For every charming gecko, memorable slogan, or unforgettable jingle, thousands of businesses advertise very effectively by being authentic, direct, and adhering to a couple of simple ideas. You don’t have to be a creative genius to use advertising effectively! Here’s the first in a series of simple tips to help you decide what to say, how to say it, and where you should say it. Focus on these practices and you’ll be off to a great start.
Do: Commit to your advertising or don’t do it at all. Advertising is very similar to exercise (for someone who has been out of shape for a while). You generally don’t see a lot of results at the start, just like you don’t see results after your first trips to the gym. In fact, the early experience may seem a little painful. But ad campaigns, just like your body, have to undergo a significant period of base-building — slowly, steadily building muscle and cardiovascular capacity (in the case of ads, awareness and familiarity) before you start to see obvious benefits. But just because you don’t see them, it doesn’t mean these benefits aren’t accruing! Once you’ve built that base, the results come faster and with less onerous effort. Eventually you’ll be looking forward to more. As most people who go through the process, and make exercise (and advertising) a regular part of their lives, will attest, the early sweat yields tangible benefits: it makes you look better, feel better, and live less stressfully. The same applies to advertising: once your base is built, steady advertising (consistent exposure and a consistent message) will yield stead results.
Don’t: Change your approach or worse, give up, after a few weeks (or even months) because you don’t see results. As long as you’re achieving decent frequency, and your message differentiates your brand in a relevant way, you will be building a base, just like with exercise. Once you do start to see results, don’t stop working. Just like at the gym, you can dial down the intensity a little, but when you stop building the muscle and cardio of your brand, you’ll quickly fall ‘out of shape’ and be right back where you started – and having to go through that whole miserable ramp-up period again!
For every charming gecko, memorable slogan, or unforgettable jingle, thousands of businesses advertise very effectively by being authentic, direct, and adhering to a couple of simple ideas. You don’t have to be a creative genius to use advertising effectively! Here’s the first in a series of simple tips to help you decide what to say, how to say it, and where you should say it. Focus on these practices and you’ll be off to a great start. Read more »
Wendy Harris, Team Harris Realty