Talk to an advertising agency, and you will soon realize that strategizing and running an advertising campaign is no cakewalk. Although much easier for them. Because they have the best resources, knowledge of the latest trends, and have spent years curating campaigns for clients from all walks of life.
But the task becomes extremely challenging when you don’t have the budget to hire an advertising agency. “But nothing is impossible, especially when you can leverage the power of the internet to your advantage”, say experts from the top social media marketing company.
With a little help from them, we were able to curate a list of essential steps to follow in order to run a successful advertising campaign.
Establish Your Goals
First things first, you will have to identify your goals. To do that, you have to analyze your unique selling points. What sets you apart from the rest in the industry?
Do you offer exceptional plumbing services? Or are you the leading digital marketer?
By doing competitive analysis, and identifying what makes your brand unique, you can determine long term goals.
Know Your Target Audience
No advertising campaign will reap benefits if it is not targeted to the right audience. That’s why it is essential to research effectively and understand your niche and target customers.
To make sure every advertisement you float drives conversions, learn more about who your customers are, what age group they belong to, what they do, where they hang out, what they like, where they work, etc.
Based on the data, create user personas. Divide them into various categories based on their age, interests, and location.
Note: But don’t forget to hire website design experts to improve your site’s UX and UI.
Create A Plan
Once you have set goals and identified your target audience, you can move forward and create a marketing plan.
The plan will list all the actionable steps you will need to take to achieve your goals. This will help you create a timeline for the campaign and estimate a budget, which brings us to the next point…
Set A Budget
Nothing is more painful than creating an exceptional advertising mix only to realize you do not have the budget for it.
That’s why before moving ahead in the process, it is essential to set an advertising budget and stick to it.
Furthermore, it will be helpful if you can break down that budget into different categories and assign what goes where.
Look At Various Advertising Options
You are running an advertising campaign yourself, which means you have the liberty to hunt down affordable advertising options.
Although there are several advertising options to choose from, if you are tight on a budget, you can consider traditional ways of advertising. Maybe promotional products or TV ads.
Traditional advertising surely does help a lot to get your customers’ attention, build trust, and gain credibility.
Advertise On Relevant Channels
If your target audience includes people from all age groups, you cannot take the risk of going all digital. You will also have to allocate resources for offline advertising.
That’s why it is crucial to keep all mediums in mind and gauge which ones will be relevant to your audience. For example, LinkedIn can be a good option if you are targeting professionals; Instagram for Gen Zers and millennials, and Facebook for Gen Xers.
It is equally important to try and test which mediums drive the maximum traffic and conversions. This can help you build future campaigns effectively.
Final Thoughts
Planning and running an advertising campaign on your own can be difficult and overwhelming. But, if you follow these steps diligently, things can become easier.
Also, whenever you feel stuck in the process, conduct surveys, and gain feedback from your customers. It will help you a lot.
