What Does Advertising Cost? Being an advertising agency, I am often approached by companies asking for advertising rates. Rates to advertise on TV, rates to advertise on radio, rates to advertise on cinema, rates to advertise on billboards, rates to advertise in newspapers, rates to advertise in magazines…
Once I get them the information, I more often than not do not hear from them again. The reason? Probably because they are surprised at how expensive advertising is and realise that they cannot afford to advertise the way they had intended.
The reality is, advertising is costly and unless you’re a multinational or large or medium-sized company that has a budget set aside for marketing, it is often beyond the reach of many.
But here’s the rub: the cost of advertising is nothing compared to the cost of not advertising. If you don’t advertise, you’re left to the whims of word-of-mouth, and personal referrals. All well and good, but how many businesses can realistically survive dependent on only word of mouth advertising and referrals?
If yours is a small business, and marketing above the line is beyond your means, advertise on-line. This is the most cost-effective means of advertising and getting your brand out there.
Make sure you have a decent website that’s rich in content. And then get a professional in to handle the search engine optimisation of the site. Once done, get him or her to set up a Google Adwords campaign. Once done, get him or her to manage that campaign. Once done, get him or her to set up a Facebook page. And a Twitter page. Once done, look at posting a video on You Tube. Once done, get blogging.
Blogging these days is extremely important, and over time, will drive traffic to your website. If those visitors to your website find what they’re looking for, and like what they see, you’re close to a sale. Closing that sale then depends on you.
Online marketing and social media can be highly effective – done correctly. But you must call on the services of someone who knows what they’re doing. Unfortunately, there are way too many people in South Africa who say they can write your website, design your website, build your website, see to the SEO, manage your Google Adwords campaigns and throw in the whole kitchen sink. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
In my opinion (and I’ve been in the advertising industry 27 years), there are very few who can see to your online marketing requirements in their entirety. And those who can will probably charge you the earth.
Search engine optimisation, for example, is a highly specialised field and you really need to know what you’re doing. Ditto the management of a Google Adwords campaign. Sure you could set up a campaign yourself – but could you manage it correctly? That is the question.
Going the online marketing route is without doubt the way to go. Irrespective of your size of business. But if you have the budget, supplement it with other advertising media. It is a truism that multi-media advertising campaigns are largely more effective than advertising campaigns using only one media type.
So if you can afford to advertise on TV, or radio, or in newspapers or magazines, and you can afford to be on street pole posters, on billboards, in shopping malls and on buses and taxis, do so. Just don’t leave online marketing out of the equation.
Where you may need R500 000 plus to advertise successfully on television, and R200 000 plus to advertise successfully on radio, and R50 000 per month to have a billboard on a busy freeway, you could get away with perhaps R5 000 per month to generate enquiries and land orders online.
