Help on advertising

[AC1986]

Hi,

I've just started a new business and really need some help on advertising. I have a very limited budget, so ideas where I can get free advertising will be greatly appreciated.

I've set up Facebook and Twitter pages and have used Facebook advertising, but am struggling to get much interest.

Thanks

 

[S-Marketing]

Hi,

I've just started a new business and really need some help on advertising. I have a very limited budget, so ideas where I can get free advertising will be greatly appreciated.

I've set up Facebook and Twitter pages and have used Facebook advertising, but am struggling to get much interest.

Thanks

You can't just skip marketing and crack on with advertising. It won't work. You need to research marketing, to give you a better idea of your direction from here.

 

[PDC]

Realy depends ont he business type and who your customers are, local, national ect. We'd really need more information in order to give any advice.

 

[AC1986]

It is a local business based in the Cotswolds. Renting out luxury tents.

 

[S-Marketing]

It is a local business based in the Cotswolds. Renting out luxury tents.

Interesting business.

My previous post is even more relevant now though. Get your marketing right and you wont need to advertise a business like that.

 

[robmcnicoll]

I think we're getting a bit of a blurring here between the terms "advertising" and "marketing", which people often use interchangeably, but are notably different.

I guess what you're asking is "how do I get some customers with minimal outlay"?

First thing you need to do is work our who your ideal customer is. Luxury tent hire is definitely going to appeal to certain people more than others... who are they? Be as specific as you possibly can so you can almost visualise the person you want to attract.

Once you know this part of the equation, you can start to look at what interests (other than renting luxury tents) they might have, where they hang out, what influences them, etc... You can then start to engage with them.

I think this would be a very valuable first step for you, and then once you've done this I'm sure the members of this forum would be happy to help bounce further ideas.

 

[Steve@WMG]

You can advertise on the entertainment section of sky tv for a £1,000. That will get you noticed plus with that you can state on your website "as seen on tv"

 

[seoswat]

Have you thought about having a basic website created that is targeting hiring tents in the cotswolds. Would be extremely cheap and a fast turn around i am sure and will really help get you noticed.

 

[MA Consultancy]

You don't just need to set up Facebook and twitter but you need to use them to engage with people to build up a relevant following that you can then market to.

You can also market product images on pinterest, instagram, picasa and flickr.

Also create profiles on LinkedIn and write a good blog (ideally integrated with your website) for improved rankings.

You can also do different seo activities or employ someone in this area to get more traffic through google or spend some money using their adwords program.

Bing, yahoo and facebook offer similar programmes too.

If you require any help, advice or training on any of this please get in touch.

Mike
MA Consultancy (Cardiff & London).

 

[Rich Best]

Definitely try Pinterest if you're selling a product. It's a fantastic social media platform and is growing by the day!

As someone has already said, social media marketing is all about engagement and not a case of sticking a Facebook page or Twitter account out there and hope for the best. Talk with potential clients, find accounts/groups/communities interested in camping and engage with them to find out what they think of your business' idea.

Don't go for the all out selling tactic; ask people questions and your business will garner interest! If you'd like a few guide to social media sites we have a bunch of blogs (URL in signature) on marketing on all social media sights!

 

[ITsoldUK]

Hi,

I've just started a new business and really need some help on advertising. I have a very limited budget, so ideas where I can get free advertising will be greatly appreciated.

I've set up Facebook and Twitter pages and have used Facebook advertising, but am struggling to get much interest.

Thanks

What is your marketing plan telling you?

This will direct you to where your planning has ascertained your customers are...

 

[ITsoldUK]

I think we're getting a bit of a blurring here between the terms "advertising" and "marketing", which people often use interchangeably, but are notably different.

I guess what you're asking is "how do I get some customers with minimal outlay"?

First thing you need to do is work our who your ideal customer is. Luxury tent hire is definitely going to appeal to certain people more than others... who are they? Be as specific as you possibly can so you can almost visualise the person you want to attract.

Once you know this part of the equation, you can start to look at what interests (other than renting luxury tents) they might have, where they hang out, what influences them, etc... You can then start to engage with them.

I think this would be a very valuable first step for you, and then once you've done this I'm sure the members of this forum would be happy to help bounce further ideas.

All valid points Rob and all of the above will be clearly defined in their marketing plan which will direct them where and how to advertise correctly...

...if one has been written of course.

 

[seanxie]

Agree with all above comments. As your business sounds pretty unique, i think the basic standard online marketing/advertising format will still work for you. I would suggest the following plan as a starter

-identify your target audience, their general interests, behaviours, keyword they search when they need your product
-get a website, list out your products, write SEO friendly product descriptions;
-open a blog on your site, write some articles regularly (like once a week) about camping and tent in general, focusing on solving problems
- spend a little money on AdWords (like £100-500/m depends on how far you want to go) bid on keywords you think they will search for, on broad match modifier type or exact match type
-upload some nice looking photos on your facebook page, twitter; make sure you have your website url is listed under your About Us part below your page's profile image
- spend a little money on facebook and targeting your target audience, write some nice ads with decent photos, bid option use CPM optimised (not CPC), get as many likes as possible
- at least 1 status update per day on both channels, focusing on discussing about the hobby side of camping, problem solving, not selling luxury tent

Hope this would help a little.