Does Your Online Advertising Strategy Need a Tune-Up?

Google Ad Words & Facebook Alone May Not be Enough to Fuel Your Online Advertising Efforts

Why You Shouldn’t Ignore These Signs Telling You to Adjust Your Efforts

Your local business’ ad strategy is very much like an automobile – it won’t run itself (except downhill). Like your car, it’s even worse when you suspect something may be wrong, but you ignore it. You know, like that time when your car was making a noise that you knew wasn’t normal. We all know there are two very obvious choices to “fix” the issue –

1. Schedule an appointment to get your car checked out, or….
2. Turn up the radio. If you can’t hear it – is there really a problem?

Sounds funny, doesn’t it? But what if I told you that you may be “turning up the radio” when it comes to your ad buy? You know – that huge expenditure you hope is responsible for bringing in new customers? Now it doesn’t sound so funny anymore.

Did you approach your online AdWord or Facebook buy with a “set it and forget it” mentality? Yes, the metaphorical radio is blaring until I ask the typical local business owner “What have you seen happen to your Google Ad buy over the past year or two?” Then, every bad sound their current online campaign can possibly make starts to come to light, such as –

• A metal on metal grinding noise as you realize you’re spending two times the amount of what you were paying for last year, but now netting half the results… isn’t it bizarre how you can drive with the parking brake engaged?
• A thumping noise you can’t identify because it may be people visiting your site but converting as in-store sales… or it may not be…. But could be…. And you wish you could figure it all out. Then you try to replicate it with someone else listening but can never seem to. There it was again! So frustrating.
• A wheezing noise made up of national competitors blowing past your local budget spend and getting all the Ad Word attention … like when your air conditioning goes out on a hot summer day!
• That fast-clicking noise like when your battery fails to engage, akin to your customers searching for what you offer, instead of searching for you, and then finding everyone else in town. You need something to jump-start the strength of your brand!
• A squealing noise every time you touch the brakes – it’s your competitors using mobile geotargeting against you each time a potential customer, even one you got from an AdWords click, walks through your doors spins around and walks right out empty-handed after receiving a better offer in a specifically targeted mobile ad from that competitor. It’s a warning sign that would be great if you could actually hear it just like a brake warning… but since it’s on their phones, you may never know it’s happening.
• That loud revving noise – you are stuck in a single gear, feeling like you should be doing 70 miles per hour, but you can’t get above 30. That would be the answer to the question, “Do you do online advertising?” with, “Yes, I only do Google AdWords and Facebook advertising.” Don’t get rid of that gear, but you’ll never truly be able to reach top speed with this singular approach.
• That popping noise that comes and goes – it arises from going self-service amateur ad campaign creator on something you thought you could take care of yourself. Believing all along the results were pretty good, your car “goes” but instead of getting 30 miles per gallon you are only getting 15. You are still getting somewhere… but could be getting far more for your ad spend.

It may be time for you to bring that advertising strategy to the shop for some work. Here are a few things to do that can get everything running and humming along nicely –

• Clean up that advertising engine with some branding – get people to know who you are, and why you are the choice instead of risking the potential customer searching for the services and products you offer… and finding your competitors first. A sound branding strategy can put you in the driver’s seat!
• Tighten up the connection with potential customers by telling your story through video. Use that video on your website, in online advertisements, social media, television ads and more.
• Install a new set of ads aimed at reaching your potential customers while they are in online search mode, or physically in your competitor’s locations. Have you researched mobile advertising options?
• Check the fluidity of your messaging – are you consistent across several advertising platforms like mobile devices, desktop computers and TV’s? Are you reaching people throughout the day and especially during times of peak engagement?
• Go full service – there’s more to online advertising than “it seems like everybody’s doing it themselves”. A professional can open your world to options you likely didn’t even know existed. It would be like finding out there’s a new way to get from point A to point B during rush hour but without stop lights and traffic.

Does your online ad strategy need a little maintenance? Contact Cox Media – let’s discuss your efforts and come up with a creative plan to drive to the results you expect.