17.1 Introduction
Thus far, you have gone through 16
different modules and have learned all about the different types of advertising
out there.
From learning the basics of marketing to learning how to use print and online
advertising to your advantage, you have a very good basis of what business
marketing is all about. This module will take things one step further and show
examples from the real world of advertising. By seeing the different types of
adverts out there, you can easily see how these adverts work in a practical
manner, and how you can apply them to your own business.
17.2 eBay Listings
Utilising an eBay listing is an
effective way to reach out to potential buyers and help your products sell
faster.
As most people know, eBay is an e-commerce platform that sells new and used
goods at competitive rates. This platform is a market leader, as most of the
people prefer to use it to make a purchase of anything that they need at an
affordable rate. Therefore, listing on eBay is one of the best ways to instantly
get more sales.
By using eBay listings, it allows users to post items in the most appropriate
category, and then use the benefit of the platform to learn how to attract the
right audience. There are advanced listing tools on eBay that allow users to
choose the most relevant category for their items, which is a great tool
that makes it easy for the buyers to find the products that they are looking
for. In turn, this increases the chance for businesses to sell their items.
To create a listing on eBay, a user
needs to take the following steps:
·
Users must write a good and highly accurate title and description for
the item.
·
Write about the item's specifications and features to clearly define
what the product really is.
·
If the item to be sold belongs to one of the growing categories of the
platform, then the sellers can get a product description and image from eBay
itself. If not, make sure to use photographs.
·
Listing allows users to add high quality images of the item to attract
buyers.
· eBay also allows users a couple of pricing options for their items, and
buyers can choose payment methods that they will accept, shipping costs and
locations where they will ship to.
·
All eBay users are required to specify their return policy and make it
clear to buyers.
·
The website also allows its users to upgrade their listing to add a
sub-heading to help the advert stand out from the crowd.
Tips to Enhance an eBay Selling
Experience
If you are considering selling on
eBay, there are some ways that you can boost the odds that your items will sell
·
Offer expert advice - You should make sure that you or someone else is
available to tell customers about your products or services. Whoever is
offering this advice should know the products inside and out.
·
Offer a number of products - Also, make sure that you have a number of
products available at a number of price points. Remember, people may not be
willing to spend hundreds of pounds on an item from a store they are not
familiar with. However, after making a couple of £10 - £50 purchases, they will
be more likely to spend more if they have a good experience.
·
Offer good customer service - As has been discussed in this course
before, customer service is imperative when owning a company and selling goods
and services.
Well Known British Companies on
eBay
There are several well-known companies in the UK that have made their fortunes
simply selling on eBay. These companies, such as Crampton and Moore, make
millions of pounds a year. This company is based in Yorkshire and sells
electronics. It is one of the largest independent seller on eBay in the
world, and it continues to grow.
Another UK-based company that has had great success on eBay is PF Jones, a
company that sells car parts. This is a home-based company that has grown by
leaps and bounds.
These companies both started with a
computer and an idea, and there is no reason you cannot do the same with your
own company.
FACT
There are more than 250 million searches on ebay every day
Source: ebayinc.com
17.3 Web Banner Advertisements
Just like print banners, web banners are also large ads that are placed on
websites.
These ads can be both static and animated, and are used to target the users
visiting web pages.
Purpose of Banner Ads
Banner ads are placed on different web pages to get traffic to a particular
website. Banner ads are almost always linked to another website; which users
are then directed to once they click on the banner. Moreover, banner ads are
used to promote a product or increase sales. Some banner ads are like normal
online ads that do not link to another source and are just used for
advertising purposes.
Placement of Banner Ads
Banner ads are placed on websites that get a lot of traffic. This is done
because advertisers know that when they place adverts on high traffic sites,
some of the people who go to that site will follow the advert to a new site.
The more people who go to the site in the first place, the higher the chances
of more people coming to the target site.
Apart from high traffic sites, banner ads are also placed on websites with
interesting and high quality content. Moreover, the intent of advertisers is to
reach their target audience, which is the reason they also place ads on
websites related to their product or service.
A jogging shoe seller will place banner ads on sports and fitness websites so
that they can attract appropriate customers. The target of the website that the
banner ad is placed on is also taken into consideration as the banner ad will
be viewed by the audience that the website targets.
Effectiveness of Banner Ads
Banner ads are quite effective because they can easily be measured and tracked.
An advertiser can easily find out the number of users that click the banner by
using different online tools. The Click Through Rate (CTR) is the number of
times the ad was clicked. By comparing the CTR and the number of impressions
(the number of times the ad was displayed), advertisers can find out how
effective their ad placement was.
Flexibility of Design
A great thing about banner ads is that they can be created in a number of
ways. Whether the advertiser wants to promote a product or direct more people
to a website, they can make use of different banner designs to grab the
audience's attention. Depending on their needs and target audience, advertisers
can design static and animated ads. Animated ads work with Flash and make ads
look more aesthetically appealing.
Banner advertisements can be bought by different advertising bodies, including Google,
Right Media, and BuyAds.com. Because reaching out to website owners
individually is not only time consuming, but also a great hassle.
A Well Known Banner Ad Example
There are a several well known banner ad examples that you can use for
inspiration. For instance, in
2015 the Webby Award winner for banner ads was for The British Council. This
advert, which was only two colours, white and sky blue, featured the company
logo and the words 'Know Your English. Highlight a Word to Know Its Meaning.'
What made this an award winner? First, it had a simple design, it was easy to
read with a bold font. Second, it had an easy to follow call to action that a
consumer could easily follow. Third, it easily identified the company, and a
consumer knew exactly the business they would be dealing with if they clicked
the advert. As you know from reading through this course, all of these are key
to advertisement success.
17.4 Billboard Advertisement
Billboard or outdoor advertisements
are a great way to reach out to your local audience and make a huge impact.
Billboards are great for creating a brand presence and are also quite effective
in deriving results. When an advertiser places their ads in a particular area,
they are targeting those who regularly pass through the route. By looking at
these ads on a daily basis, customers retain the product or service in their
mind, which influences their purchase decision.
The reason that billboards are becoming popular by the minute is that everyone
who goes outside can see these ads. They cannot ignore these ads because
they are placed on high traffic roads and areas. Viewers do not need to click
on the ad or change the channel, which gives them the choice to either look at
the ad or not.
Concise
Messages
Billboard advertising is different to all other forms of advertising
because people on the road only have a couple of seconds to read these ads.
These ads need to deliver a message in the most concise way so that everyone
can read it without stopping their vehicles. The text should be short and
impactful; readable at a glance. Images are also great additions to
billboard adverts.
Distinct
CTA and Message
As mentioned earlier, billboard ads need to be concise. Advertisers should
ensure that the ad only contains one prominent message and CTA instead of
multiple messages and directions. Someone driving at a high rate of speed would
not be able to read multiple calls to action; so give them something they will
notice.
Perfect
for Brand Building
Billboard adverts are perfect for brand building. Therefore, if an advertiser
adds too many details in an advert including contact numbers and instructions
to contact, then it will lose its purpose. These ads are used to create a
presence in the market and to remind the audience that a brand exists. It is
not a medium to deliver information. So, advertisers should avoid adding too
many details in these ads and make them simple.
Buying the
Right Outdoor Space
It is important for advertisers to consider their target audience when choosing
a place for their billboard ads. If their target audience passed through a
particular area, then they need to buy space in that area. Furthermore, the
billboard placement itself should be taken into consideration before designing
an advert. If an advertiser has bought a billboard in front of a signal, then
they can play with creativity and add more information in it because people
will be waiting in their cars for the signal to change.
Examples
of Billboard Advertisements
Companies can be very creative when it comes to billboard advertisements, and
there are several UK companies that have done very well mixing visuals and
content.
Here are some examples:
A car valeting service located in the Midlands Placed a billboard in
Birmingham's centre with the most exposure possible. Thanks to the location of
this advert, within one week of placing the billboard, there were lines of new
customers waiting to get a wash.
Another example of a successful billboard campaign was done by the Princess
Alice Hospice. This billboard was used to recruit walkers for a fundraising
walk. Thanks to this billboard, the business saw more than 34 percent more
walkers registered than the year before. The signage, which was placed near
Twickenham Station, was seen by about 200,000 people.
17.5 Facebook Pages
Facebook pages are quite effective in
creating a strong brand presence and image, and it should be a part of all
business marketing campaigns even though sales will not necessarily go through
this medium.
This high traffic social network offers socialising opportunities to users.
Therefore, when a business creates its own Facebook page, it gets a chance to
reach out to its audience and interact with them in an interesting way.
It is quite easy to create a Facebook page, and this offers so many perks to a
business. All a company needs to do is sign up for Facebook, create a page, and
name it. It is best to give the page the name of the brand that you will be
promoting. Once the brand profile is completed, advertisers can publish
interesting posts on the page to engage the audience.
Although this is not a strict form of advertising, more like marketing, it is
still quite beneficial when the goal is to make the brand shine. By using a
Facebook page, businesses can personally interact with their customers, learn
about their likes and dislikes, and ask brand related questions to them for
better targeting and product/service launch.
Facebook is a platform that offers visual freedom to businesses looking to
attract customers in interesting ways. Advertisers can share enticing content
and visuals to make more people visit and like their page. Advertisers can also
change post settings to target a particular group of people based on their
likes and demographics.
An Example of High Quality UK
Facebook Pages
There are thousands of Facebook pages for UK businesses, but some of them
greatly stand out from the crowd. Domino's UK, for instance, is a great
Facebook page for a number of reasons. First, it has a prominent photo of its
offerings, which, of course, is pizza, bread and dessert. These visuals
immediately encourage people to want to order. Another feature of this Facebook
page is that the company posts information to its wall several times a week.
This means it is engaging with its audience. Domino's UK also has a messaging
feature on its Facebook page, which indicates that the company responds to
customer inquiries in a matter of minutes, instead of days, and customers love
this.
17.6 Magazine Advertisement
Magazine advertisements are highly
targeted and provide information to prospective customers in an attractive way.
These ads are quite effective in grabbing the reader's attention without
distracting them, and brands that advertise in magazines create a credible
image in the eyes of the readers.
Magazine Adverts Have a Longer
Life
Just like newspapers, magazine ads have a longer lifespan because they remain
in homes for several months or even years. They are also read more than once,
which increases the chance of a brand being viewed.
Magazine Adverts are Highly
Targeted
Magazine ads are highly targeted because brands advertise in magazines that are
bought by their target audience. A women's beauty magazine, for example, is
perfect for cosmetic brands to advertise their products.
Attractive Advertising Medium
Magazines are very popular among people belonging to different age brackets.
Due to the quality of the pages and printing material used in magazines, ads
appear more appealing and help develop the reader's interest towards different
adverts.
Increased Credibility
Magazine ads provide brands with a chance to enhance their brand image and look
more credible. When a brand advertises in a great magazine that has a fan
following, then it is considered as a credible company.
Examples of Effective UK
Magazine Adverts
There have been also some highly effective magazine adverts that have popped up
in recent years, that businesses can use for inspiration.
For example, Play-Doh had a magazine advert for their mobile app featuring a
shopping cart icon, similar to one that you would find on an app you access
from a mobile phone, on a plain brown background. The button is made of
Play-Doh, as are the words 'No In-App Purchases'. The familiar Play-Doh logo is
also featured in the app.
Another effective magazine advert from 2015 was for Gripex. In this case, the
advert featured a woman in profile. The profile was purple, the background was
orange, and the nose of the woman was a darker colour; indicating her
allergies. This was simple and brightly coloured, which made it leap from the
page.
17.7 Vehicle Advertising
Vehicle wrapping or advertising is a great way to increase a brand's reach
and enhance its image.
A brand that places its logo on public buses can make the brand name and logo
easily recognisable by the passengers and anyone who looks at the bus. Vehicle advertising is affordable, gives businesses a lot of reach, and
it can make a strong impression on potential customers.
Additionally, it does not force the audience to view an advertisement; instead,
they see it in passing. This means that vehicle adverts must be designed in a
similar way as billboards, just on a smaller scale. They should be colourful,
have graphics, and written content that is short and impactful.
17.8 Newspaper Advertisements
Newspaper advertising is a traditional form of advertising which is
still very effective for businesses that choose to use it.
Newspaper advertising is quite similar to magazine advertising because both are
tangible and have a longer life.
There are several benefits to newspaper adverts that companies often find. For
example, newspaper adverts help to give a brand credibility. These adverts can
also be targeted to a specific audience. For instance, if your business is a
travel agency, placing an advert in the section where travel articles are
featured is the perfect position for the advertisement. Finally, newspaper
adverts are fast, and it is possible to make an advert one day and get it in
the newspaper within a matter of hours.
A newspaper ad contains a headline, body copy, visual, sub headline, call to
action, and company information. These ads can be both detailed and concise and
can get a message delivered in an effective way.
Module Summary
All of these advertising media are essential for making an impression on the
audience. By taking into account the elements in each of these media,
advertisers will be able to get their message across in an impactful way.
As you know at this point, not all of these media are ideal for every company,
but by seeing the examples in this module, you may have a better idea of what
can work for your particular company, and which media may not work
so well.
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