This month I thought I would talk about the pro-s & con's of a couple of different promotional types including newspapers, radio & website/online media.
In my next blog I will feature a few different other promotional types, these can help show you some advantages and disadvantages of various types of media.
Firstly we will start with Newspapers....
Newspapers:
Cons:
-Lack of quality reproduction- the stock used lack the clarity and quality of flyers or magazine print. Often you pay more for colour print & the grainy look of papers may not represent the image you are trying to express.
-Short shelf life- paper will be thrown away next day or week, generally papers not kept for reading or for reference later on. If a reader only views certain sections eg 'sport' or does a quick ‘flick’ through they may not even see your message.
-Costly- newspaper advertisements may not be too costly for a once-off advert, however if you are running a 3 month campaign of weekly advertisements this can quickly add up.
-Clutter- newspaper content consist of more then 50% advertising and may result in your advertisement competing with many similar ones or the message being lost.
Pros:
-Value- People generally have to pay for the paper, it is not FREE (most), which can often mean that readers will value the content more- they will read every last part to make sure they are getting value for what they paid for it.
-Target- You can target a fairly specific regional area eg Wollongong district or certain Sydney suburbs, meaning your marketing is tailored to a more specific area (eg if you have a cafe in Nowra & promote in a local Nowra paper you are generally more likely to recieve local business then say promoting in a Sydney paper).
-Online Presence- Many papers now have an online presence- meaning you are reaching the online market for no extra cost.
This website can give you some more Advantages & Disadvantages of Newspaper Advertising www.websitemarketingplan.com
Radio Promotion
Cons:
-Competing Messages- Thousands of competing messages mean that your advertisement can
sometimes get lost in the bunch.-Once the message is heard – that’s it, the customer cannot return to message for a reference- what if they forget the phone number or website?!
-No visuals- as consumers we relate to pictures and images but with radio there is only sound, so message is easily forgotton
-With a range of competing music like ipods & car CD players- many people are not listening to radio like they used to & will simply switch to their cd player when advertisements start.
Have you ever changed the channel to another station if the song stops and add’s come on? So do many others!
Pros:
-Targeted listeners- radio can target your advertisment to similar listeners by placing say an advertisement that wants to reach career-based men with a high income level ages XX in a time slot that suits (such as the drive to work/home time slot), they often have great stats and feedback to help find a time slot to suits your needs.
-Features- There are other options such as a live broadcast, sponsorship & other ways in which you can publicise your business on the radio (instead of just straight out adverts) & this is something to consider.
This site will take you to a list of radio stations in Australia- http://www.ausradiostations.com/
Online Promotion
Cons:
-Wastage of audience- Would someone in India be interested in your restaurant in NSW?
This media means it is sometimes difficult to target a specific audience.
-Huge amount of material on the Net- there are over 4 billion pages (& growing each day) listed on Google! How will you make your business stand out from the crowd.
Pros:
-The internet is the way of the world, more and more people have access to the net and use it to search products & services, if you dont have a website you are seen as being behind the times & some people will even find you less than credible if you dont have one.
-With Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, Websites, online advertising & more there are more and more ways to stay in touch on the net & it's often a great platform to promote your business for a relatively low cost. Web stats can tell you very specific information about who is reading your information.
There are literally hundreds of great sites online that offer more specific hints & tips about marketing online, a couple of the links below can get you started:
www.smartcompany.com.au
www.ehow.com
For web design & development or workshops on Facebook & other online media, visit:
www.scpromotions.com.au
More info on other promotional pros's & con's coming soon!
Cheers, Vanessa
