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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 Roadmapℱ 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 and Bing.
  2. Register with online directories of your local Chamber of Commerce, college or university, and alums and associations you are a member of. Request a link to your website (which is excellent for your SEO).
  3. Please read our blog to learn about 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. Create a business video to be “seen” and “found” on the internet.

Advertising is defined as paid media space, including traditional forms of advertising such as television, radio, and print. Online advertising includes Google and Bing’s ads *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 Roadmapℱ 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: To evaluate your investment, every marketing and advertising initiative must be measured. 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 crucial to capture this information at the initial point of contact, when it is still fresh in their mind.

Clients often mention that most people have found them online, and we always ask our prospective clients how they heard about McCabe Marketing. If they say online, it is essential 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 and 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, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn?
  • Was it Google?
  • Most importantly, what keywords did you type in to find us?

Online advertising

What’s the digital version of the Yellow Pages? Google Ad. 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 a maximum of 90 characters. 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” on how much you will pay for an ad.

The number of people who see your ad (known as ‘impressions’) is not essential. What’s fantastic is that you only pay for people who click through 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 e-mail) available, and do you have a clear call to action? Learn more about practical, easy-to-implement website marketing tips.

Client Case Study – Dream Home Creations Doubled Their Sales Leads.

Dream Home Creations is an interior design firm specializing in home renovation services. They had written their own Google ads, which had limited results. The company wanted improved outcomes and 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, in-depth keyword research (the words typed into Google to find the site), rewriting their ads, and creating a dedicated landing page. McCabe Marketing also recommended a top Search Engine firm specializing in managing Google ads (PPC) campaigns.

McCabe Marketing developed a comprehensive marketing strategy that included an analysis of their Google Ads, results, and website. Key recommendations included website changes to improve usability and content, in-depth keyword research (identifying the words people type into Google to find you), rewriting their ads, and utilizing 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 “over their heads” with their home renovation project. Please contact us now to discover how we can help your business achieve greater success.

SUCCESS TIP 2:  You should never pay the published rates known in the advertising industry as a rate card. You shouldn’t pay the sticker price on a car or 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 (when discounts are usually offered), and bonus periods (when you provide more than the basic ad). Are you interested in learning more?

The Surgical Weight Loss Centre (SWLC) specializes in medical treatment for weight loss and obesity, offering the LAP-BANDÂź and Gastric Balloon programs. SWLC was open to trying TV advertising as part of its integrated marketing plan. However, based on previous estimates, SWLC believed the cost of creating and airing a commercial was too expensive.

McCabe Marketing had been hired to project manage the creation of a series of videos and proposed creating a commercial that leveraged the production company and actors already engaged. The incremental cost of writing and editing 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, a script was developed, and the commercial was filmed. We worked closely with the production company and played a crucial role 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 stop, or subway station, an outdoor advertisement may be an effective way to increase walk-in traffic and attract new customers. As a small business, we understand that you may not have a substantial 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 in the subway or on a billboard. Together, we researched his options. He obtained a quote from a company, and compared to their rate card, the quote was reasonable. However, McCabe Marketing negotiated 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 a solid call to action, such as a time-limited discount or special offer, are critical.

We can recommend the best options for your marketing dollars by developing your action roadmap.

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