Today we are going to sum up some of the biggest trends we see happening with advertising for small bussiness in 2018 and suggest some of the best tactics you can use to run more effective campaigns this year.
The biggest thing that everyone is experiencing across the board is…
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Advertising Costs are Going Up
As you probably have noticed, advertising costs are going up on platforms like Facebook and Google AdWords. It’s getting more and more expensive to advertise.
Facebook and Google are some of the most advanced lead generation platforms ever available to small businesses. But they are getting more and more crowded.
The old ways of attracting customers online that were working even just two or three years ago are quickly becoming outdated and are being replaced by more modern approaches that are streamlined to create a better customer experience and turn people from lead to customer more quickly.
While many businesses see rising costs as a problem, lead generation experts understand that this simply means you need to run a more effective campaign if you are going to achieve your goals.
So to effectively out-market your competition in 2018 you need to have an effective long-term strategy and some new tactics to get you there.
Biggest Opportunities in Advertising for 2018
1. Funnels
The days of sending people to your website and hoping that they find what they need and take action are done. The Internet is becoming more and more crowded and people want a more personalized online experience.
What we are seeing work extremely well for small businesses are funnels for lead generation and online sales.
A funnel streamlines the customer process, attracts more potential leads and helps turn those leads into customers by using offer-specific landing pages and automated follow up.
For example, here is a “Free Trail” lead generation funnel that we put together for a local gym.
As you can see, this funnel takes someone from a Facebook ad, makes them an offer to signup for a “free gym trial” and then pushes the prospect to book a call with a sales rep in order to get their free offer.
Rather than sending prospects to the website to decide if they want to try the gym, this makes them a specific offer and then pushes them through the sales process into becoming a new client.
Built into the lead generation funnel is retargeting and automated follow up by both email and phone to make sure the lead comes in for the offer, giving you an opportunity to sign them up as a new client.
2. Videos
The internet is already dominated by video.
And platforms like Facebook are giving priority to companies that can create great video content.
Having good high quality videos to tell your story in marketing campaigns will dramatically increase your results while simultaneously decreasing your costs.
In 2018 expect to see video campaigns outperforming traditional ad campaigns on all platforms including Facebook, Google, and Instagram.
3. Stories / Testimonials
One thing that has worked exceptionally well for our clients in 2017 that we expect will continue to work in 2018 is telling the stories of past successful customers.
Rather than trying to tell someone online that you are the best at X and that they should come into your business, show them what you do.
Create social media posts, videos, and blog posts featuring your best success stories like. Your client that lost 30 pounds, doubled their revenue, generated hundreds of new leads, whatever it is.
We love stories. We are wired to listen in and get involved when we hear a story.
So whether it’s a short video clip, article, or facebook post… tell the world your best case studies.
4. Good Ole’ Fashion Sales
After generating leads online for going on year 5 now, I can tell you with confidence my team and I are damn good at what we do.
We have been able to flood small businesses with leads in only a few short weeks after we begin working together.
But the challenge that many small businesses face when trying to grow their business with advertising is that they lack a process to turn leads into customers.
It doesn’t matter how digital we get, you can’t beat good ‘ole fashion sales. Get on the phone, figure out what people want, show them how you can help them, and then make them an offer.
Too many small businesses are using all their free time posting to blogs and updating social media and just hoping someone walks in their door instead of picking up the phone, getting to know your prospects and making them an offer.
Even though my team are experts in online lead generation, we still close every deal on the phone. No one just comes to our website and gives us money without talking to us in person.
That’s why in 2018 we are going to double down and help our clients put in effective sales processes in order to close the deal with all of their online leads.
Wrapping Up…
We’re seeing that creative techniques like funnels and video ads are quickly becoming the norm for successful advertising campaigns.
If you are still working with a standard website and posting social media, this is the next step to grow your business faster and more aggressively than your competition.
If you want to make sure that your small business is ready to dominate in 2018, reach out to us for a free strategy session here or email me directly at brice@majorimpactmedia.com
We’d love to look over your marketing strategy and help you grow your business with digital advertising in 2018.
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