Small Business Advertising: Marketing Ideas for the Information Age

Is your marketing plan keeping up with the times, or are you stuck in the advertising dark ages?

Only a few short years ago, a small business with some money to spend on advertising typically went off in search of an ad agency to produce magazine and newspaper ads, radio spots, maybe even a television commercial. Today, though, those forms of advertising are dying relics of an age that’s passed.

Largely driven by consumer demand, more and more businesses are finding their way online, and instead of spending their advertising dollars on paper and ink, they’re spending it on pixels.

A recent study conducted by WebVisible, in conjunction with Nielsen Online, shows consumers are turning to the Internet in search of local businesses, while decreasing their usage of traditional print methods.

The use of search engines to locate local businesses rose 71% in the last two years, while the use of Internet yellow page directories rose 46%. Email in the form of newsletters or other offers has also increased.

In response to the increase in searches, businesses are putting their money where the customers are, though not in as great of numbers. Consumers might be turning to Google 71% more often, but small businesses are only increasing their Internet advertising by 32%. The same is true for Internet yellow pages directories, with an increase in use by small businesses of only 11%.

What this means for your small business is tremendous opportunity to place yourself in front of your customer, while your competitors are still clinging to the old way of doing things.

It can also mean a significant savings, since Internet advertising is generally less expensive than more traditional forms. Many of the most common practices for optimizing search engine placement cost very little to no money at all, while actual advertising using either banner ads placed on other sites, or pay per click ads on Google or Yahoo! is also very reasonable.

Even Internet yellow page advertising, probably the closest thing to offline advertising you will find online, is much less expensive than it’s offline cousin.

If you’re struggling to find ways to advertise your business in a terrible economy, the answer might just be as close as your desktop.

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