New Year 2014 - New Methods for Advertising

Advertising - Out with Traditional. 

Everyone knows that advertising is an evolving monstrosity.  Corporations Like Coca Cola, Google, Apple, and many more spend millions of dollars a year researching how to stay ahead of the field in advertising.  When it comes to advertising today you can either make history with new methods and trends, or be history relying on old methods.  Are you hoping to get more business but not using today's new solutions that increase business?  Ask yourself how much of your spend-ready audience is actually reading newspapers?  How many people change the radio station when a commercial starts?  How many people watch their shows on Netflix or other streaming or recorded shows, not watching commercials at all?  What it comes down to is this; to reach your spend-ready prospects you better know what media they are using to search for you, and just as important you better know which media they do not use.

Mix of the Old with the New: Advertising

Why do we call these a mix of the old with the new?  Because they are pretty much the same concepts of ads you would find in magazines or newspapers.  Very few of them are actually videos (excluding ads played in front of videos).  What makes these different are where they are presented compared to where they used to be.  Now, these "magazine" type ads are displayed before, at the same time, or in the "stream" of YouTube videos, digital games, Google Search, websites, blogs, social media, and many more locations.  Most of these cost money, either monthly, per showing, or per click.  Are they bad ways to advertise?  Not necessarily, but the questions are, are you doing them correctly, are you really representing your business, and is it bringing in customers?

Our company, PlacesMobile Inc. has tried many advertising methods, including social media via Facebook.  We found much challenge in understanding the layers, methods, and strategies to implementing the advertisement correctly in order to reach the right audience.  If you don't know what you are doing, it will bring nothing and cost a lot.  Here's an example why. Let's say you are selling photographic services on Facebook.  You use an awesome photo you took as a picture for your ad, and then have a quick blurb about your business.  If you don't set your account up right, click the correct buttons, choose the right options, you might be showing the ad to your wrong target audience, say perhaps teenagers.  This one teenager, George, loves the image that came up in his Facebook stream, so he clicks on it, but obviously he is not going to buy your services, he just wanted to see the bigger image.  George just cost you money for clicking on it anyway.  But the picture was so cool he shared it his friends (hundreds of them).  Many of George's friends click on the image just because George and other friends did, and before you know it, your name got out there to a bunch of teenagers which just cost you several hundred dollars and brought you no business.

There are effective ways to reach your spend-ready target audience with little or no cost!

The New Advertising

Google +Local 
Local Search Marketing

Google has, or should have, your business listed on Google Maps.  That is a plus to you as it is basically free advertising.  People can find your business, use their phone to navigate to you and learn basic information such as phone number, description, address, reviews, etc.  Too often this Google listing information is incorrect as it begins with relying on a computer algorithm to search the web to gather the information about your business.  The good news is that listing information can be managed.  Managing the Google +Local listing provides the ability to do social postings, add photos, customize your photos, create and join communities, engage in video conferencing, and more.

How is this advertising?  Because people use this!  If you have something free out there, and people are looking at it, it better represent your business accurately and professionally.  Check these two Google +Local business listings.

 Charred American Grill is a restaurant in Mount Morris, NY. and a client of PlacesMobile Inc.  When you see this type of +Local Page it immediately grabs your attention and presents a professional and inviting image.

In contrast you'll find un-managed business listings like this, Martin's Fantasy Island.  Notice the posted picture. Since it is the only image posted to the page, and the page is not managed the image defaults as the profile image for the business.  Unless this page is verified, claimed, and managed, that profile picture will remain.


Although claiming, verifying, and managing your +Local Page can be a do-it-yourself activity, it really should be done by a marketing professional.  Look at it like you would your website; it is a public-facing representation of your business and should be carefully setup by a professional.

Google Virtual Tours

New advertising should be interactive, informative, fun, show merchandise, represent the essence of the business, and entice people to come to your place of business.  It should let people know what you have to offer and why people would want to go there.  People should be able to learn about your business, and take their time learning it.  Thanks to a program called TourDash, we now have the ability to enhance and combine Google Street View Indoor tours to make this all possible.

 
This is an example of what TourDash can do.  Here you can see a tour of a facility.  Text bubbles pop up in locations to explain details, you can navigate to and traverse ski slopes by clicking on the information icons, or you can go see the village.  You can even open up videos.  You can see this in large screen at our homepage, www.placesmobile.com

Imagine this is your business.  You might like to provide details and information about products, pricing, or the ability to purchase online right from inside the tour.  How about jumping to different sections of your business in the tour?  Think about the possibilities and oppoertunities this has for your business.  The power of this as your advertising and sales tool is huge.  Now your business can come to life online!

But what about the Cost?

It does seem like such a project would be expensive.  First we optimize and brand your Google Place +Local Page.  Then, a Google Trusted Photographer comes to your business, and then you need to get the TourDash License.  Seems like a long, difficult, and expensive process.  But it does not have to be.

It comparison to old traditional advertising methods, this is cheap and effective.  It could cost as little as $395 one-time.  The best news is, that price could be a total rebate to your business! (click here for details)  Then all you would need to add on is TourDash.  Considering the cost of normal advertising, TourDash is very affordable.  Call or fill out the form to find out more.