“We’ve tried TV before, but we couldn’t tell if it was working”, is something we hear a lot from clients when discussing TV advertising.
With the tacking and reporting of modern digital advertising, it’s easier to pinpoint how customers discover and engage with your business compared to traditional advertising channels.
But how do you create effective TV advertising for your small business, where attribution is more difficult when you can only pay for advertising that works?
Here are a few key factors to consider when thinking about Efficient TV Advertising.
- Campaign Reporting & Insights
- Prioritize Local Stations
- Strategic Spot Scheduling
- Don't Cut Costs On Creative
- TV Advertising – The Mean Joe Way
Campaign Reporting & Insights
While it’s true that tracking customer journeys through TV Advertising can be challenging, it’s not impossible.
There are several metrics that TV vendors use to evaluate the targeting and distribution of TV ad campaigns.
These include:
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Target Audience Type: The categorization of specific niches within a station’s viewership.
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Target Audience Size: The number of people that make up specific collections of people within their overall viewership.
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Content Relevance: How likely the commercial content is to align with the needs and interests of a target audience.
Prioritize Local Stations
If you're a small business, with a tight budget, one of the best ways to create an effective TV advertising campaign is by purchasing spots through local broadcast TV stations.
We tend to look for loyal audiences, so researching your local news programs is a good way to get started.
Reach out to the sales departments at your local stations to schedule a meeting with their representatives.
Comparing the viewer demographics and pricing of the top 3 networks’ (ABC, CBS, NBC), local affiliates, the ideal local programming in your market should strike a balance between a high-reach and high-frequency schedule that fits your budget.
Strategic Spot Scheduling
To make the most of your TV advertising budget, don’t air your ads 24/7.
Instead, you can get a higher frequency of spots if you limit the number of days your ads air.
If you know which days of the week your ads are more likely to be seen by your target audience, or which days your customers are most likely to consider buying your product or service, focus on those specific days.
Most local TV stations understand their viewing audience and can help you with this decision.
For example, try scheduling spots from Saturday-Wednesday or Monday-Wednesday.
This keeps your commercial schedule from thinning out and focuses on frequency.
By paying for fewer days, but increasing the likelihood of your ads being seen on those days, you can increase your ROI.
Don’t Cut Costs On Creative
Whether you’re a new or established business, your reputation is everything.
To build your business’ credibility and trust with potential customers, your creative needs to be clear, attention-grabbing, and memorable.
Research shows that messages delivered as stories can be up to 22 times more memorable than just facts.
Viewers today have short attention spans to match the increasing quantity of content they can access at all times.
Rather than just creating a bland 30-second ad, consider what problem your customer is trying to solve, and how your business is the ideal solution.
Customer testimonials often feature problem-solution narratives, making them a great source when developing ideas for your commercial.
If you’re a new business with few testimonials, consider using your commercials to highlight why your potential customers should be interested in your business, how you differ from your competitors, or what unique value you provide.
Most importantly, your potential customers should know exactly whether they need to “make a phone call”, “schedule a consultation” or "stop by any of our locations!"
If you're not providing clear instructions it’s unlikely that a potential customer will take the next steps to engage with your business.
If you're purchasing a commercial schedule from a TV station, most will also produce your commercial for free.
If you’re on a tight budget, this can be a tempting offer, but it’s rarely the most lucrative, long-term.
High quality production improves both your brand’s perceived quality and the likelihood that potential customers will choose your company over your competition.
Investing in thoughtfully conceived TV commercials from a knowledgeable agency can lead to more new customers and a higher return on your advertising spend.
TV Advertising – The Mean Joe Way
At Mean Joe Advertising, we understand how valuable your business’ reputation is and treat brand management very seriously.
That’s why we develop all of our creative, including TV commercials, in-house, ensuring your business has quality commercials every time.
In addition, every commercial we create for your business is yours to keep, contract-free.
Interested in learning what effective TV advertising can do for your business?
You can chat with our team here to get started today.