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Promotional Campaigns Free or Fee: Online and Traditional Advertising

Tips to promote your business and generate more profits.

Do you have an Action Roadmap™ to increase sales? Like you, many small business owners, start-ups, and entrepreneurs are unaware of their options. Six ways to promote your business for free:

  1. Set-up a business profile on Google Places (Google Plus) and Bing.
  2. Register with online directories of your local Chamber of Commerce, college or university alumni and associations of which you are a member. Request a link to your website (which is great for your SEO)
  3. Read our blog to learn the top online directories in Toronto and Canada.
  4. Utilize social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest
  5. Post comments on business- and industry-related blogs
  6. Upload your video to YouTube. Often journalists search YouTube for local business people to interview. To be “seen” and “found” on the internet, create a business video.

Advertising is defined as paid media space which may include traditional advertising such as TV, radio, and print. Online advertising includes Google’s AdWords (pay-per-click advertising), banner ads, mobile marketing, directory listings etc.

Wherever you advertise, it must be part of an overall marketing strategy and plan. Rifle shooting i.e. trying a little of this and that, hoping something will be successful is not the right approach. McCabe Marketing will develop your Marketing Action Roadmap™ before you invest in any advertising. As a business owner, you can’t afford to take “detours” that waste your time and hard-earned profits!

SUCCESS TIP 1: Every marketing and advertising initiative must be measured to evaluate your investment. Ensure that you have a plan and that your staff records the source of every contact such as phone calls, emails, walk-ins, and referrals. It is critical to capture this information at the initial point of contact, when it is fresh in their mind.

Often clients mention that most people have found them online and we always inquire from our prospective clients as to how they heard about McCabe Marketing. If they mention online it is important to probe and ask relevant questions just as we do:

  • Did you read the online article in The Toronto Star or watch the online interview on the CTV website? (The objective is to reinforce the marketing expertise, authority of the
    company by mentioning the media in which you appeared.)
  • Was it an online directory?
  • Did you find us on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn?
  • Was it Google? Were we at the top of the page on Google? (which may mean it was an ad)
  • Most importantly, what keywords did you type in to find us?

Online Advertising

What’s the digital version of the Yellow Pages? Google AdWords. Because 85% of Canadians use Google, McCabe Marketing only runs our “pay-per-click” (PPC) ad campaigns on Google.

How does it work? As the advertiser you write a short ad using 130 characters maximum. You bid on “keywords” which are groups of words that your prospective customers type into Google’s search bar. When you set up your campaign, you “bid”how much you are willing to pay for an ad.

It is not important how many people see your ad (known as ‘impressions’). What’s fantastic is that you only pay for people who click-thru to your website.

Once a potential client is on your website, the rest is up to you. Do you have the information they are looking for? Is your website easy to navigate? Is your contact information (telephone and email) available and do you have a clear call to action? Learn more about effective, easy-to-implement website marketing tips.

Client case study – Dream Home Creations double their sales leads

Dream Home Creations is an interior design firm and home renovation services specialist. They had written their own Google ads which had limited results. The company wanted improved results and realized that they needed an overall marketing strategy to generate more leads. McCabe Marketing developed a comprehensive marketing strategy which included an analysis of their Google ads, the results of these ads and a review of their website. Other key recommendations included: website changes to improve usability and content, an in-depth keyword research (words that are typed into Google to find you), rewriting their ads and creating a landing page. McCabe Marketing also recommended a top Search Engine firm who specializes in managing Google ads (PPC) campaigns.

McCabe Marketing developed a comprehensive marketing strategy which included an analysis of their Google ads, results, and website. Key recommendations included website changes to improve usability and content, in-depth keyword research (words that people type into Google to find you), rewriting their ads, and using a landing page.

Hiring a professional versus the “do-it-yourself” approach made sense to Dream Home Creations. Why? Many prospective customers contacted them when they were in “over their heads” with their own home renovation project. Please contact us now to learn how we help your business become more successful.

SUCCESS TIP 2:  You should never pay the published rates which are known in the advertising industry as a rate card. You don’t pay the sticker price on a car and you shouldn’t on your print, TV, or radio ad!

Local TV Advertising

Regional advertising on a TV listing channel or a local station is probably more affordable than you think. There are often specials for first time advertisers, slow periods (at which time discounts are usually offered), and bonus periods (when you you offered more than the basic ad). Are you interested in learning more?

Surgical Weight Loss Centre specializes in medical treatment for weight loss and obesity, and offers the Lap-Band and Gastric Balloon programs. SWLC was open to trying TV advertising as part of its integrated marketing plan. However, based on previous estimates SWLC felt the cost to create and air a commercial was too expensive.

McCabe Marketing had been hired to project manage the creation of a series of videos and proposed to create a commercial leveraging the production company and actors already hired. The incremental cost to write and edit the commercial was a fraction of the cost of producing a commercial from scratch.

McCabe Marketing project managed the commercial from start to finish. By understanding the client’s key messages a creative brief was written and a script was developed, and the commercial was filmed. We worked closely with the production company and played an integral part in the editing process. The ad has aired in local and regional markets.

We can recommend the best options for your marketing dollars, when you contact us for a free no-pressure consultation.

Outdoor Advertising

If your office is located near a billboard, bus, subway stop, an outdoor ad may be a great way to increase your walk-in traffic and attract new customers. As a small business, we realize you don’t have a huge budget so McCabe Marketing will only recommend cost-effective options that can help increase your profits.

A new client located across the street from a subway station was open to trying an advertisement either in the subway or on a billboard. Together, we researched his options. He obtained a quote from a company and when compared to their “rate card”, the quote was good. However, McCabe Marketing was able to negotiate a better deal and no commission was paid to us. How was that possible? A savvy marketing consultant is familiar with the media buying process and knows how to negotiate ‘extras’. Typically, in these situations, the sales rep is eager to close the sale and the media company is more flexible when a consultant or agency acting on behalf of a client, is involved.

Tips for revenue generating ads:  Less is more! Fewer words, a good image (picture), and strong call to action such as a time-limited discount or special offer are key.

The bottom-line, we can recommend the best options for your marketing dollars by developing your action roadmap. Contact us now to explore your options.