What do entrepreneurs keep in mind while setting up advertising budget

Initial expenses while setting up a business involve posters, banners, visiting cards, folders, etc. Once the business is set in motion, it is time to prepare an advertising plan. But more than a plan, you need a strategy. Let us explore some options available with a focus on social media and internet.

Need for advertising online

Let us put this debate to rest here. Taking your brand online is the only way forward in today’s networked world. Offline advertising ways like flyers and banners or posting newspaper ads may appear effective but they cost a lot of money. You can go online at zero cost and and get much better benefits. For that you need a plan and a social media architect. Beware of the fake digital marketing experts out there. As high as 90% of these self proclaimed experts don’t have the slightest clue of what they are doing.

It is said that there is no such thing as a free lunch. But the universe is the ultimate free lunch.

Stephen Hawking, Physicist

Pity, I bet he wrote those line without having social media in mind. Over there, you can create a captivating Facebook Page, interact with potential customers and build a loyal fan following, all for free.

Big brands and MNCs – unlimited budget

This is a no brainer. You have the money, why not spend it. That is what exactly big corporations are doing on the social media platforms with big budgets.

A Toyota car advertisement in Hindi on Instagram, aiming towards connecting with the Hindi speaking audience. Even if it is a paid advertisement campaign, it will fetch far greater dividends than posting a 30 sec TV ad in the middle of a cricket match.

Big brands however not necessarily go online with ad campaigns. They are the so called old school purists.

SMBs & SMEs incl Startups

This category will have the most constrained finances till they get some external funding. Startups these days almost immediately go online in a big way. At-least a strong digital identity. Startups who get their business from smartphone also pump all their resources on a proper app and its promotion. More and more such category of business are taking their advertising campaigns online to reach out to their customers. Facebook is expecting a boom in online revenue in India due to this category coming on board.

Single person business

Social media has two approaches available for promoting your brand. Each social media platform provides tools for setting up paid promotion on your posts. You can increase you followers, generate likes and boost events. Whatever likes and follows you get without boosting a post are called organic. Have a long term plan and put it in motion from day one. Here are the suggested steps.

• Prepare your bio for social media. Describe yourself and your brand in brief and simple sentences, for various social media profiles and About sections. You should have a short description, long description, your inspiration, aim of business, credentials and qualifications and testimonials. You can also upload references of other firms which you have worked with. Also keep some professional pictures ready of yourself and your products or service.
• Facebook Page gives lots of benefits over a Facebook Profile. Have a mixed approach with both, reach out to as many people as possible and increase your social circle. Facebook page gives you analytics, location marking, reviews, events, etc which help to provide information customers. Stories help you to get attention and give out important announcements.
• Instagram business account connects to Facebook page. Anything posted on Instagram will automatically go to the linked page which saves time in reposting. Instagram DM allows you to connect directly to other business owners and people with similar interests.
• Google My Business is the only way to claim ownership of a Google Map Marking. There is tons of information to be filled up on your map entry. Do not leave any information blank. Also ensure the information is common across all social media networks. Use a single mobile number and email ID across all networks and contact options.
• If you are using a single number, make sure it has WhatsApp for Business installed and store all your business contacts on the same smartphone. Backup contacts to the cloud. Business updates, product launch or anything of the sort, keep posting it on WhatsApp status.

Organic approach to social media is along term approach.

Creating content

We see a lot of good looking ads on social media. Many of them are designed by professional teams working with cutting edge tools like Adobe Photoshop. Many people are under the wrong impression that they can re create these ads by paying peanuts. With single person run business this goes to extreme levels. They simply take a screen shot of the ad and ask it to be replicated. Professional agencies charge by the thousands to make such ads. But the main question here is does a small business actually need such an ad. Attention lifespan for ads on social media is a few seconds. The better approach here is to make meaningful ads rather than beautiful ones. Take for example an activity center. Parents will rather look for what the activity will benefit their children rather than a beautiful looking ad.

Free lunch concept works best here. Tons of smartphone apps both free and paid are there to help you create quick ads and posters like Canva and Adobe Spark. Even poster maker is a good app. These apps have pre-designed templates for each situation and occasion. You just have to find the right template and fill in the blanks. Try not to overdo and waste time changing colour schemes or start with a blank template.

Use pictures clicked from smartphone for content. Using professional camera wastes time by transferring and converting images. Use as much candid images as possible. The trend these days is having realistic posts rather than setup ones. Use short video clips with voice over for maximum effect. Make generous use of reviews and testimonials from customers.

Concluding word

In essence an organic approach for social media is strongly recommended. Do take care to hire a social media expert or at least a mentor who knows his or her way through the maze of social media. You can also join a business networking group where such ideas are discussed in a professional way. Managers of such groups hire the best professionals in their respective fields. Focus on providing relevant content to your audience and create the content on your own with self help apps.