Sometimes advertising is neglected by the first-time entrepreneur or small business owner. The reasons are all very legitimate. Maybe money is tight and banks are not lending, or funds need to go to fulfilling orders and keeping the lights on, so marketing and advertising budgets often suffer. However, by neglecting to advertise, these businesses are impeding the growth of their company. Without attracting their target market, their business will limp along until it becomes no longer viable. With this in mind, consider the many small business advertising options available that are low cost and smart investments.

Many new business owners make the mistake of restricting themselves to placing a few small advertisements in the local newspaper to advertise the arrival of their business. This is not enough in today’s highly competitive market. Such advertisements are often overlooked or simply lost among the hundreds of other classified ads. They also have a lifespan of only a few days, until the next issue of the local paper is released. This is not strategic advertising, but rather more of a token gesture of advertising the business.

Successful advertising needs to be strategic and well-planned. Caving in to a persistent rep by agreeing to have the smallest and the cheapest ad placed in the local paper is neither thought-out nor planned.

Think about your intended clientele. Who are they? Where are they? Where do they frequent most outside of their homes? If they generally commute to work by train or bus, seriously consider using the small billboards in the train and bus stations. Commuters will be on foot and pass by them more slowly than those in a vehicle, which is why the billboards can be smaller. Think about the number of people you are targeting who will see your small billboard or sign. They will not only see it once, but potentially every day twice a day on week days. That is far more exposure than you could hope for from an ad placed in the weekly local paper.

Printed media and electronic media are by far the most well known forms of advertising. However, OOH media advertising should not be discounted. While you may believe that transit advertising costs must be expensive, have you looked into it to understand what it is and what it has to offer?  OOH advertising includes transit advertising on buses, taxis, trucks and vans. Also in this category of OOH media is the advertising that you see in airports, subway stations and in bus and train stations.

Interested in advertising for your small business? Contact Capitol Outdoor today.