Advertising
Shout it from the rooftops...and bus sides...and grassy lawns
I do not doubt the value of PR when it comes to marketing your company and yourself. It is sage advice to make friends with the media and keep them supplied with entertaining and informative press releases. Online marketing also has its place, with Search Engine Optimisation speeding you up the search results ranks and offering the potential to meet new customers via online social networks.
But all this activity should not deter you from investing in a bit of good old advertising. Good news is, there are a growing number of advertising options within the budget reach of a small business.
Now every small business can have a big poster
This is the strapline from www.signposter.com – a company that has made poster advertising easy. With www.signposter.com you can search for poster sites in your area, create campaigns and agency quality posters – all in a few clicks.
Your posters will appear on the back of a bus or on a billboard and the price depends on the area in which it's displayed. I ran a couple of searches to compare results:
* To display a six-sheet poster on Wyle Cop in Shrewsbury, with recorded audience footfall of 38,040 people, the cost is 314 for two weeks
* To display a 48-sheet poster on Tottenham Court Road in London would cost 934 for two weeks
These prices include the printing, production, delivery and display of the poster.
I appreciate that no home business will be rushing out to book blanket coverage of UK poster sites but I can't help thinking that for a special promotion, taking a poster ad in your local area is not a bad idea. See www.signposter.com
A message underfoot
Street Advertising Services offer a host of ways to place your brand in the mind's eye and at street level.
The company employ what they call 'operatives' to walk specified locations and advertise brands with huge banners strapped to their backs. Or why not try out Grass Branding; a way of advertising on a field, pitch or lawn with a paint that causes no harm to the grassy place. There's also the staple product of street advertising which involves using water to spray logos on to dirty parts of the street. Cost quotes come courtesy of making contact with the company. See www.streetadvertisingservices.com
There are many cost-effective ways to advertise your brand to the public but if these are still slightly out of your reach, consider hiring a busker to sing your company message on the streets of town. It's simple, effective and the busker may make a few pounds too.
Written by Emma Jones. Emma's opinions are her own and for general information only. Always seek independent advice. Emma is the founder of Enterprise Nation [www.enterprisenation.com] and author of 'Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home' - published by Harriman House.