Advertising Is More Important Than Ever!

December 4, 2008

This year, Black Friday sales were steady, and Cyber Monday numbers exceeded expectations. How did retailers manage to achieve such satisfactory results during the current economic slump? They offered several cost-saving specials and heavily advertised those specials.

If you are a storeowner, now is the time for drastic measures. Analysts believe retail sales – both online and offline – will drop drastically by the end of the holiday season. Therefore, storeowners must step up their game and continue to offer savings great enough to motivate reluctant consumers.

Online storeowners, as well as offline retailers who own Web sites, should set aside a portion of their budget to advertise online. Pay-per-click advertising is a wonderful promotional strategy because it allows advertisers to target locally. Pay-per-click ads appear only when a user is searching for the products and/or services offered by the advertiser. Additionally, pay-per-click advertising can be seasonal. So, if a storeowner wishes to advertise online only during the holiday season, he or she has the option to do so.

Some businesses may not have the budget available to create an online advertising campaign. Every storeowner, however, can afford to take ownership of their online business listings. Online business listings are similar to yellow page listings, but they are more targeted and they provide more value to the consumer. An online business listing appears only when a user is searching for a specific business category in a specific town. The listing not only provides the interested consumer with a business’s address and phone number; it also provides them with a map of the business location, driving directions to the business and business reviews written by past customers. The most amazing thing about online business listings is that they are free. Sites like ThinkLocal® and Yahoo!® Local are great online business directories that will provide any business with the additional exposure they need during this crucial period in retail.

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Why Advertise in Newspapers and Yellow Pages?

September 23, 2008

In response to recent market trends, you’ve created a business Web site and employed several online marketing strategies, like pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, search engine submission

and optimized press releases. As a result, you’ve become a stronger business and a more aggressive competitor. So is it time to abandon your newspaper ads and yellow page listings? Not necessarily.

Newspapers and yellow pages are both effective advertising channels, each offering their own unique benefits. Yellow pages allow you to communicate with consumers who are specifically seeking your product(s) or service(s). Newspapers allow you to communicate with educated consumers who tend to earn higher incomes. Both advertising channels enable you to geographically target your advertising efforts.

Furthermore, many newspaper and yellow page companies have recognized the ubiquity of the Web. Therefore, they have created online versions of their offerings. Thus, they are able to serve the millions of Americans who still do not regularly use the Internet, as well as the millions who have embraced it.

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