(And getting someone to hum it with you)
“Raindrops keep falling on my head” (thank you Spider-Man 2)
We think online marketing & advertising gets a bad rap. Lots of businesses aren’t doing it – and we can’t seem to find out why. Like yes, we hear why you might say you don’t do it, saying things like:
- “Advertising online is expensive”
- “It simply doesn’t work for me”
- “Word-of-mouth works better”
- “My industry doesn’t do online”
We’d like to share an idea:
You’re already marketing yourself.
How well you do it, determines how much of a return you get on it. It’s simply a matter of testing – trial-and-error – until you find a way that works – and keep at it. We like to believe that marketing your business is like humming a tune (thanks Mariah Carey), however loud you hum determines how many people get to hear it (thank you, grocery store audio systems, playing Mariah Carey every holiday) Our question to you is – are you humming this tune by yourself in a quiet room, or SCREAMING INTO A MEGAPHONE AT A BUSY INTERSECTION?
Okay, now that we’re awake, pumped and ready-to-go… Let’s discuss the ways you can start marketing, so customers can hum along with you:
Understand “Traffic” And How It Works
Facebook advertising isn’t the end-all-be-all, forever. Neither is Google. Or LinkedIn. Or Gumtree. Billboards. Or even the braai this Friday, where you plan to introduce yourself (and the plan) to as many people as your network allows! (We see you… Mr. MLM)
These are all means to ends.
- “Means” is traffic, attention, eyeballs, time and quality!
- “Ends” is decision, conversion, and purchase.
While some punt the idea that one channel works better than the other (Facebook vs Google etc.) – it’s really a matter of trials-and-errors to see which work best for your company/industry. Writing adverts to attract this traffic is quite simple, well, the goal is simple – get them to click by any means necessary (keeping in mind to be respectful and not get blocked by the platform, please)
Understand “Language” And What Converts
So, now you’re running a Facebook advert – and sending people towards something. Maybe it’s an online shop – maybe it’s a simple “hey how’s your father” page, designed to book appointments. And what’s the single biggest driver of decisions?
That’s right – WE DON’T KNOW YET.
Look man, you can’t assume you know what your customers are thinking. Especially if this is the first time that you’re doing this.
All we can say is: pictures and videos help hugely. Especially to a visual audience of people.
If you’re going to attract people to a page with an advert, make it worth their while with three basic principles.
- Be clear and describe the problem better than they can.
- Explain (clearly) how your solution will fix their problem.
- Slap on some real guarantees to help the reader feel safe.
There’s a gajillion methods out there – but here in South Africa, we’d recommend the KISS approach to selling online.
(Keep It Simple, Stupid)
Think, You’re Building An Engine
You’ve built engines before, right?
(We haven’t, no mechanics work at Zoomination.co.za)
Actually, wait, you have! Just not in the way you think. A business has got many moving parts, ins and outs and when you consider it – a sales process works mechanically, each month, to provide an output (your profit.) This is how you establish stability – when you know what to expect the next month, year or decade. Anything else, is simply put, chaos. Think of yourself as the mad genius that’s going to put this all together, trying-testing-possibly failing but learning, nonetheless. Simply put – the marketing message you put into the marketplace with your offers, guiding traffic towards your business is comparable compared to the hum of an engine.
Try, try and try again.
Your marketing is a matter of reaching out, again and again, by any means necessary. We’d suggest reaching as far out as you can.
