Advertising Gone "New School"

   Advertising Gone “New School” – How To Build Traffic Towards Your Campaign

There is always that tidbit of frustration when one has to rely entirely on the media and costly advertisement to deliver a company’s message. Not every company can produce the advertisement funds to place their ad in Dundas Square or on a bill board overlooking the QEW. I am glad to announce those days are long gone! Okay, well maybe not long gone, media is still very important but its role is plummeting, as savvy marketers and publicist are now utilizing the maximum potential of the World Wide Web to convey information to their consumers.

Marketers and publicist are feeding their consumers viral through social networking sites such as: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc. Once the consumer seeks out this information, they then share it with their community of people either by “retweeting”, ”pinning” sharing through invites, or posting on the social network site of their liking. This developing method of advertisement has been proven to target more people at an accelerated rate. For example, YZ PR firm is placing and advertisement for their clients new magazine. Now instead of going through the expense of billboard ads, transit ads etc. The publicist can easily target the demographic that may be interested in this magazine by creating an advertisement that potential consumers are able to participate in, such as: Placing the advertisement with a related YouTube video that is directed to your target audience. This advertisement can easily go viral through consumers passing it on to friends, by sharing, “retweet” or inviting others to view the video.

For many companies, marketers and publicist that are making the attempt to reach consumers through web content will hold more power over time and saving a lot of money in the process. Many organizations create content especially to position them as something that holds a great significance within their specified target market as opposed to something that is simplistic and holds value. Don’t be shy to let your next advertisement stream through a podcast or YouTube or any social network site. Not only will your advertisement be cost efficient, it is prone to gain and captivate your audience at a faster rate.  This will also show you as the kind of marketer who understands your market and marketing trends exceptionally well.  Lastly combining the vastest of the internet and the power of social media will allow your online reputation to rise as a leader of new market place ideas!              

The Bustling Town Of Social Media!

Do you think you could do me a favor? Close your eyes for just a moment and envision the internet as a busy town where people are constantly bustling to get to the next mtg, after the mtg you run to catch your friend for lunch followed by a  pitch for a client then off to that yoga class you recently joined. Now think of social media as the way individuals interact on blogs, forums and other social networking sites as a coffee shop or your local pub. The analogy of viewing the web as a bustling town, demonstrates the concept of social media being a place where people congregate to get enlightenment; this shows how entrepreneurs today can utilize social media tools to its maximum potential.

Think about your actions during a social gathering:

-    Do you go in to a group filled with a minimal amount of acquaintances?

-    Do you go amongst a group of people and gruffly shout “purchase my product!” or

     “my company is the best!”

-    Do you have a few memorable conversations or do you meet every person at the gathering?

From my experience I find these questions to be very helpful, especially to those who are new to social media as well as those who fail to see the reinforcement that social media can provided to your product or company in terms of communication and marketing. Envisioning the web as a busy town where social media spots are used for individuals who join together to socialize, allows us to make sense of how marketers can utilize social media tools to its maximum potential, in order to gain success for their company or product.

Of course you can attend social gatherings and blab about how brilliant your company or product is, but will this make you popular? Probably not. It would be wiser to make friends and acquaintances that like conducting business with people they like.The same concept is applied in the world of social media.It is good to join and participate in advancing networking sites such as forums and blogs and social network sites i.e. (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace) etc. but be aware to give more than you get. Do not overwhelm people with your product or company, be able to part take in other things that are going on in the sites that you are taking part in, such as: discussions, commenting on other material, participating in survey’s etc.this will allow other members to view you as a more approachable individual as you are not overwhelming or making them feel obligated to your business or product. As an entrepreneur you want to “reel in the bass and fish out the tuna.”  This means start small simple conversation and take part in social activities in the sites you are involved in as I mentioned earlier, can help build your personal reputation making yourself feel more approachable to people. Try to create a sense of comfort between you and  the person, this will allow an opening to be formed for you to “reel in the tuna” or in other words, discuss your business or product.  Conduct business as you would in a social setting, not as you would in a bank. Meaning, do not approach people by discussing purely your company or product, make sure you are embracing “small talk” as well.  People do not like to feel as if they are being corner attacked or overwhelmed by something. A little conversation will go a far way. You will be able to create an opening for you to discuss your business product or company. I can guarantee you will slowly start to notice your valuable interactions will lead to more promising business opportunities.