sections, statistical data ( many media like different statistical collections), just interesting publications “on topic”. Invite the leading publication in your region to organize and maintain some special interesting section - and supply your section with relevant and fresh information on a weekly basis.
Everyone needs interesting and useful content! Finally, ask your customers or potential clients - what are they interested in about your topic, what do they want to know about?
7. Cases. Or case study. Or success story. The nature is slightly different, but the point is, in principle, one thing - to show your target segments, using an example, a solution to THEIR problems. Write stories using the formula “Problem - Solution - Result”, “how bad it was before - and how wonderful it was after”, the principle, I think, is clear. Stories in this vein are very attractive and attractive.
8. Reviews. Customer feedback is something you should collect from the time your company is still a business embryo. Especially if your client is a more or less well-known company in your region. On branded colored letterhead, with a beautiful seal, with the signature of the first person or key top manager of your client.
Collect and store your reviews in a separate folder, each in a separate file, treat them with care and respect -) Well, without fanaticism, of course. You just have to understand that these are the results of your work. This is your “thank you, you helped us a lot” from your clients. And don't forget to digitize all your customer reviews. Only exactly, in color, with high resolution and readable text.
9. "Word of mouth". Involve local population to promote your company, products, brands. It has long been no secret that “sundress” works best in the services market. But in order for your sundress to work, you need to work on it! What did you think? They just launched a rumor among the people - and they picked it up and carried it to the masses? Of course, it would be great if everything were so simple - no one would spend money on expensive TV and radio advertising, but would only be engaged in “injecting” rumors into the masses.
The simplest and most effective thing is to remember yourself. What information have you personally ever passed on “by word of mouth”? It was probably something shocking, out of the ordinary, or terribly funny, or curious, or disgusting, or improving some aspect of your life... Do you feel what I mean? Yes, that's right - it should be something that hooks.
But here, be careful - your legend should support and improve the image of your company/product, and not destroy it.
10. Free consultations, demonstrations, samples. The name speaks for itself. Don't be afraid to give! Nobody likes to buy a pig in a poke. Everyone wants to try first and then decide to buy.
Here your marketing must work more closely than ever with sales. Because it’s not enough to just give it a try—after that, you need to constantly ask, at a given frequency, “Well, did you like it?” Let's buy full version. Didn't like it? Why? etc...." Keep in touch, monitor your potential client. Offer him special offers, inform him about new products, promotions, discounts.
But don’t be afraid to identify and cut off the “eternal tryers” - these are those who initially know that they will never buy, but will never refuse a freebie... You shouldn’t waste your precious time on such “under-customers”...
11. Atmosphere and design of the client office/service hall, reception area, meeting room/. In these premises, EVERYTHING should speak about your professionalism, the quality of your services and the specialists who, in fact, provide these services, inspire confidence in you, your company, your product - every little thing and every element.
Finally, remove all these antediluvian certificates and gratitude from 2003-2007, issued to you by someone for something! Leave just one - but a normal, fresh, up-to-date solid professional license, or certificate, or diploma, or whatever your specific requirement is...
No wobbly chairs, ragged tables, burnt sofas, cracked glass surfaces... Well, remove this piece of furniture if you don’t yet have the money to reupholster, repair, or buy a replacement. It’s better to throw in a couple of frameless “pears” for one and a half thousand rubles, if you need to somehow take up space - well, even if no one sits on them, but they will add a certain “your dude” freshness and dynamism to your office.
12. Gift certificates, loyalty programs. That is, do it so that the client wants not only to come to you again, but to bring someone else with him next time. WITH corporate clients By the way, this also works. You just need to think a little longer... And ask around/observe the clients to see what might stimulate them to take such an action.
An excellent example is large cosmetic chains, fitness clubs, mobile operators ( at least). Copy this ready-made and perfectly working model and apply it to your business - what exactly is stopping you? ( The first gift certificates can be printed on a color printer, if it’s really difficult... if you get rich, you’ll print plastic, no big deal!)
In addition, if you have a representative office of any federal discount and coupon network in your city ( like Groupon, but there are a lot of them now), or perhaps there is a local company with this kind of operating principle, contact them and let them plan an advertising campaign for you. They won’t take money from you for this, but you will clearly see how much you can earn in one day of such a promotion with zero investments in coverage and attraction. The decision is yours.
13. Cross-marketing promotions with partners. Organize joint promotions with your colleagues, with whom your products can complement each other for the same target audience ( “a printing house blah blah and a furniture salon blah blah - only from May 1 to May 20 they are holding a joint promotion: buy office furniture and get an 80% discount on any advertising printing!”). Promote them well by region ( You can also take the media as partners), share contacts with each other, and work with the resulting client base, each in its own format.
14. Competitions, quizzes. This is about the same thing as cross-marketing, only in a more entertaining format. Each partner performs its own function, makes its contribution - provides prizes of different formats and nature, covers the event, prints banners, programs the web, handles logistics, takes photographs, shoots videos, feeds, clothes, etc. But someone must take on the role of organizer and coordinator. For example, you, as the initiator and creator of the concept ( which you pre-send to the partners you need for your contribution).
15. Cultivate feedback from your customers. Establish relationships with them. And develop them. Invite them to express their opinion on any matter - about your services, about the same services on the market in general, conduct surveys, call to action in your communications, provoke them to respond to your messages, conduct surveys on the website or together with partners, give them free advice and ask to rate them, get their consent to receive your marketing materials (only useful to them and not often!).
Final word
Of course, all these low-cost marketing methods do not require a lot of money, but they do require the investment of other resources - time, effort, patience, energy, imagination and your knowledge.
Yes, and you shouldn’t be scattered about all of the described promotion methods - try each of them in turn, see - which works best for you, brings the most clients? Focus on the few that are most optimal for you in terms of the combination of time and labor costs/number of completed deals.
And one more tip that I would like to mention, but which everyone often forgets... Due to confusion and immersion in routine, probably...
Promote and sell not your company and your products, but the “emotion” and “result” of using your services and contacting your company!
Few people need the services of a beauty salon, but a beautiful haircut and a perfect manicure - yes! I am not at all interested in the services of an advertising agency, but an increase in sales by 20% in 6 weeks - let's discuss this soon! There are plenty of cheap tours to Egypt and Greece, but complete disconnection from current worries and immersion in absolute relaxation for two weeks – there are few such offers! (if they exist at all...)
So stop, colleagues, disconnect from the hustle and bustle, take a time out for the day, go to the park, turn off your cell phone, sit on a bench, relax, look at the fountains, watch people - low-budget ways to attract clients are on the market, you can come up with them. It's just that in pursuit of feverish sales and abstract results, we don't always see them.
P.S. And don’t forget that attracting a new client costs FIVE times more than retaining an old one. Therefore, do not forget about your client after the first sale (obtained by one of the methods discussed in this report), in fact, this is where work with him is just beginning!
Don't want to do sales and production isn't for you? Find out how the advertising business works. Perhaps this way of earning money will suit you.
♦ Capital investments – 700,000 rubles
♦ Payback – up to 1 year
There is a misconception that creative people will never be able to discover profitable business and vice versa, entrepreneurs who are completely devoid of imagination will never launch a creative startup, preferring old proven methods.
However, there is an area of activity that combines creativity and business, which is suitable for both “physicists” and “lyricists”, which is quite easy to start from scratch.
If you don’t want to engage in buying and selling, and production is not for you, then ask how to open an advertising agency.
Perhaps this creative and interesting way making money.
Advertising business: what is it and how to open it
- distributes outdoor advertising;
- promotes the product in the media mass media;
- conducts PR campaigns, including political ones;
- advertises its client on the Internet;
- conducts SMS marketing.
These are the types of activities that most advertising agencies engage in.
Domestic businessmen who want to open an advertising business often focus on one thing.
They think for a long time about where to start, and in the end they begin to promote their client on the Internet (the most promising and inexpensive way of advertising) or they organize a PR agency, promoting the latest brand, politician or star.
On the one hand, opening a narrow-profile agency is profitable because you don’t need to hire a large staff or rent a giant office.
On the other hand, there is a risk that you will not be able to form a client base, because few people who need advertising will enter into contracts with several agencies to promote their product on the market in different ways.
How should an advertising agency work if I decide to open one?
Advertising business owners have two options:
- Promote one client in various ways.
- Form a base of many clients of varying profitability.
The first option is not very popular in our country, except perhaps we're talking about about a political PR campaign (often advertising agencies are created by a specific politician to promote himself or herself).
But abroad, production giants prefer that PR specialists focus only on advertising their brand, without scattering themselves on others.
That is why companies such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi and others know where to start conquering the market of the next country: by opening a branch of an advertising agency in that country.
The main thing for you is to start forming a client base, and then you will get your bearings: if you manage to hook a big fish, you will only be engaged in promoting it, but if not, you can make good money on small clients, the main thing is that you have:
- advertising space (agreements with the media, websites, etc.);
- personnel who are capable of creating impeccable and creative PR products;
- designs (banners, cubes, etc.);
- normal technical equipment;
- partnerships with, which will quickly and efficiently print the products you create in large quantities.
What is it impossible to open an advertising agency without?
Creativity.
You must be a creative person with a rich imagination.
If you are a hopeless “physicist”, you will not be able to control the actions of your subordinates.
Stress resistance.
IN advertising business There are different instances.
Sometimes products have to be remade several times until you please the client.
Moreover, the customer will not always express his dissatisfaction politely and tolerantly.
There are different types of entrepreneurs, and you need to learn to find a common language with everyone.
Be a good psychologist.
Again, you will have to deal with different clients.
Some will come to you already ready-made ideas, expecting only their high-quality implementation in advertising products, and someone will contact you with the wording “I want this, I don’t know what” and you must quickly evaluate the client in order to understand what exactly you need to offer him.
Communication skills.
You will have to communicate a lot with people, and if you start to blush in the company of strangers, then it makes sense to think about opening something other than an advertising agency.
You can’t do this without communication skills.
Be a good manager.
The advertising business is still a business.
If you are bursting with ideas, but are not able to organize the work of your staff, calculate your income, or figure out how to cut costs where possible, then your agency will quickly burn out.
Of course, the lack of these qualities should not necessarily prevent you from opening an advertising agency.
You can hire people who will have all the necessary qualities for the advertising business.
But it is still better if the boss sets an example for his subordinates and is well versed in the business he is involved in, which cannot be said about many unsuccessful businessmen.
If you decide to open an advertising agency from scratch, then you may want to take advice from professionals who know where to start in order to quickly build a client base and make your first profit:
- Come up with a creative name for your business.
Customers will pay attention to your company name.
They will understand that if you cannot come up with an interesting name for your company, then how can you come up with a creative and effective advertising campaign for them.
The name of the agency should be short, memorable, and easily match the products you will use to promote your business. - Don't rush the day after you decide to open an advertising agency, trying to catch " big fish».
Work with small companies, fulfilling small orders for them.
This way you will gain experience and learn to understand the customer better. - When offering your services to potential clients, talk about your uniqueness.
When calling clients, you cannot say the same thing to everyone over the phone: “Hello. Manya's name is Ivan Ivanovich.
I decided to open an advertising agency and am offering you my services.” Tell us exactly how you differ from your competitors. - Be sure to study your competitors: the advertising campaigns they ran, their pricing policy, what their clients were especially pleased and dissatisfied with (if possible), etc.
This will help you avoid common mistakes at work. - Don't forget that the advertising business also needs to be advertised.
How to advertise the advertising agency that you have decided to open?
Most effective ways promoting a new agency is:
Phone calls.
You take a directory of enterprises in your city and begin to methodically call them, informing them that a unique advertising agency has finally opened in your city, which can conduct an effective and original PR campaign from scratch.
You need to get email addresses enterprises in your city and send them letters offering cooperation.
Work on the text of the letter to hook the client from the first lines, otherwise your message will end up in the trash before being read.
Media.
Banners, cubes, notice boards, etc.
The main thing is that your advertising is interesting and attracts attention.
Don't underestimate their power in disseminating the information you need.
Word of mouth.
One satisfied client will tell another happy client about a great advertising agency that has opened, and you will quickly build a client base.
The presence of a website immediately suggests that you are a serious company with which you can do business.
How to open an advertising agency: calendar prospects
Launching a startup like advertising business, will not require a lengthy preparatory process.If you decide to open an agency, then you need to take care of the standard steps: registration, finding suitable premises for work, recruiting staff, purchasing equipment and finding clients.
If you quickly implement all of the above and get smart assistants, you will be able to launch a startup from scratch in 5 months, in as a last resort- in six months.
| Stage | Jan | February | Mar | Apr | May |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registration | |||||
| Office search and renovation | |||||
| Purchase of equipment | |||||
| Recruitment | |||||
| Search for first clients | |||||
| Opening |
How to open an advertising agency: the main stages of launching a startup
We have already talked about what needs to be done to open an advertising agency.
Now let’s take a closer look at all the stages of launching a startup.
Registration
Choose one of the suitable forms for opening an agency: individual entrepreneur, LLC, CJSC.
The simplest form in terms of registration is the individual entrepreneur, but the other two will require cooperation with a qualified lawyer, because it is quite difficult to figure out all the nuances of the procedure on your own.
Choose a form of taxation that will not bankrupt you at first when starting an advertising business, for example, UTII.
Room
However, it is not worth going to the remote outskirts, since it is unlikely that any businessman will want to travel so far to get acquainted with samples of your products.
If you nevertheless decide to save on rent and open an agency too far from the center, then be sure to take care of creating a website to make it easier for your clients to get to know you.
You should not invest too much money in renovating your rented premises.
You are not a restaurant, so you shouldn’t impress with the interior.
Neutral-colored walls can be decorated with samples of your agency's best products.
But the area of the room in which you will work depends on how large an advertising agency you decide to open.
If you are setting your sights on a modest business, then at first you can rent 1-2 rooms for an office in one of the office buildings for several employees.
Serious agencies need offices total area at least 50–60 sq. m.
Staff
The number of employees you will need to hire depends on how large an advertising agency you decide to open.
To start a small agency you must hire:
- two designers, one of whom will be involved in the production of a creative product, and the other will perform technical work: layout, etc.;
- a manager whose main task is to attract new clients;
- a cleaning lady - without her you will drown in dirt.
You will perform the functions of the head of an advertising agency: negotiate with clients, conclude contracts, arrange advertising in the media, etc.
If you can handle the accounting yourself, you will save money on the position of an accountant. Otherwise, you will have to hire an accountant or enter into an agreement with an outsourcing company.
You also cannot do without a programmer, since your main equipment is computers. He can be hired part-time.
| Qty | Salary (in rub.) | Total (in rub.) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total: | 74,000 rub. | ||
| Designers (technical and creative) | 2 | 20 000 | 40 000 |
| Manager | 1 | 15 000 | 15 000 |
| Cleaning woman | 1 | 9 000 | 9 000 |
| Part-time programmer | 1 | 10 000 | 10 000 |
Equipment
Equipment for an advertising agency is expensive.
You will definitely need computers, and designers need powerful machines for their work, which are very expensive, printing and office equipment, furniture, office supplies, and so on.
The main costs for office equipment will be as follows:
| Expense item | Qty | Cost (in rub.) | Amount (in rub.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total: | 500,000 rub. | ||
Computers or laptops  | 4 | 40 000 | 160 000 |
| Laser printer | 1 | 10 000 | 10 000 |
Scanner  | 1 | 10 000 | 10 000 |
Xerox  | 1 | 30 000 | 30 000 |
Large format printing press  | 1 | 100 000 | 100 000 |
Cutting plotter  | 1 | 70 000 | 70 000 |
Telephone sets  | 2 | 1 000 | 2 000 |
| Tables | 4 | 4 000 | 16 000 |
| Visitor and work chairs | 8 | 2 000 | 16 000 |
Plumbing for the bathroom  | 10 000 | 10 000 | |
| Other | 76 000 | 76 000 |
How to open an advertising agency and how much does it cost?
People interested in the topic of how to open an advertising agency are worried about the question “How much money will have to be invested in launching this startup?”
Those who were hoping for minimal spending will be disappointed.
As you can see, you need decent capital investments to open an advertising agency.
If you were unable to raise the required amount on your own, then it makes sense to think about attracting a partner who would take on part of the costs.
After all, not only one-time, but also monthly investments await you:
We offer you to watch a video about what you need,
If you open an advertising agency, how quickly will the expenses pay off?
Another way is personal visits by a director or manager to an organization that needs advertising.
You set the prices for your services yourself, focusing on the price level and financial capabilities of the residents of your region.
You can work in the low, middle or high price category.
- script – 10–20,000 rubles;
- company logo – 20–30,000 rubles;
- banner layout – RUR 5–8,000;
- layout in the media - 10–15,000 rubles;
- original layout for corporate publication– 20–30,000 rub.;
- souvenirs – from 1,000 rubles;
- full-fledged PR campaign – from 100,000 rubles. etc.
In addition to orders from clients, you will receive a percentage from advertising in the media (this should only be done after agreement with the client).
An income of 400–500,000 rubles per month is considered good.
It is very possible to have such an income if you manage to acquire at least ten regular customers, do not ignore small orders and constantly work to expand your customer base.
The main thing is that the income of your business should not be lower than 200,000 rubles per month (after all, this is exactly the amount your monthly expenses), otherwise you will work at a loss, which means there’s no point open an advertising agency gets lost.
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How to promote a real estate agency, making the most of opportunities global network combined with proven marketing strategies? Since there are so many options, and the answer risks taking hundreds of scrolls of the screen, we suggest focusing on two methods. First - simple business card. Second - a full-fledged interactive system with many functions.
Business card - a simple website with great potential
The main goal of both business cards and the more difficult to implement option in the form of an interactive system is to attract new customers. In the second case, involving the visitor in the process of ordering a service is much more difficult. With the first one everything is much easier. Since the web resource is quite simple, the main means of attraction is text, which in various ways encourages a call or other action.
How does this happen? First you need to think about what exactly should be advertised. In the context of a real estate agency, the choice is not very large - buying, renting, selling. Plus additional assistance - checking legal purity, consultations, preparation of documents, etc. Basic services are segmented by type of object - apartment, house, office, warehouse, etc. It is important that the essence remains the same.
You make a list of services provided. Divide by pages. Select your requests. Distribute it among the HTML documents that form the site. Track the results. When a visitor arrives at the site, real estate advertising on the Internet comes to the fore. Although the company's promotion takes place on the global network, the fundamental principles of conventional marketing do not disappear anywhere.
You just need to understand one important thing - advertising possibilities are limited to the simplest technologies and text with graphics. There are no complex search forms, no self-loading into the database, no other functions of a full-fledged interactive system. The website owner is faced with the task of attracting visitors from search engines, and then using various methods to force them to take some useful action.
For us, it consists of expanding our customer base. Network users should contact the agency directly - call, order call back or send an email using the feedback form. It’s possible to come up with other actions, but we settled on the most popular ones. It remains to be seen how to turn visitors into clients. Let's look at an example.
Apartment rental – promotion of services through the website
Let us remind you that we have text and graphics at our disposal. Alternatively, you can post a video on the site or use another marketing technology. But we are considering a simple method. We won’t delve into the advertising jungle. Let's go along the well-trodden path. There are many ways to write sales text. As well as structures. Let's take one of them, which involves compiling answers to questions.
What do you offer?
- It is clear that renting apartments. But which ones exactly? Stalinka buildings, Khrushchev buildings, new buildings, studios, 1, 2, 3 rooms, etc. List the types of objects in as much detail as possible. There is no need to use vague descriptions like “all types.” This doesn't say anything. The key to success is specificity and nothing else.
What problems can they solve?
What benefits does your organization have?
- "Why us?" – another name for the block. Here you should focus on the benefits of your agency. At the same time, make it clear to the visitor what he will get from working with you. Examples – free services(the owner of the apartment pays the agency), conclusion of an agreement (protects in a controversial situation), etc.
Call to action
In this regard, everything is somewhat simpler. We must call, write or fill out a form. Somewhere at the end of the text, place a call to take similar actions. To prevent the visitor from searching for contacts on the site, indicate them directly on the page. Place the necessary forms there.
We could dwell on the 4 points listed above. Only real estate is a market segment, the promotion of services of which costs quite a lot of money both “offline” and “online”. If your budget is limited, you can’t count on a large flow of traffic. Every visitor must be valued. To retain it, it makes sense to dig a little deeper, expanding the questions with additional ones.
What difficulties do visitors want to avoid?
- There are a huge number of scammers operating in the real estate market. Often you come across inadequate owners. Sometimes controversial situations arise. There may be other difficulties. Tell us about them and describe how you decide, so that in the end the client understands that cooperation with you will save a lot of troubles.
What problems are you ready to solve immediately?
- What will the client receive when he comes to the agency, that is, literally immediately?? It is often unrealistic to quickly select the desired object. It takes time to search. Although everyone understands this, no one likes to wait. Even a couple of days. Quickly resolved problems will allow you to perform a workaround maneuver. At the initial stage for sure.
What do customers ultimately want and why is it important?
- Obviously, we are talking about renting an apartment in short term . As for “why?”, the answers are as follows: there is nowhere to live, to move away from parents, you need to stay in some area, etc. Such moments are played to the benefit of the organization and make the selling text more “juicy” and conversion.
Enhancing graphics and structuring information
If you present your content as solid text with a certain number of headings (or just one at all), it won’t do any good. Imagine a children's coloring book. Before coloring, the pictures look faded and expressionless. As soon as the child picks up a pencil or markers, the image plays with new colors. To enhance the advertising effect, this approach should also be used with selling text.
First, clearly divide the information into blocks. Then think about their design. Remember two things. First, users do not read, but rather skim their eyes across the screen. Secondly, they don’t really like paragraphs. You can't do without the latter, but keep them short. 3-4 sentences each. No more. To design blocks, use lists or tabular organization.
Instead of “Real estate agency “Apartments-Plus” offers Stalin buildings, Khrushchev buildings, new buildings, studios, high-rise buildings, low-rise buildings for rent,” use the lists or table as shown below.
Renting apartments from "Apartments-Plus"
Tabular organization
Agency "Apartments-Plus" offers the following types of objects for rent:
- Stalinka
- Khrushchev buildings
- New buildings
- Studios
- High rise buildings
- Low-rise buildings
Bulleted list
At the same time, you need to enhance the text with graphics. For example, insert something like the following checkboxes into the table: " ". Place them to the left of the names of the objects so that the client gets the impression that some kind of questionnaire was filled out, where all the questions were answered positively. It makes sense to use similar elements in lists. Instead of “checkmarks” for the table, it is allowed to take images of the same Stalin or Khrushchev buildings.
The purpose of graphic images is to “decorate” the text. Make it brighter and more saturated, as required by real estate advertising both on the Internet and in everyday life. However, the rules we described are considered the fundamental principles of marketing. Although they are simple, they are very effective. The main thing is not to overdo it with graphics and not distract visitors from the essence of the offer.
What to do with the remaining pages?
- Other agency services should be described using the same principles.. The page design remains unchanged. Don't forget to use keywords for promotion. With the specified organization, it is quite easy to enter them. As with graphics, don't overdo it. An abundance of keys will “hurt” the eyes of visitors and will lead search robots to think bad “thoughts” about spam.
What parameters to monitor?
- Search engine promotion of a real estate website must provide the desired result. In a situation with a simple business card, it involves contacting an agency. This is exactly what needs to be monitored, based on explicit and indirect signs of analytics systems. The first includes achieving goals, filling out various forms, etc. The second includes the relationship between visits and calls, session times, etc.
Interactive system - an Internet complex that promotes itself
Such a system is distinguished by a large number of functions that are available to the user. If, when visiting a business card, he can only read the text and study other information, and then perform simple actions, here he is more deeply involved in the process. And right on the website pages. Examples include a search system for objects available in the agency, online assessment, automation of the organization’s work.
Advanced site search
When new client sets out the requirements for the object, the agency begins a database search. There is no reason not to transfer it to the Internet and connect it to the site. Visitors will be able to independently search for a suitable apartment, house or office. Of course, the form will not save you from meeting with realtors. But it will provide the site with useful search functions. The web resource will turn into a service.
The presence of even a simple service guarantees the growth of visitors. Both from search engines (one of the factors is behavioral, since visitors spend a long time on the site, which is very important), and from the address bar. If a site helps a user solve a problem, there is a chance that he will recommend it to his friends. Sends a link, they enter it into the address bar and start searching for objects.
That's why interactive systems promote themselves. The possibilities for attracting visitors are endless. Plain text is limited. Interactive environment - no. It is responsive, changeable and comfortable. Not to mention saving time resources for both agency employees and clients. There is no need to waste time on multiple visits to the company. The selection is made on the website.
Online assessment
Another option is a real estate valuation site, which allows the visitor to upload data about the property, what needs to be sold or rented out. Such a service significantly expands the functionality of the system and again saves time. The user uploads the necessary information, it is added to the database. There is no need to go anywhere. If a buyer or tenant is found, then the issue needs to be discussed in detail.
Automation of the organization's work
Based on the website, it is possible to build a system that automates the work of realtors. Through the online platform they will interact with clients, add new objects to the database and perform other routine actions. Large agencies often do this. Automation significantly reduces their costs of doing business and optimizes a number of important processes.
Although the promotion of real estate sites seems to have nothing to do with it, the combination gives unexpected results for it too. For example, when analyzing data obtained from a system that automates the work, it turns out that one-room apartments are rented more often. The information can be used to improve the local search engine when the user does not care too much about setting parameters.
As for promotion in search engines and marketing...
The rules here are exactly the same as for a business card. They are relevant almost always and everywhere. Although the site offers convenient services, the problem of competent advertising does not disappear. Not all visitors will use a search engine or online rating service. A considerable part will want to contact an “offline” representative office. If you don't pay attention to marketing, you will lose potential customers.
On the other hand, we must not forget about interactive features. They are introduced for a reason, but with the aim of increasing returns. Using analytics systems, you should track how effective certain services are. Identify bottlenecks that hinder application. Constantly make adjustments to improve usability. Collect statistical data for analysis.
For example, a visitor comes with a request to rent an apartment. I need to find out if he used the service? Did you look at the sales text? If you did a search, what exactly did you do? Analytics is the most important tool for online marketing. Sometimes a small change in the search form can increase the return by an order of magnitude. When you don't know what's going on, consider yourself blind.
Business card or interactive system?
Before promoting a real estate agency, ask yourself this question. Websites with services are better. BUT development will cost a significant amount of money. Behind their functionality is complex software. A business card is simpler, although limited. It costs less. Whatever choice you make, your agency must have an online presence. This mandatory requirement modern business!
There are so many agencies and companies involved in advertising today that it seems that no special skills are needed for this, and anyone can master the profession. High competition is caused in great demand for services of this type. In order not to lose customers and attract new ones, companies need to promote their own brand no less than work on the client’s image. How to organize correctly effective promotion advertising services and at the same time not waste all the company’s resources, we’ll talk about it in this article.
In this article you will read:
- How advertising services are promoted.
- What you need to remember when promoting advertising services.
- What advertising services do agencies promote?
- What methods of promoting advertising services exist.
- How to promote advertising services through social networks.
- What determines the effectiveness of promotion of advertising services?
What is the process of promoting advertising services based on?
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The actual process of making a profit during the production and sale of an advertising product is the advertising business. What we get as a result of collective and individual creativity, promotion strategies, concepts, advertising and media plans, communication campaigns, visual, textual and photo-video expression of ideas, scripts for videos and the videos themselves is called an advertising product. Here you should be careful not to make a mistake in the definition, since the concepts, plans, strategies, scripts and layouts themselves are not an advertising product, no matter how much the owners of advertising agencies who receive fees for a unit and/or package of advertising products would like it.
Results production activities, expressed in the form of printed materials and printing, souvenirs and memorable gifts, audio and videos, photographs and photo albums, websites, outdoor advertising designs - these are all advertising products. And the process of organizing the production of these promotional products and their sale is an advertising business.
Each organization engaged in the advertising business must start from six main parameters that affect both the scale of production of a given company and its prospects in the market, the strategy for promoting advertising services, and ultimately the amount of profit that the organization is able to generate. These parameters are:
- ways to recruit new specialists,
- personnel policy,
- company growth rate,
- client base,
- threshold for entry into the industry, degree of influence of government policy,
- breadth of the range of services provided.
An interesting and important point here is the fact that, for example, work with counterparties depends on the scale of activity and the range of clients. If the customer company is small or uses such services irregularly or with small volumes, then its counterparty company may simultaneously be the counterparty company of its competitor, which is not necessary, but may affect the safety confidential information, production plans and so on. This case is especially typical for contractors performing printing work and providing services for the production of banners and outdoor advertising banners.
In addition to counterparties, the advertising services company interacts with the main category - customers. This interaction is difficult to overestimate: the customer (client of the news agency) provides information that serves as a source for the formation of the strategy and the advertising product itself. The advertising agency, in turn, through its activities increases the recognition of the customer’s company, helps to sell its goods and services more efficiently, and therefore with greater profit.
At the same time, one cannot ignore this type of relationship in the market for promoting an enterprise’s advertising services, such as the influence of the activities of some advertising agencies on the work methods of others, their competitors. Despite the fact that such companies, in fact, share the market of the same clients, they adopt each other’s experiences (including negative ones), methods, and sometimes clients.
The key factor influencing the outcome of competition is the price of the advertising product. Often, for a client who is still a potential client, the more significant factor is the price for the services that he is going to order. At the same time, we take it as an axiom that the quality of advertising services from the performers considered by a given client is approximately comparable. In order to get a customer, and especially if this is a serious client who is ready for large volumes of work and (or) their regular repetition, advertising agencies are ready to reduce prices. However, this strategy is not always successful, and let's look at why.
The main expense of most advertising companies is employee salaries. If you reduce this expense item, employees will be demotivated, the quality of their work will decrease, and this will certainly affect the result and the degree of customer satisfaction. Ultimately, the customer may demand correction of poorly performed work, and employees will simply quit and go to work where they will be paid more. For example, to competitors.
To avoid this situation, there is a great solution: differentiation of tasks and processes. This is a very simple and obvious solution, but very difficult to implement in practice. Its meaning is that the company must have first-class specialists in very narrow areas of work, such as, for example, coming up with product names or writing a script. commercial, color correction or video editing. And a large number of good general workers.
With such management of the organization, it has the opportunity to take on stream orders general plan and through them maintain the required sales volume. At the same time, the loss of some of the clients from this pool will not be critical, since new ones will take their place. To carry out such work, an advertising agency can also attract contractors and outsource all non-core work. In this case, managers should be attentive to the price-quality ratio of these contractors, know their strengths and weaknesses, and be able to maneuver between orders and their urgency, because the agency is the guarantor of the quality of work and its timeliness to the customer. The second principle follows from this: an advertising agency that takes on tasks for subcontracting must have strong managers on staff who can organize this process from filling out the brief by the customer to delivering the finished product and signing all the reporting papers.
Hunting highly specialized employees is associated with a number of difficulties, the main one of which is motivation. Not always for real good specialists can be “buyed”, creative people value the realization of their talent and the opportunity to work on ideas that are valuable to them. You should not skimp and bargain with them, because these are the people who, ultimately, will bring stable and large profits to your company and will make its name and reputation. In addition, a loyal employee, passionate about his work and devoted to the team, is more difficult to lure to the side of competitors, which means you are safe on this front line.
It is a mistake to think that the development of an advertising agency is influenced by its scale and turnover. cash. For better or worse, all companies live and die by the same market laws, this applies to performers, customers, subcontractors, and competitors. We can say that fluctuations in economic activity affect the advertising services market to a greater extent because advertising budgets They are among the first to go under the knife in the event of a reduction in profits. But they also increase first of all when things are going well and profits are growing.
At the same time, a competent seller of advertising services will be able to convince a potential customer that it is the promotion of his goods through advertising that can pull the company out of the economic hole and stimulate the growth of consumption of its products by customers. Despite the fact that many consider launching advertising campaigns during a crisis to be a feast during a plague, this is a fairly effective mechanism to demonstrate to competitors that you (unlike them) are doing well and have free money, and to customers that you do not forget about them , despite the difficulties.
What to consider when promoting advertising services
Promotion of an enterprise's advertising services differs from, for example, the sale of goods in that, by providing services to a client, an advertising agency also works on its own reputation. Strictly speaking, in order to be able to promote the customer’s goods or services, an advertising agency must first sell itself, make sure that its services are in demand, priced proportionately and ordered.
The purchase of promotion services from a particular advertising agency is influenced by many factors, we will highlight the main ones:
- The effectiveness of the advertising campaign. Everything is simple here: the client came for a specific result, and he will ask for it. There are production standards for the quality of advertising, there are legal, ethical, professional standards, without which you should not wait in line for clients.
- Attitude of managers to customers. The advertising business is based on relationships between people, and even if the directors agreed, but the managers could not find the language for dialogue, the implementation of the project is in jeopardy. Heads of advertising agencies should constantly remind their employees of the need for correct communication with clients, train them and do not skimp on introductory instructions for newcomers.
- An impeccable name and word of mouth effect. Just as you ask your friends where is the best place to get your teeth treated, and which tutor can prepare your child for an English language exam, so business people periodically ask each other who prepared their catalog for their anniversary so well or covered the whole city with banners.
- Convenience of the office and its logistical accessibility. A rule that works for all companies without exception and is especially relevant at a time when Internet technologies make it possible to order almost everything without leaving the table. But if you have free parking for clients, comfortable chairs, delicious coffee and a director who is not late, people will come to you.
We have already touched on the topic of staff motivation, since success in this area largely depends on both the communication skills of individual advertising agency managers and the ability to build and maintain communication among its top managers and management. And if the latter are interested in clients with their profits or dividends, then line specialists need to be tuned in to the right wave. There are often cases when an advertising agency was on the verge of a foul because of an order that was not completed on time or was completed at an insufficient level of quality, but a manager who was able to “please the client” saved the situation, and, despite the obvious shortcomings, the customer left satisfied. Some people have such talents from birth, but most acquire them - consciously or not - in the process of work.
Gather a team of like-minded people, show them the value of teamwork in your company, praise and reward them for achievements, look at mistakes and failures together, and meeting KPIs will become for them not a gloomy number, but the joy of a job they love. To build such a team, in addition to bonuses, you can provide discounts on your own products, training at the company’s expense, organize trainings and corporate events.
What advertising services do advertising agencies promote?
The variety of tasks that clients pose to advertising agencies does not allow us to talk about the homogeneity of companies involved in the production of advertising products. Promotion of advertising services is a whole complex of diverse tasks that divides advertising agencies into specializations.
This allows agencies specializing in advertising services to provide them even to companies that have their own advertising departments. Often, agency employees turn out to be more creative, more technically savvy, and their view of the organization’s work and the possibilities of its promotion is not yet “blurred” by routine tasks.
1. PR services.
Strictly speaking, PR should not be here, since the main task of public relations is precisely what the abbreviation stands for English language- agree on client promotion for free. And although for many in our country PR is a kind of “black horse”, which some confuse with marketing, others with advertising, and still others generally believe that it is a useless tool, in the rest of the world businessmen actively use this path to obtain benefits.
The PR department is engaged in the so-called non-price competition, when, with equal quality and price, the client’s individual needs, his wishes, preferred communication channels, etc. enter the arena. With increasing competition and a simplified purchasing process, misjudging the power and capabilities of PR can be a business-damaging practice.
Planning and carrying out a PR campaign, if successful, causes a great public outcry, and the agency’s case is analyzed by the professional community. The highest aerobatics is considered to be a situation in which the media use information submitted by an advertising agency as a news story, without realizing that this is just a fabricated campaign.
The tool is opposite in nature to the previous one, but no less effective. Direct purchase of advertising space in the media is no less prestigious way to express yourself than direct mention of the customer company.
There are a number of important points. Advertising in popular newspapers and radio is expensive, and you can lose a significant portion of your profits by placing in top media. On the other hand, ignoring them will lead to a loss of audience; the buyer may forget about a certain company or manufacturer. Therefore, when choosing this tool as your main one, you should carefully evaluate the media audience, conversion and placement price.
The second point concerns the presentation of material. On the one hand, the reader must understand that he is reading advertising material. For this purpose, the legislation has provided a special marker for texts and visual objects placed in the media as advertising. On the other hand, the text or visual support should not be overtly propaganda; if possible, they should be integrated into the editorial style and agenda.
Today the term “native advertising” is popular, when the text seems to be editorial, it is quite interesting and useful, but at the end (or on the side) the reader sees an “advertising” icon. This solves two problems: the editors acquire interesting and useful content, and the customer acquires a loyal potential client.
AND last moment- choice of media. You shouldn't go out federal network, if you sell products only in one region. Be clear about your target audience and what they read and listen to. Placing advertising messages in non-core publications will not only deprive you of money, but can also provoke a decrease in reputation and ridicule.
3. Special Events.
One of the most popular formats for attracting attention to a product or its manufacturer. This includes various kinds of competitions and lotteries, tastings and concerts, parties and round tables, seminars and days open doors. There are many reasons for holding special events; finding and presenting them correctly is the task of an advertising agency. This could be a company anniversary, the launch of a new product, the millionth customer, your own invented holiday, and so on.
4. Development and production of printing and presentation materials.
Visual booklets, product catalogs, reports on previously held events, presentations for partners - all these are popular and necessary products of the advertising world. IN recent years Video is being actively included in presentations, and the presentation format itself is becoming more interactive. This requires an advertising agency employee to be a modern specialist, have a keen sense of industry trends and be able to comply with them.
The Internet is changing the way people live and bringing new things to every area of business. Banners on websites are replaced by interactive videos, text content and images of places and objects that you recently searched for in a search engine. Promoting advertising services on the Internet today is one of the most popular tasks for advertising agencies and one of the most successful channels for achieving the necessary results.
There are many ways to set up promotion of an enterprise’s advertising services via the Internet: classic promotions, animation, special videos, virtual office and already retiring advertising banners.
6. BTL.
This is the classic and timeless foundation of advertising agencies. This includes well-known tastings, competitions and lotteries, leaflets, promotions “gift with purchase” and “1+1=3” and the like, as well as the work of promoters.
Signs, banners, information stands, boards and stands, three-dimensional letters, illuminated signs, graffiti. This also includes window dressing, which is gradually becoming an independent type of advertising production, allowing customers and advertising agencies to express their creativity to the fullest.
8. Merchandising.
This is the correct display of products sold and the effective placement of retail equipment, control of the outlet by representatives of the company or advertising agency.
9. Souvenir products.
This includes both everyday consumables (paper and LDPE bags, packaging, business cards) and special products for events (silk-screen printing, fabric painting, laser engraving and engraving on wood, stone and glass), as well as the production of special T-shirts, T-shirts, bandanas and caps, other branded clothing and paraphernalia.
10. Work at the exhibition.
Here, depending on the wishes of the customer and the capabilities of the agency, it is possible various options and combinations. From the idea of positioning the client at the exhibition and its implementation to simply the technical installation and dismantling of the exhibition stand. Also, work at an exhibition depends on the type of exhibition: at an event of 2 formats, the style of presenting information is businesslike. If the exhibition is of a type 2 nature, then gamification elements and bright stand design will play into the company’s hands.
As you can see, the volume of services that an advertising agency can provide is large, and the range of tasks - from highly technical to purely creative - forces companies to either have a large staff or enter into partnerships with other advertising agencies. The second option seems to be the most optimal, since it not only allows you to avoid a situation in which the agency refuses an order due to a lack of specialists or misses deadlines trying to fulfill terms of reference by specialists with qualifications in another industry, but also helps to establish connections in the professional community, thereby increasing the reputation and prestige of the company. In addition, maintaining an inflated staff can negatively affect both profits and the mood of the employees themselves: if they have to work occasionally, and they love their work, then sooner or later (but rather sooner) the moment will come when they become I'm not interested in working for you. If you are not ready to enter into cooperation with other agencies, then it is better to find good outsourced specialists who can get involved at the right time and not miss the deadline. Finding such people is, of course, a long process and sometimes nerve-wracking, but it will pay off at the right time.
What are the ways to promote advertising services?
The choice of method of conveying information about the client and his products is key to the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. Because main task promotion of advertising services is to convey the benefits of a product or service to the end consumer, then the following methods of promoting advertising services can be distinguished:
- Brand creation.
- Complex of marketing communications.
- Promotion of advertising services with the participation of subcontractors.
The main tasks to be solved as work progresses are:
- Building relationships with the customer.
- Finding and retaining highly qualified specialists.
- Team building.
The success of the advertising agency itself as a business unit, its growth and scale and, of course, the amount of profit generated by its employees depends on the quality of solving these problems. We can say that an agency's employees are its liability, and clients are its asset. And the less turnover of both of them, the more successful the work of the entire advertising agency will be, and the more effective its activities will be in promoting the advertising services of the enterprise.
As noted above, few agencies in the advertising market are able to cover the entire volume of advertising services provided. And specialization in one or more areas is the key to success and a constant influx of clients. There is no need to explain why customer flow is critical for any business. Let's look at how to organize such a flow.
A comprehensive and reasoned strategy, including both marketing and PR tools, aimed at a specific audience is called lead generation. She is the one who works to ensure that advertising agency managers always have orders.
“Lead” is translated from English as “to lead, bring” and means, in the literal marketing sense, bringing customers. Leads as actions of future buyers can be expressed in the form of a text message, application and call.
A lead, as a rule, contains information about a potential client, allowing managers to select the best product or service option for him, as well as a sales method and communication channel. Such information may be a telephone number or email address, last name, first name, patronymic of a person, his date of birth and marital status, comments on the order and other information.
The demand for the services of lead generation specialists exceeds supply, despite the fact that the Internet is full of advertisements of this kind. Often, under the guise of specialists, there are incompetent workers, and sometimes just scammers. This market is now experiencing a real explosion in demand, as advertising agencies prefer to hire lead generation specialists, spending a minimum of their own efforts. And this does not always lead to the desired result.
There are also special programs that allow you to optimize a number of work processes. For example, it is known that most people select the desired product or service on weekends or after work. The program can be configured in such a way that it will independently collect customer data, and specialists will only have to create an offer and send it to a potential client at the right time. The moment of sending can also be configured using special software.
One way or another, lead generation in the matter of promoting advertising services remains task number one, because it is this that ensures the flow of clients. The choice of lead generation method for each specific case should be considered separately, taking into account all factors.
Promotion of advertising services as an integral part of the development of an advertising agency
It is logical that the advertising agencies themselves, which provide promotion services to business entities, also need promotion. To avoid a “shoemaker without boots” situation, a company providing such services must be attentive to its image. There are several simple steps to increase your prestige in the advertising market and get new clients:
- Make a clear and informative website. Add information about what you do, how much it costs, examples of work and contacts. Don’t overload the site, but don’t leave it in the form of a “business card” with the phrase “call for any questions...” People need at least minimal information .
- Create a cool portfolio. This should be a portfolio that you can either post on the website or print out as a booklet and bring to the meeting. Choose a few of the best options in each category of work and arrange them in a way that makes you want to read and look at them.
- Hire strong sales managers. They must be true professionals who sincerely love their work. A sales manager must love to communicate, because half of his job is communication with potential customers, and here it is important not to be afraid to call strangers and be able to convince them.
- Keep in touch with past clients. After all, they can always come back to you - or not, if they forget about you. So congratulate them on professional holidays, send small souvenirs on important occasions, sometimes remind yourself by letter, for example, if you launched new look services or significantly reduced prices for some type from the previous line. Be original and sincere.
- Work on brand awareness. Come up with a concept and follow it. Invest in good tasteful designers and create a logo and corporate identity. Place links to the site on the main information resources city, hang up outdoor advertising billboards - make yourself known.
- Remember that quality speaks for itself. No matter how beautiful your office and the girls at the reception are, if you do your work poorly, you should not expect a stream of grateful customers. Conversely, an effective advertising campaign completed on time will make your customers praise you completely free and sincerely. And word of mouth is the best lead generator.
Despite the fact that the activities of an advertising agency are based on communication and depend on the ability of its employees to negotiate, a number of issues still lie beyond the boundaries of human sociability and are subject to manual regulation.
Promoting advertising services on the Internet is an important component of the marketing strategy, and here you need to spend as much as the company’s budget allows on SEO optimization and website promotion. Experiment with presentation methods, be catchy but not flashy, use viral marketing techniques. Do not forget about the constant training of your employees, both those communicating with customers and technical specialists. Courses for accountants will not only help you avoid problems with inspection authorities, but can also open up new ways of tax optimization. Creativity is useful not only for designers and writers.
How can you organize the promotion of advertising services through social networks?
You can advertise anything through social networks. To do this, you just need to decide what you want to sell, to whom, and in what language to speak with a potential client. Despite the simplicity of these rules, there are depressingly few examples in RuNet where companies managed to create a truly attractive sales channel in social network.
Let's take a conventional advertising agency, about which we know nothing: what exactly it does, who its clients are, what the average fee for their services is, what city the agency is located in and what it can boast of.
There are a number of points that should be clearly stated to everyone who is going to promote on social networks. This general rules for all business entities, also applicable to advertising agencies:
- Determine your target audience. Select 2-3 groups for each social network. Write down their gender, age, marital status, income, interests.
- Form a communication strategy, this is the starting point for all brands on social media. This is your positioning, how you differ from your competitors, what makes your offer unique, what messages you intend to use to communicate with your target audience. Sometimes managers refuse to prescribe a communication strategy because it is “obvious things.” In practice, it turns out that everyone understands something different by the obvious. This can happen not only within an advertising agency, but also between the customer and the contractor.
- Differentiate social networks according to tasks. For example, you can use Facebook to demonstrate cases and discuss them with other market participants, and VKontakte will be for selling subcontracting services for other agencies and finding interns.
- Enter KPIs. This point can also cause rejection among colleagues, since if you work for yourself, then it seems that you don’t need any indicators. But this is a dangerous misconception that can throw all the work to chance. It is not necessary to set champion indicators; they must be achievable and sufficient to solve the problems at hand.
- Create a content plan. Analyze and record how many and what kind of posts per week you want to publish on each social network. Think about what these posts should be about: only about your activities or about industry news too? Will you publish only your cases or successful and original examples colleagues too? What to do with reposts? Answering all these questions at the preparation stage will help to avoid disagreements in the team and mistakes.
What determines the success of promotion of advertising services?
Analysis of available data and planning, despite the apparent creative direction of the work of an advertising agency, is a mandatory factor for the success of the work. Finding communication channels to convey information to the client is one of the main tasks, and if it is not solved correctly, then neither ingenious creativity nor masterly execution of videos and photographic materials will bring results: clients simply will not see them.
The media planning process can be divided into stages. At the preliminary stage, the goals of the advertising campaign are formulated and target audience client. At the intermediate planning stage, a decision is made on the required reach of potential customers, taking into account the existing conversion and the required budget. At the final stage, the tools are selected and the final communication scheme is written.
- Planning and carrying out an advertising campaign
Complex of special promotional events, designed for a specific period, region and group of people, is called advertising campaign. Such a campaign requires enormous efforts both on the part of the advertising agency, expressed in complex and varied work, and on the part of the customer, expressed mainly in the expenditure of large amounts of money per unit of time. Such costs - human, resource, time and budget - can only be justified by the effect of the campaign. It, in turn, is impossible with poor or illiterate planning. Therefore, only highly qualified specialists should be allowed to implement a media plan of this scale.
- Maintaining image in the event of an information war.
- Introducing a new product or service to the market.
- The company's entry into a new market.
- A significant change in the market situation: the emergence of new unique properties of a product, the advance of competitors, a serious change in the consumer market.
- Design development
Product design is a visual expression of the client’s ideas about the company’s values and the properties of this product, the primary way of communication with a potential client and, of course, a way to differentiate from competitors. The design for the tasks of promoting an enterprise's advertising services is first created in a mock-up and then realized in real size from selected materials using graphic and video programs, text and specialized software.
All design services that advertising agencies offer to their clients can be divided into two main groups. This is the development of the design of everyday and representative printed products, as well as the design of advertising printing.
The main trends in design today strive for simplicity and conciseness. If we are talking about fonts, then these are classic fonts, without excessive floridity and shadows; it is acceptable to use italics or italics. When writing a logo, it is permissible to use a color shade to give the name energy and power. The shapes of the logo and other elements should be simple and easily outlined. A slight stretching of the figures is acceptable.
The rule of minimalism also applies to color. It can be rich or pastel, but if possible there is only one. If two colors are used, then, as a rule, these are two shades of the same palette, for example, blue and blue, and not blue and yellow. This helps to concentrate on the name of the company and better remember it, strengthening the “color - name” association.
- Print design
Promotion of advertising services on the Internet is gaining more and more popularity, and the volume of this market is growing from year to year. This is due to efficiency this method, its accessibility compared to other types of advertising products.
But forget about traditional methods conveying information is also not worth it, and the main player in this field remains printing products. Despite the fact that this method of communication between a seller and a buyer has been around for many years, the mistakes made when creating printing remain the same. These are low quality photographs, the media is overloaded text information, illiterate sentences and even spelling errors.
If you are betting on printing, don’t be lazy to check everything twice, don’t turn a blind eye to the little things, since there simply cannot be unimportant details in this matter. The first impression you will make potential client, must be flawless.
Expert opinion
Promoting advertising services on the Internet: how not to run into SEO scammers
Alexey Shtarev,
Executive Director of SeoPult, Moscow
Marketing ploys.
Perhaps the most popular method of deception. The client sees that when ordering services from this specialist or agency, his website will be displayed in the top search results within a week. In fact, even if it is in this top, then, alas, it will not be thanks to SEO optimization of the site and painstaking work with texts, but thanks to the purchase of contextual ads. As soon as the contract with such a “specialist” is terminated, the purchase of traffic also ends. Accordingly, the site disappears from the top search results. Unscrupulous people skillfully manipulate the ignorance of customers and thus “keep” them as clients for many years. After all, the connection is obvious to the customer: refusing the services of a “specialist” means disappearing from the top search results. And no one will explain to him the reasons.
Optimizer tricks.
What a dishonest employee can do instead of real SEO optimization:
- Promote the company name. This doesn't make any sense because few people are looking for a specific company unless it's BMW or Apple. And the company name along with the city in the search bar always displays the desired site in the first lines.
- Promote unpopular queries. Popular queries are expensive, unpopular ones are cheap. You can be the first in unpopular ones, but the likelihood that someone will search for them tends to zero. Check the queries you are going to work with at http://wordstat.yandex.ru.
- Manipulate the results. Here we are dealing with a classic deception. The reporting documents may show you great numbers, but you may not feel the effect of the campaign at all. It’s worth checking the result before the closing payment, since there is a possibility that you were promoted in another region (an example from practice), or they simply drew the numbers in Photoshop. Yes, this, unfortunately, also happens.
- Use prohibited methods. Search sites' policies are strict against violators. Cheating, adding elements to a site that increase its search results but are not related to its activities, manipulating visitors - all this is prohibited by the search engines of the world and is very easily detected by them. As a punishment, the system may ban the site from search results for several months or forever. Therefore, if you notice incredible results in a short period of time, ask the performer how he did it. It’s better to agree on and formalize the work plan in the contract before it starts.
Legal tricks.
The most obvious and most difficult way for the customer to deceive. Tons of pages of fine print in terms you understand nothing about. The subject of the agreement, as a rule, is written down at the end, when attention and strength are no longer enough. Therefore, start reading with the subject of the contract and terms of payment and do not hesitate to take time to study it in order to understand it without haste. The main tricks when drawing up a contract are:
- No mention of the search engine in which the results are measured.
If you see the phrase: “All possible search engines, including Yandex,” - they are going to deceive you. The main flow of traffic in the Russian segment of the Internet is provided by Yandex. And if you sign such an agreement, and then get top ranking in Yahoo! or Bing, there will be no one to blame.
- Confusing formulas for calculating results.
There can be a great many options for deception here, so just remember the optimal formula for calculations. A = B x C, where:
A is the price of one key phrase.
B - the price of one day of the site being in the top for the key phrase.
C - time (days) that the site holds the desired position.
At the request of the parties, this formula can be supplemented with a fixed part of the payment, but I recommend linking it with the last payment.