Marketing

5 Ways To Start Saving On Marketing Immediately

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November 11, 2016 8:28 PM

You know what they say, “you need to spend money to make money!” And while this is largely true, there are numerous ways in which you can cut your overall marketing costs right now. We’ve put a lot of thought into how you can do this, and we’ve come down to the best and most effective 5 ways to start saving on marketing immediately:

1. Properly Track your Ads.

You might have amazing ads, and you might be spending money on various sites so that consumers can see them, but are they bringing in the monetary returns you had expected? Is your target demographic even seeing your ads? If not, there’s a good chance you’re tracking them incorrectly, which means you’re just pouring money down the drain. Bye bye!So, what can you do to fix this? Look at your analytics to see who is viewing your ad, where they are located, and which devices they are using. The better the data you are able to collect on your consumers’ behavior, the better equipped you will be to create and implement valuable ads that result in returns.If you’re seeing that they aren’t reaching your target audience, tweak these specifics on your ads manager platform, and record the data changes from these analytics.Once you’ve gotten the hang of drilling down your ads to reach your target consumers, you will begin to maximize your ads through this strategy, and begin to see notable returns from your advertisements.Remember, the only way to accurately collect the data you need is through correctly linking and tagging your ads so that they can be included in your analytics account.

2. Redefining “Cost.”

Anyone in business knows that “cost” is much more than money. Calculating and understanding cost also means including larger things like business overhead, time, and manpower. Small things comprised in cost include the actual creation of ads, their upkeep, and their management.If you or anyone working for your business isn’t experienced in ads, you could be spending more money than necessary due to an overall lack of experience. For instance, rather than spending a large sum of money on one massive ad, it’s advised to actually spend more on smaller, more frequent ads. Again, this advice would only be able to come from someone who has worked on and with ads before.

3. Ignoring Quick Trends.

We all know what happened to Pokémon Go. And the experienced marketer knew that this quick trend would die out just as fast as it emerged. Even though creating an ad around a popular trend might seem like a good idea at the time, you’ll be putting your money towards something that has little to no return on investment.But why is that? The problem with marketing around quick trends is that it takes additional time and money to create and implement the ad. This was most prevalent with the Pokémon Go phenomenon, where businesses implemented their ads just as the trend was dying down.Not only that, but hundreds, if not thousands of businesses were leveraging the short-lived popularity of Pokémon Go in their ads, which meant the actual ad content was competing, rather than the services and deals they offered to consumers.It’s also a bad idea to focus on quick trends for the simple reason that not enough data has been collected or published around the trend. Therefore, it’s a huge risk to invest your ads into a trend that might not result in any sizable returns.

4. Focus on Evergreen Content.

Just like the evergreen tree, evergreen content remains relevant and everlasting. Unlike other forms of content you see around the internet, evergreen content is not timely and does not follow trends. In effect, they are tips, “how-to’s,” tutorials, videos, and product reviews. Basically, things relating directly to your business or the services you provide.While posting timely and trendy content every so often is still a good idea, evergreen content is the kind of stuff that gives real, long-term value to your business. What’s great about evergreen content is that is can actually be leveraged based on time sensitive topics!Here’s an example: an HVAC business can write an article about the “10 things you need to know when upgrading your AC unit,” and advertise the article in the summer, when AC repairmen are in high demand. What makes this evergreen content is that the article focuses on a specific, niche demand that is sought after from year-to-year, and not only applicable in the summer.

5. Zoom In On Niche Markets.

While it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly how much you should be spending on advertising, you should always follow this rule: if you aren’t willing to spend what your competitors are spending on ads, or don’t have enough to allocate to ads, don’t spend at all. Wait until you catch match or exceed your competitors spending, otherwise, your efforts will be futile.Instead, those who are working with limited budgets can see success in advertising efforts when they shift their focus from broad and competitive markets to niche markets, which offer specific and targeted services. In general, businesses operating in niche markets will be spending less on advertising in general, seeing that their specific services fill a specific market demand.Remember, paying for advertisements is not the only way that you can successfully market your business.  For more creative idea on marketing, read the 5 Marketing Ideas You Can Implement Now to Grow Your Business.