Online Advertising Is Booming
Internet advertising is a $21 billion dollar industry that grows by leaps and bounds each year (25% growth last year), while newspaper and radio advertising revenues are steadily declining. And there's a good reason for that: Randall
Rothenberg, President and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, says "There is no media as
measurable as interactive, and they provide products and services at
the precise moment a consumer desires them."
To read more about the interactive advertising industry, click here! |
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1st Step: Research your local website advertising options
Investigate the local websites which your most important customers use, or are likely to use, and where your competitors advertise. Sales representatives can guide you (or ask Fletcher Prince for help in developing a media plan for you.) Once you have found a prospective website, ask the advertising representative for web analytics that show the pages of the site your target audience visits most, and the times of day when they visit the website most frequently (you can find this information for your own site using Google Analytics, by the way).
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2nd Step: Have a clear goal in mind and make sure your ad reflects that call to action
How do you want your target audience to react to your advertising? You probably want increased sales, or donations, or another action of some sort, not just increased traffic for your website. The call to action is important. Keep in mind that you continually want to move them towards the sale (even if what you are "selling" is a point of view). Make is easy for the consumer to follow through and always focus on that goal in your advertising language, images, and links.
Speaking of links, if you have an online ad, does your ad link to your home page? Think about whether that is the best "landing" spot for your target audience. You don't want to make them hunt for the products or other features you are trying to promote to them.
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3rd Step: Design your ad for success
Online advertising is most effective when it is used in several websites and in several sizes. One banner ad on one website or one single keyword won't capture enough customers to be worthwhile.
Grab attention with flash and video. Static banners are passe. Interactivity is in. Consumers expect to see ads that move, such as a video clip or a moving rich media banner.
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| Our Newsletter Contributors
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 Samantha Maslaney, Fletcher Prince's Marketing Intern, wrote and organized much of the June New Media Insider. Samantha will return to Longwood University this fall to complete her senior year.
Katie Donohue is Fletcher Prince's Graphic Design Intern. She designed the attractive masthead for The New Media Insider. Katie will graduate from James Madison University this December.  |
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