BEST ADVERTISING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE YOUR BRANDING

 The purpose of advertising is to promote a new or existing product by reaching out to the right target audience at the right time, expanding to new markets, and strengthening the brand's presence. Nowadays, marketing has gained so much significance that promotion activities start even before the company has started its operation. And the important part of marketing is the strategy. An advertising company's strategy is important because it helps reach the right audience and drives business growth. An effective branding strategy informs and influences buyers’ perceptions of the product or service.    

The three key elements of an advertising strategy

Bringing awareness – An advertising campaign brings initial awareness about the product followed by creating an interest in the minds of customers.

Influencing – Advertising has a subtle influence. A Call to action is a vital part of advertising because it drives the audience to take action.

Purchase decision – A successful advertising strategy creates a desire in the customer to buy the product.

An effective strategy not only helps in successful branding but also brings maximum return on investment. However, with the evolving market, what worked a few years back might not necessarily work now. Hence it is important to keep pace with the trends and implement the right advertising strategies that help maximize sales and ensure loyal customers.

The Purpose – The clarity of purpose in advertising helps move ahead in the right direction. In some cases, it is raising awareness or building the company’s image. Sometimes, it is a reminder to buy the product. The most widely accepted purpose is to increase the recognition of brand names.

The target audience – An important step in branding is to determine the target audience who will eventually buy the product. This helps businesses focus on marketing efforts. It is important to identify the target audience before starting with marketing. Because once you know your target audience, it is easy to craft the right content and focus the advertising strategy. It can be done through:

• Market research
• Examine social media analytics
• Leverage digital marketing
• Customer surveys

Develop advertising budget - Marketing spending is the key element of branding. It is the amount you allocate for the promotion of products/services. You must determine your short-term and long-term goals before setting the budget. Market research should be conducted to better understand the demographics of buyers. It also involves researching competitors’ strategies. After setting the budget, it is equally important to track the marketing spend.

Advertising campaign – We often come across thousands of campaigns every day in digital and traditional media spaces. Regular interaction with customers is important to increase brand recognition and reach out to a wider audience. Thorough market research must be done before running campaigns in order to ensure it reaches the maximum number of people in a certain timeframe, that the campaign is scheduled to run. Later the success must be gauged using appropriate metrics.

Selection of media – Once you are ready with the campaign after identifying the target audience, the next step is to select the medium through which you wish to reach your audience. It includes:

• Print media (Newspapers, brochures, posters, banners, etc.)
• Outdoor advertising (Hoardings, public transport, kiosks, etc.)
• Exhibitions
• Digital Media (Social media platforms, websites, TV ads, YouTube ads, E-mail)

Choosing the right medium helps reach out to the maximum number of customers. With the majority of the population on smartphones, social media helps advertise faster and better.

Implementation analysis of the success – Usually, the campaign itself is the implementation stage. And the last step is to measure the effectiveness of the campaign and check if the desired result is achieved.

The objective of advertising is to garner maximum attention from the audience. There are different types of advertising strategies to achieve a specific objective.

TYPES OF ADVERTISING STRATEGIES

Social media – Also known as social media targeting, it involves creating advertisements on social media to connect and engage the target audience. This is one of the most popular advertising strategies used today, by most companies to promote their products and services. The social media handles on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter provide information about the products/services offered by the company. It is the most preferred advertising medium as it is quickest, most effective, and does not involve great spending to get profitable opportunities.

Seasonal - This advertising strategy is used on specific occasions like New Year’s Eve, Diwali, Dussehra, Ramzan, Christmas, or any significant day.

Celebrity branding – This marketing initiative help improves brand impact as it is easier for customers to relate to the brand, and build trust as it is associated with a well-known face. It helps register the product’s name in the audience’s mind for a longer time. Celebrity endorsements are expensive and are promoted on bigger channels.

Native advertising – This is a type of paid advertising that fits into the user experience. Native advertising makes it harder to ignore. It is designed to look similar to the content on the page and has the potential to increase conversions. They are usually seen on search engines, social media platforms, and retail sites.

Retargeting – Retargeting or remarketing is a branding strategy that targets customers who already visited the website. People tend to leave the site without browsing, due to many reasons. So retargeting is a technique to remind these customers about the prospects of your brand. This is an effective strategy to convert visitors into customers.

 Testimonials – Research indicates that 90 % of customers trust online reviews. So, testimonials form an important and effective marketing technique for most companies. A good testimonial answers most queries and offers reassurance to customers who are new and thinking about whether to buy the product or not. Testimonials help them make an informed purchase decision. Customer ratings, quotes, video testimonials, and screenshots on social media will make a positive impact and help your audience take action.

Drip marketing – This strategy creates sales by sending repeated marketing content in order to increase engagement and ensure steady communication with customers.

Giveaways – This is an effective advertising strategy that helps customers remember the brand when they are ready to make a purchase. It can make the brand more noticeable.

If you want to attract customers and stay ahead of the competition, you must adopt the right advertising strategy that helps them be aware of your product and its features. The right advertising agency with experience will have the expertise and result-driven strategies that help build trust between customers and the brand. They can help you leverage marketing techniques to strengthen your brand presence.