Create a personal Facebook page. Your personal page will provide the first introduction to you to those users who are interested in your brand or your personality. While most of the page's visitors will be your friends, it's worth remembering that sometimes employers also look at a candidate's Facebook page before scheduling an interview.
Develop your professional presence using LinkedIn. LinkedIn has quickly become the largest network professional contacts, and many employers often turn to LinkedIn to find qualified candidates for open positions.
- Showcase problems you've had to solve in the past in various positions, rather than just listing your responsibilities. List these accomplishments in the characteristics field for each of your positions.
- Convert your goals into keywords that you list in your profile. Other users find your page based on keywords, so you must ensure that your keywords make a truthful statement about your experience, accomplishments, and goals. For example, if you are a graphic designer, find a way to express your skills in different words: “graphic design,” “website design,” or “graphic content creation.”
- Build connections. The LinkedIn network is a very important part of connecting with people in your field. Add fellow students, current and former colleagues, and users from your geographic region and industry.
- Prove your skills. Ask people in your contacts to validate your skills to increase your level of credibility. If you don't feel comfortable directly asking people for testimonials, take the time to solicit appreciative reviews from those you've provided services to.
- Upload a professionally taken personal photo. In the Foto good quality you should be in your work attire and appear experienced and friendly.
Be active on Twitter. Twitter is a fast way to spread short messages of 140 characters or less. It's great for communicating current events or breaking news of the moment. Due to the limited length of messages, the manner in which you write them is very important.
- Update your Twitter several times a day. To gain a following on Twitter, you need to be extremely active. Showcase your accomplishments and projects with links to clips, relevant articles, and images.
- Use strictly professional content if you are marketing your brand or services. Create a separate account for professional activity, and to communicate with friends and relatives (if necessary), use another one.
- Think carefully about how to write each message. Word choice, grammar, political correctness - they are all extremely important for presenting yourself on the Internet. Be sure to proofread what you are about to send.
- Don't hold back your creativity and sense of humor. They are important for gaining like-minded followers. Periodic newsletters with funny expressions will help you find them.
- Forward important messages from trusted sources. This may include forwarding messages from other users about you or your field of activity, or about an upcoming event.
Increase your exposure with a blog. A personal or company blog is an integral part of your online presence because it provides limitless space to create your primary source of information. Use it to provide subscribers with news about your professional activities, travel and/or personal life.
- Update your blog regularly. You need to write something new in it several times a week to maintain an active presence.
- Insert photos into your messages. Visual stimulation is just as important as the textual content of your messages. Include your own or other relevant photographs that will break up the text and keep readers interested.
- Keep your posts to 1,000 words or less and target a specific audience. To keep your readers interested and gain a loyal following, posts should be short so that readers find them readable. Long essays are more likely to turn off readers who are looking to quickly find readable content online.
Walk along the streets of the city: you will see that, at best, one in a dozen advertisements actually fulfills its function - attracts attention. How to invest in advertising so that this investment turns out to be beneficial for your business, and not crippling it?
1. Don't copy your competitors
The main thing is to remember: the height of recklessness is an advertisement like “We are open” (and it doesn’t matter that three neighboring houses have just such an advertisement). As sad as it is to state, the share of such advertising does not decrease from year to year, and its effectiveness is reduced to zero.
2. Remember your target audience
An example of an unsuccessful choice of channel for promotion is advertising of products intended for pensioners on the Internet. As well as placing advertisements for new highly efficient microprocessor controllers on a forum for housewives. I think it is unnecessary to clarify that the positive result from such advertising is negligible, if not completely absent.
3. Conduct a preliminary performance analysis
In most cases, entrepreneurs are looking for some way to advertise their goods and services, invest a significant (or even the entire) amount into it, and after a couple of weeks or months all the money goes down the drain. To prevent this from happening, follow a few simple rules.
If you have only one phone number, then you can indicate different contact persons in the advertisement: for example, in one case you indicate that you need to ask Svetlana, in another - Yulia
Never rely on only one type of advertising. There are a lot of channels for promotion today, from contextual advertising V search engines and targeted advertising in in social networks to outdoor advertising and advertising in mailboxes, from handing out leaflets and flyers on the street to direct advertising in the media or on transport.
If the results from advertising exceed the costs of it, this promotion channel has the right to life for you and your business. For such advertising methods, it is advisable to increase the budget, but not by much - approximately twice. If it works the second time, double it again, etc. In any case, you should not sharply increase the budget of advertising that is working well right now, since you cannot be sure that it will be effective tomorrow.
4. Make your own measurements on the effectiveness of advertising channels
Every type of advertising you use should be measured and calibrated. This means that when advertising to one source or another, you must know exactly how many potential clients you received from there. It's not difficult to do.
Use a different phone number for each ad or, if you are promoting goods and services on the Internet, provide links to pages with different addresses (the content of the pages, of course, should be the same).
If you have only one phone number, then you can indicate different contact persons in the advertisement: for example, in one case you indicate that you need to ask Svetlana, in another – Yulia.
5. Remember: any advertising medium must have three components: an offer, a limitation on some parameter and a call to action
The proposal should be interesting in itself. It should make your prospect want your product or service right now. The offer may include a significant discount, a gift when purchasing your product, as well as other bonuses or certificates for receiving interesting services.
For example: “When you buy two products “A”, you get a third one as a gift”, “40% discount on the entire range of products” or “Buy product “B” and receive a certificate for visiting a water park for the whole family.”
Don’t forget about the presence of a limitation - it can be by time, by the number of clients or by the number of orders. For example: “Only until the end of the week, when you purchase a laptop, you will receive a coupon for a 50% discount on any product in our store,” “We will give a microwave to the first three customers a day when purchasing a washing machine,” “When purchasing a table, delivery is free. Every day 20 tables participate in the promotion.”
A call to action means that it is necessary to clearly indicate to the client his next step to purchase a product or service (otherwise, with a high degree of probability, the consumer will not do anything).
For example, for offline advertising: “Call 123-456 right now,” for online promotion: “Fill out the form on the website and our manager will contact you” or “Click the “Order” button located below.” Only the presence of all three points will make your advertisement effective and allow you to stand out from your competitors.
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Everything is as simple as the first letters of the alphabet, like A, B, C - you are the owner of a business, you have a potential client, and he should find out about you. A B C.
Whether you are the owner of a small household goods store or the head of a chain shopping centers– the actions required will be approximately the same, just on a different scale.
At the same time, it is not always possible to turn to professionals in this regard or hire one on your staff. This is normal if the business is just starting. And it’s okay if you just want to personally participate in this side of your child’s life.
Do-it-yourself advertising, step one. “What do you call the ship?”
You are starting from scratch. You are not some small employee of an already established office. You create your own own business. You do not have a program prepared by someone. They don’t hand you ready-made flyers for you to just hang up.
How to tell the world about your enterprise? About your product?
Sit down and think about it - what exactly do you want to achieve? What place to take in the niche? Risk for popularity or be satisfied with stability?
How do your main or possible future competitors act in terms of advertising? Do you want to stay in this business as long as possible - or not? And how exactly do your competitors advertise their companies - in the media, on social networks or on huge and expensive advertising posters along highways and avenues?
Your competitor is your enemy. But learn everything about him, and he will cease to be your enemy. He will become a pathetic envious person.
If you are the owner of a small business, then advertising for you can be done by other people, specialists, employees of advertising agencies. And it’s a good sign if you have a creative idea in your head that they just need to bring to life. After all, by and large, the main question is not the technical ability to make an advertisement with your own hands, but the ability to create key ideas for it.
What if there is not even an idea? Well, then you don't Steve Jobs, take heart. However, Steve Jobs also once had no ideas.
By the way, the name Apple, according to legend, was chosen precisely because the team could not come up with another, more adequate idea. And it did fire.
Have you already chosen a name for your company?
Your company, your store is your child. And you would hardly name your child Akaki. So it is in this case. A catchy, bright name, but at the same time conveying the essence of your activity - that’s what you need. A good name is the starting point of your business. This is the first thing that customers learn about you.
Second step. Outdoor advertising yourself?
Once again, we will not discuss the process of cutting out advertisements from whatman paper and posting them on poles. “We make advertising ourselves” means “we come up with advertising ourselves.” Advertising agencies still take the main money for this.
A piece of paper on the entrance door, posters on the walls, advertising boards with a pasted image or screen, neon advertising (backlit), audio advertising on escalators in the metro - there are many possibilities, you need to understand the peculiarities of your target audience and proper allocation of funds.
Ideally, your advertising stand should become part of the street landscape. So that passers-by perceive your poster “ Best products at the best prices” is as integral an element of the environment as the trimmed bushes along the alley.
Stationary advertising designs – installed in certain places that you have agreed upon and paid for. It is desirable that these be places popular with the population - busy squares and major highways. The structure can either stand on its own or be attached to a building.
Temporary structures– installed near your retail outlet or office. They usually contain brief information of primary need - name, opening hours, discounts and promotions. They are displayed during the working day and removed at night.
Our minimum is advertising poster on the wall or showcase. The maximum is a large screen with an advertising (staged) video in the city center. It all depends, of course, on money. But you need to fulfill the available minimum efficiently and with dignity in order to grow further.
To increase the element of dynamism in your advertising, you can install an inflatable air figure near your business. Which one depends on your financial capabilities and design imagination. The main thing is not to be blown away by the wind.
Signposts and other advertising structures can be placed at your entrance, on a building, or on a pedestrian area. Design is always important - catchy, but not tacky. original name plus the original form of advertising and its placement - these are the hooks with which you will hook buyers. You don’t just need to stick a small advertising poster anywhere and sit contentedly - you need to ensure that only your advertising attracts attention, overshadowing all the others, mediocre and tasteless.
Types of outdoor advertising
- Billboard - big billboard, usually placed along the highway.
- A superboard is usually three billboards enclosed in a triangle.
- A supersite is a type of billboard that is large in size and height, which is why it is usually placed outside the city limits.
- Prismatron is a billboard whose surface consists of prisms alternating sides. Can show three pictures changing over time.
- Citylight is an illuminated display case standing on the sidewalk.
- A firewall is a large poster or billboard mounted on the wall of a building.
- A media facade is a large display somehow built into the façade of a building.
- Video screen and so on.
Outdoor advertising– a natural, effective and visual way to advertise yourself. A theoretical client of your company may not watch TV, may not listen to the radio at home or in the car, may not read newspapers or use the Internet, but will definitely pay attention to the bright, large and original billboard in front of his window. Or at the bus stop near the house.
You must show that this area in this niche is occupied by you. Let your logo become a kind of mark - a sign that competitors have nothing to do here.
Disadvantages of outdoor advertising
- Outdoor advertising is damaged by various weather conditions. It breaks, rusts, falls off, fades, and is simply blown away by the wind. The condition of your outdoor advertising needs to be constantly monitored, maintained - cleaned, and updated frequently.
- Outdoor advertising is viewed by potential buyers in just a few seconds. Therefore, the key to the success of such advertising is brightness, catchiness, laconic content (who will pay attention to a pale poster with several paragraphs of barely legible text?), an original logo or emblem. And again, such advertising must be constantly updated so that the buyer does not become bored with a picture that he has looked at for a long time and has not aroused interest. The more often, the more varied and persistent, the better.
- should not have provocative or offensive content;
- should not disturb the harmonious appearance of the environment.
The fulfillment of these conditions is monitored by many regulatory authorities. So that the content of outdoor advertising is not overly erotic, provocative or even immoral.
But not federal law"outdoor advertising" is under unified control - compliance with the conditions of its use is monitored by various services and committees, which make their own amendments based on the format and location of the advertising.
So it is better to initially consult with the municipality before displaying your advertisement. It’s better to play it safe just in case than to pay fines later or even lose profitable advertising space.
We do advertising ourselves, step three - business cards
Like many things in our modern world, business cards were invented in China. More precisely, in Ancient China, even before our era. Brevity, conciseness and business dexterity are traits of the Asian character. As they say, the East is a delicate matter. So is marketing.
A business card can be made of paper, cardboard, plastic, metal or even wood. Remember: your business card is your face; it is the shortest and most succinct form of advertising of your person and your organization. What would you prefer – colorful cardboard or a minimalist metal plate? Depends on your income and how you position yourself.
There are three types of business cards:
- personal business card;
- corporate business card;
- business business card.
Personal business card
Simply includes contact information its owner. A personal business card should be like general director large company, and so does the owner of a tire shop, if he wants his business to be taken seriously.
Remember: your business card is your face. Freelancers and freelancers can also use business cards. Personal business cards are often exchanged during informal interactions.
A personal business card is:
- FULL NAME. owner;
- type of activity and position held;
- telephone;
- official site;
- e-mail.
Corporate business card
A corporate business card includes brief information about your company. Nobody's names, positions or private contact details are written here. Corporate business cards are needed to briefly introduce your company, advertise and present in a favorable light. This is the face of your company. This means it must have a good design and dense material. It should look great, be happy to be held in your hands and always be kept in your wallet among other important and high-quality business cards.
A corporate business card is:
- company name and logo;
- brief information about the field of activity;
- address, travel route;
- official site;
- telephone.
Business card
Includes a minimum of information. No unnecessary words and a minimum of design - no decorations, standard font. Often, the exchange of business cards takes place at official events, negotiations and business meetings. This happens because a business card has a narrow focus - a direct invitation to future partnerships and joint activities.
A business card is:
- First Name Last Name;
- job title;
- Company name;
- scope of the company.
Using business cards is very convenient. This gives you a wide range of opportunities so that you can properly advertise yourself. It will immediately show how you present your event and how serious you are about the matter.
How to distribute business cards?
- hand out;
- put in a mailbox or send by mail;
- negotiate with others retail outlets, so that they have a stack of your business cards on the counter (and in return you can put their business cards behind your tray).
Popular size business card– 90×50 mm. But it’s better – the size is 85.6x53.98 mm. Credit cards are the same size, and sections in wallets are made to fit this size.
Step four: how to properly create advertising through leaflets, booklets, flyers and stickers
Leaflet– simple, ancient and effective method self-promotion. Even the minimal impact of a leaflet is effective - bright colors, huge font size and meaningful pictures will not leave anyone indifferent. Everyone is sure to at least briefly familiarize themselves with the contents of the leaflet, and thanks to visual photographs or pictures, even a child will understand - at least roughly - what it says.
- distribute on the street in crowded areas;
- hand out at the entrance to your store;
- put in mailboxes;
- like an insert in a magazine or newspaper.
How you distribute your flyers will determine their appearance. A bright and eye-catching design if leaflets are distributed on the street by promoters or dropped into mailboxes. Or a discreet, discreet design of a leaflet if it is sent to the addresses of clients who are already using your services.
Booklet- almost the same leaflet, only with an image on both sides, and folded in half or three.
Flyer- almost the same leaflet, only smaller in size and with a more structured presentation of information of short-term importance. For example, about new discounts, events, company promotions. Often, a flyer is also an entrance ticket to such an event - or a coupon for which you can get a discount.
Sticker/sticker/magnet- almost the same leaflet, printed on self-adhesive paper in order to, in fact, be glued to various surfaces - walls, pillars and packaging.
Conclusion
The range of opportunities to properly advertise yourself, advertise yourself and your company is incredibly large. Make good use of all the methods available to you, and you will succeed.
To promote any product, how well its advertising is done plays a very important role.
Of course for different types product and for different target audiences, different advertising techniques and methods are used. But there are some basic rules that must be followed in any advertising to have a chance of success.
Necessary elements of advertising
1. Heading
When you pick up a book, you first look at its title, and only then start flipping through the pages. It’s the same in advertising: people look at the headline first, and only then at the rest of the text. In fact, the headline is the name of the advertisement. According to research, the title of an ad is read five times more often than the ad copy itself, so it needs to be five times more thoughtful.
The title can be either short or long. And it is not at all necessary to associate it with the name of the product or service. The main thing is that it attracts attention and arouses interest among the target audience, and also unobtrusively communicates the benefits of the product or service. Writing a headline that works is the job of experienced advertisers and marketers. To achieve the best result, several header options are always carefully reviewed and analyzed before approving the final one.
2. "Buttons"
“Buttons” in advertising are those phrases or sentences that should motivate the consumer to buy a product or use a service. We often see symbols like this on food products, such as: “does not contain artificial colors”, “suitable for children”, “only made from natural meat” and so on. These are the “buttons”. They again attract attention, making the consumer think that he really needs this product. A “button” for advertising language courses can be the phrase “Classes with American teachers”, and for a law office - “We have over *number* of cases won under our belt.” To properly compose the content of your buttons, you need to determine what consumers are most dissatisfied with in similar products.
Based on the examples described above, the button "does not contain artificial colors" would work well in a ketchup advertisement when most consumers are unhappy with the fact that many other ketchup manufacturers add coloring to their products. Phrase “classes with American teachers” will be beneficial if consumers are not satisfied with the fact that in other courses classes are conducted only with Russian teachers. You can find out what consumers want through oral interviews or questionnaires. “Buttons” should be located closer to the title so that they also catch the eye, but be highlighted in a different color and font.
3. Image
Not a single one good advertising It is almost impossible to do without an accompanying image - a photograph, drawing, picture, etc. The image is perceived by the consumer even faster than the headline and acts on the subconscious. You need to determine what emotions you want to achieve from consumers with your advertising. Whatever the mood of the advertising image, the same mood will arise in the consumer of the advertisement. A wilted flower in the picture will evoke sad emotions, a cheerful gnome – joyful, a calm sea – peaceful and melancholic.
It’s difficult to say unequivocally what works better – photographs or drawings. Many foreign advertisers believe that photographs are more effective in advertising because they look more authentic and “alive.” However, there are many examples of excellent advertising campaigns (including in the domestic advertising world), where drawings appear. IN to a greater extent this applies to advertising of products aimed at children.
4. Value
Instead of describing the dry characteristics of the product, it is better to show consumers what value it carries for them. The consumer must understand that by using your product, his life will become better and more comfortable, and one of his problems will be solved. If you are selling a coffee maker, then the problem may be that people do not have time to brew their favorite coffee in the morning, but with your coffee maker they will always have time to enjoy it before work. This approach to advertising text will work much better than if you simply write “our coffee maker brews coffee very quickly.” When composing advertising text, avoid words and phrases that are specific and incomprehensible to a wide audience. The clearer and simpler the better. Try not to use too big words, such as “amazing”, “gorgeous”, “amazing”. As a rule, this only causes ridicule or irritation, but does not make the product attractive.
5. Availability
Having reached this stage, the consumer should already want to make a purchase. The purpose of advertising is to show that he can do this quickly and without much effort. The information used includes store addresses, delivery service phone numbers, and the web address of the online store. If the price of the product is favorable compared to competitors, then you can indicate it.
Advertising design
How to properly format an advertising message is a question in which mistakes are often made. It is important to understand that the perception of advertising is a subtle psychological subconscious process. Entire books have been written on this topic, and it is still studied by many advertisers and psychologists. Here are a few rules that should be followed when designing the layout of an advertising message.
- Since people perceive advertising elements in the order “image - headline - text”, they need to be placed in the appropriate way. That is, there is an image at the top, a title below it, and then the text itself. You can also place the text to the right of the image, and the title slightly above;
- The font of the text plays a big role. On the one hand, the font should attract attention, but on the other hand, it should not be too twisted and difficult to perceive;
- Do not write the title or slogan of the ad in all capital letters. Several words in a row that are written in capital letters will be perceived worse by readers and will bore them;
- Printing the headline directly on the illustration will make the ad more attractive. But make sure that these two elements do not interfere with each other: the title should not clutter the image, and it, in turn, should not interfere with the readability of the title;
- The image should occupy a significantly larger area than the text. On average, the most successful ratio is: 80% of the entire advertising space is occupied by images, and 20% by text;
- effectively use the psychology of color perception. As you know, some colors can give an advertisement solidity and importance, others will whet the appetite, and others will encourage active action. Depending on what you want to achieve from advertising consumers, choose the color scheme to design it.
Any product sold must be presented to the buyer. Sales performance depends on the effectiveness of advertising. Correct presentation of information that distinguishes a product from the general mass of similar products is a guarantee of success. A well-designed advertisement will ensure the sale of even items that no one needs. There are many recommendations for highlighting the value and irreplaceability of the product being sold, but the question of how to properly advertise remains relevant.
Principles of advertising
To do this, you need to choose an effective, eye-catching image, since a purchase always occurs after a visual assessment of the offer. The sale begins with the presentation of a bright beautiful picture. The formation of an image will not be hindered by a memorable, loud slogan, the attractiveness and relevance of which is ingrained in the mind and forces the consumer to repeat it mentally with pleasure.
Even the most successful advertising may not be effective without its promotion. It is initially intended to have a viral effect on the minds of a potential buyer. However, to have an effect, it must be accessible to the target client, so it must be placed in their habitats. A universal place for publication is social networks, since you can find your client there, but for this you need to work on placing it on the right platforms.
On your own or through advertising campaign services?
However, in some situations it is more effective to order its development in advertising agencies. With him making the right choice advertising campaign, the object of promotion will become known in a few days.
Where should your advertisement be located?
- in newspapers;
- in magazines;
- in social networks;
- through flyers and prospectuses;
- through outdoor advertising elements.
Each type of product has its own effective advertising method, suitable for a specific target audience. If it is chosen correctly, potential buyers have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the offer in several sources.
Today, social networks occupy a separate niche in advertising activities. Most citizens have accounts on Facebook, Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki, Twitter and Instagram. Modern features mobile phones ensure that users are always connected. Publications in groups and on personal pages can receive an instant response to an advertising post.
Avoid spamming so as not to annoy users with constant notifications. To achieve the effect, one post a day is enough. Regular publications of various designs, holding sweepstakes, promotions and competitions will ensure popularity for the group or personal account of the seller. The more interest and attention there is, the more views of publications and the more revenue from sales.
Advertising in the media
Publishing advertisements in media such as newspapers and magazines is not always free for sellers. In most cases, they have to pay for the placement of their article on a dedicated space in a print or online resource. Today, the return on such advertising is small, since people most often familiarize themselves with advertising magazines and newspapers purposefully, when searching for a specific product to purchase.
For this reason, if a person does not need anything, then he will not acquire and read such sources of information, which eliminates the possibility of emotional purchases. However, if the subject of sale is of a specific nature, which is difficult to declare in other sources, advertising in the media will have a good effect on the results of doing business, which is important when selling movable and immovable property.
Read also: How to check a counterparty by TIN on the tax website
Advertising through promoters
Handing out leaflets on the street seems to be the most in a simple way advertising your product. However, only five percent of the population reads the handed out prospectuses. Other people throw them safely into trash containers. To increase the number of people who read the leaflet, you need to take care of it appearance. The advertiser only has a few seconds to impress a potential client and keep his attention on his offer. Text ads are not recommended. All information must be reflected in the image.
Outdoor advertising
The category of outdoor advertising includes banners, light boxes and three-dimensional logos. Its distinctive feature is its attractiveness. Many people look at advertising elements, but not everyone reads the advertising text. Images make an impression, so they need to be chosen in such a way that the sentence is clear without words. Outdoor advertising is not cheap, so it is necessary to take a responsible approach to developing the design of the project and choosing its location. This type of advertising should only be used when planning large batches of products. It is important to consider that the advertising brochure material is easy to install and trouble-free to maintain.
Internet expanses
It does not require a large amount of investment and can be arranged by the entrepreneur independently. You should think about promoting your products through social networks in advance, because before publishing posts, you need to take care of the availability of readers. To do this, you should attract the maximum possible number of friends and subscribers to your account. The creation of a group, community and the involvement of a target audience that could potentially be interested in the product will help increase the effectiveness of promotion of the publication. To select such participants, you should use the search option with targeting by interests.
Such global preparation for promotion is not required when placing advertisements on specialized portals. To receive a response to a publication, it is enough to format it correctly and publish it in the section corresponding to the category. If you choose it incorrectly, the effect of advertising will be minimal. Additional paid options for promoting via the Internet are placing an ad on popular portals, the number of which exceeds the million mark, as well as raising the publication to the top positions.
No special skills are required to create a post or ad. On all portals placement is carried out according to intuitive schemes. When choosing a way to advertise your products, you need to analyze its relevance on the Internet. If the consumers of the product are citizens living in areas where the Internet is not popular or accessible, then publication on social networks will not have any effect.
Advertising on the Internet will only be effective when it appears in front of users quite often. This is ensured by reposts and publications of new advertisements, which should be designed in a new design that attracts the user’s attention so much that he has no choice but to call and order.
How to write an advertisement correctly: examples
An offer to buy or receive a service should be interesting. It should make the potential customer want to make a purchase right when viewing the ad. This effect is formed by discounts, bonuses, promotions, and gifts when making a purchase.
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