How To Make TV Advertising Work For Your Small Business

If you’re a small business owner, you might think that TV advertising is out of your budget. But the truth is, there are plenty of ways to make TV advertising work for your business – you just have to know how to do it. Here are some tips on how to make TV advertising work for your small business:

Know Your Target Audience

The first step to effective TV advertising is understanding who your target audience is. What demographics are you trying to reach? What age group? What gender? What interests do they have? Once you know who you’re targeting, you can create an ad that speaks directly to them. An example of this would be an ad for a women’s clothing store that targets stay-at-home moms.

Keep It Simple

When it comes to TV ads, less is more. You only have a few seconds to capture your audience’s attention, so make sure your ad is clear and to the point. Get straight to the point and don’t try to cram too much information into your ad. Our favorite example of a super simple tv ad is Apple’s “Get a Mac” campaign. The ad is only 15 seconds long, but it gets its point across perfectly using just a few words “Hello, I’m a Mac”.

Make It Visual

People are visual creatures, so it’s important to make your ad visually appealing. Use images and videos that are eye-catching and will grab your audience’s attention. If you pay attention you’ll notice that a lot of TV ads use bright colors, music, and even celebrities to capture your attention. For our example we once again rely on another of Apple’s great ads, this time their “iPod Silhouettes” commercial. The ad is simple, but the use of color and music makes it visually appealing and memorable.

Tell A Story

A great way to connect with your audience is to tell a story with your ad. Humans are hardwired for stories, so use this to your advantage. Paint a picture of what life could be like for your target customer if they used your product or service. For example, an ad for a travel company could tell the story of a family who takes a trip together and makes amazing memories.

Use Call-To-Action

The last step in creating an effective TV ad is to include a call-to-action. Tell your audience what you want them to do after they see your ad. Do you want them to visit your website? Give you a call? Come into your store? Make it easy for them to take action by including a call-to-action that is simple and straightforward.

Prepare For The New Traffic

Once your ad airs and new people start looking you up make sure you are set up and prepared. If you are driving people to your website make sure it is loading fast and is mobile friendly. You can create custom landing pages to create better continuity for the people who saw your ad online.

If you are getting an influx of phone calls then make sure you have enough staff to handle the call volume. You can even create a specific call script to make sure each caller has a great experience.

Remnant Ads Make TV Advertising Affordable

One of the best things about TV advertising is that it doesn’t have to be expensive. There are plenty of ways to make TV advertising work within your budget. One way to do this is to buy remnant ads. Remnant ads are unsold ad space that is sold at a discount by TV stations. This makes TV advertising much more affordable for small businesses.

Track Your Results

Once your ad airs, it’s important to track your results so you can see what’s working and what’s not.

Monitor Website Traffic

Use Google Analytics to track any spikes in website traffic that occur after your ad airs. You can also use a service like Quantcast to get more detailed information about the people who are visiting your website.

Track Sales

If you have an e-commerce website, you can track sales to see if there is an increase after your ad airs. You can do this by tracking how many phone calls or website visits you get as a result of your ad. You can also use coupon codes or special offers to track results.

Offer Discounts For Survey Replies

Interview your new customers and ask them how they heard about your business. You can offer a discount or coupon to encourage people to take the survey.

Connected TV Ads

You can also target your ads specifically to people who are watching TV on their computers, phones, or tablets. This is called connected TV and it’s a great way to reach people who are already engaged in watching TV. This allows you to create ultra-targeted campaigns and to target a specific group or demographic.

Multi-Screen Strategy

With more and more people watching TV on multiple devices, it’s important to have a multi-screen strategy. This means that your ad should be available on all devices that your target customer is using. For example, if your target customer is watching TV on their phone, you should make sure your ad is available on mobile. When viewers engage with a brand on multiple devices, they are more likely to make a purchase. In fact, there is a name for this effect, the halo effect. The halo effect is when a positive experience on one device leads to a positive attitude towards the brand overall. This helps boost the performance of the entire campaign.

Cross-Platform Advertising

To reach your target customer on all of their devices, you need to use cross-platform advertising. Cross-platform advertising is when you place your ad on multiple platforms. This could include TV, radio, the internet, and social media. You can use different tactics on each platform to reach your target customer. For example, on TV you can use :15 or :30 second spot, on the internet you can use banner ads or video ads, and on social media you can use sponsored posts or native advertising.

TV advertising can be a great way to reach new customers and increase sales for your small business. You just need to know how to do it correctly. Follow the tips above and you’ll be on your way to success.