Advertising is incredibly important to your business, but taking the time to clearly define your plan, identify your target audience, and ensure that you know what your customers are looking for before you begin advertising is equally important. Before you begin advertising it’s helpful to have an idea in mind of who you’re talking to and what you’re looking to accomplish. Working with a media company can help guide you each step of the way--and ensure that you are prepared before you begin advertising.
Before you start creating your advertisements, you need to know who you’re advertising to. You should gather as much information as possible about your target audience: who they are, what informs their buying decisions, and more. Here are a few questions to help you define your target audience:
In order to direct your advertising efforts, you need a solid idea of what problem you're trying to solve and the message you are trying to give your target audience. Having a clear understanding of your goals and the problems you may be trying to solve for your target audience will help you make important decisions throughout the advertising process. Some advertisements may be more financially focused--such as increasing your sales--but others may be focused on other aspects, requiring different messaging in order to properly convey the necessary information.
Setting clear, measurable goals can make it easier to track your success over the course of your campaign. Different goals require different key performance indicators (KPIs), and that’s why it’s important to make sure your goals are clearly defined. If you follow the SMART method to create your advertising goals: goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based, you can have a solid idea of exactly what you want to accomplish through your advertising methods.
Depending on the goals that you set for your advertising campaign, your KPIs will be a reflection of those. By setting clear, measurable goals, you are able to determine which KPIs to watch for, and then create advertisements with those in mind.
Analyzing your advertising budget with a goal-oriented mindset allows you to make financial decisions with your desired results in mind. In other words, will the budget enable you to meet your goals? For example, when setting your budget for the production of your television commercial, are you allocating enough to deliver on the creative idea and messaging you had in mind? Or, when scheduling, are you allocating enough to reach your target audience in a way that will produce the best results? If not, you may need to readjust your campaign goals or your budget allotment.
Once you have clearly defined your target audience and your goals and set your budget for the campaign, you can start to consider where you will advertise.
Before you start your advertising journey, it’s important that you have a solid idea of the advertisements you want to run and the goals you hope to reach with them. Whether you already know exactly what you want or you need a little help making those crucial decisions, working with an experienced media partner can make it easier to develop an advertising strategy that will help you reach all your goals. When you have a clear understanding of all of the components that go into your advertising, you will be able to make the best decisions on how to use your budget to meet your goals and ultimately set your brand up for success.