A month of blogging day 10

Today is the first in my series of guest bloggers.

I am very thankful to Scott Donald of Your Town Centre magazine for his contribution today. Your Town Centre is a monthly local magazine designed to bring local community events, information, clubs and groups together. It is available both in print and online. Currently available in Peterhead but soon to be available in other towns in Aberdeenshire. Get in touch with Scott to find out more about the magazine and advertising opportunities.


Www.yourtowncentre.co.uk


Advertising.

Advertising has been around for many, many years. It is a form of communication to encourage viewers or readers to take some action. If used correctly, advertising can be a powerful force. It is your sales force that is communicating and letting people know about your business and what you do.

If have thought about advertising or you are not sure about it, you should firstly sit down and plan. Don’t ….

• Just advertise when you feel flush or just because you think you should. Or,

• Only advertise for just a few weeks or months.


What you should do when planning your advertising campaign is think about your….

• Advertising message. What are you trying to get across to potential customers?

• Key Benefits. Why your service or product is ahead of the competition.

• Target Market. Who might your customers be?

• Campaign Length. Again don’t advertise for a few weeks or months, but plan for longer. Repetition is good.

• Spend. Have a budget for your campaign.

• Chosen media. This can be magazines, radio or even TV. Ideally a media that targets your market. A media where your advert will look good and appealing.

Having done the above you are in a better position to now to go ahead and advertise. Remember the objective of advertising is to communicate your message and move your potential customers closer to purchasing or take action. It is important to get it right.

So in summary, plan your campaign, set your budget, choose your media and most importantly, put your business ahead of the competition.