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Take Advantage of Advertising Right Now!

Low-cost opportunities for small businesses

Advertising is expensive, especially for small businesses. However, advertising is at one of its most affordable points right now, thanks to the economic downturn. Both advertising and media companies have been forced to reduce their prices, which have opened many doors for small businesses.

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For this reason, these companies are now more willing to work with smaller businesses. As pointed out in the above video, the best part is that small businesses pay less for services. Many of these services include advertising opportunities that most small businesses could only dream of in the past.

For instance, most small businesses do not have budgets for televisions spots. Due to price decreases, it is a possibility. Before the recession, a 30-second television spot could run as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fortunately today, this same ad could cost be as low as $500, according to TelevisionAdvertising.com.

Small businesses can also take advantage of billboards. This form of advertising is also seeing difficulty and has lowered its rates as well.

Fortunately, these low-cost opportunities exist online too. Advances in technology have helped businesses obtain more information regarding user demographics, habits, interests, and more. As a result, businesses can offer more customized ads, which helps them reach their target market.

Google AdWords and Facebook ad campaigns are both viable online opportunities. Each of these platforms allows users to set up their campaigns based on their budget. In addition, users can make adjustments on an as-needed basis.

Mobile advertising is another affordable area for small businesses. The Kelsey Group projects that the mobile advertising market will expand up to $3.1 billion dollars by 2013. With platforms such as Google’s AdMob and Apple’s iAd, it seems likely that this prediction will come true.

Lastly, social media provides many advertising opportunities for small businesses. Sites such as Twitter are giving some businesses better results than traditional platforms are. Foursquare and the newly introduced Facebook Places are also allow businesses reach their target through special discounts and giveaways. These location-based services have experiences tremendous growth over the last year.

So, it’s not so hopeless after all, is it? Can you think of any other areas of advertising that small businesses can take advantage of right now?

AdWords Small Business Corner Introduced

New subforum designed as place to share advice

Small business owners who would like a little help when it comes to AdWords have a new option in terms of places to go for advice.  Google’s created the AdWords Small Business Corner to act as an environment where individuals can get together and exchange tips.

Overwhelmed with the number of tools available?  Find yourself signing into AdWords every six minutes to little effect?  It’s these sorts of things (and more) that Google means for everyone to address with the new section of the AdWords Help Forum.

A post on the Inside AdWords Blog explained, “This new category is not about troubleshooting specific account issues, but rather about sharing and learning from the experiences of others.”

Sample topics then included “[c]hoosing the right tools to measure results,” “[h]ow to write great ads,” and “[f]inding the right frequency to sign in to AdWords.”

Assuming enough people weigh in (and that is a major hurdle with every new community) the Small Business Corner should prove quite useful.  Small business owners are in a pretty good position to understand other small business owners’ needs, after all.

And with regards to the community’s chattiness, we’ll note that topics are averaging about five replies each at the moment.

Back-To-School Shoppers May Be Ahead Of Schedule

NRF finds families have completed more shopping this year than last

At the University of Kentucky, today is move-in day for students who will live on campus this semester, and it’s a good bet that every business within five blocks is packed with kids and parents.  But for better or for worse, a study’s indicated that most people have completed a little more of their shopping this year compared to last.

Last year, the National Retail Federation found that the average family had completed 41.6 percent of its back-to-school shopping by now.  This year, the number’s 43.1 percent, instead.

The pessimistic way to interpret those figures is that not as much money will be spent on supplies from this moment forward.  And that’s perhaps true enough.

The good news, though, is that retailers have apparently been successful at luring shoppers into their businesses, and since we’re getting to the point that consumers might expect to find things on clearance, it’s possible retailers have been able to sell things at higher prices this way.

For his part, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement, “It’s good to see consumers responding to back-to-school sales and promotions.”

Anyway, good luck to everyone who’s getting overrun by stressed freshmen and anxious pairs of parents.

Small Businesses Rely On Free Shipping For Online Purchases

Online shopping saves businesses time

Saving time and money is important to small businesses that order their supplies online, and almost all (99%) say free shipping is a key factor when selecting a retailer, according to a new survey commissioned by Staples.

Small businesses that order online say it saves them time and money, and nearly half (46 percent) feel that their small business could not operate without this cost-saving benefit.

In terms of the greatest advantage for online ordering, 86 percent of respondents said it saves them time. Among those who do not shop online, fifty percent said it’s due to shipping costs and 51 percent said it’s more convenient to pick up an item in-store.

Small businesses that shop online frequently (three or more times per month) are more than twice as likely to say that mobile capabilities are important than those that place one to two orders online per month. Additionally, more than a quarter of small businesses (27 percent) say they already have a device capable of making these purchases.

“At Staples, we make it priority one to understand how small businesses’ needs are evolving. We’re committed to making it easy for customers whether they want to shop online, on a mobile device, by phone or in-store,” said Anabela Perozek, vice president of marketing, Staples Business Delivery.

“We also realize that the bottom line for many businesses is saving time and money. That’s why we offer our Fast and Free Delivery service for all orders over $50 to anyone who shops Staples.com or by phone.”

Consumer Spending Down On Housing Market

Uneven economic growth slows spending

The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index had it s its third straight month of decline in July, due in large part to weakness in the housing market.

“Real home prices had briefly picked up due to demand fueled by tax credits for home buyers, but prices have resumed their downward trend following the expiration of those credits and the housing market is now the biggest drag on the Index,” said Carl Steidtmann, chief economist with Deloitte Research, a part of Deloitte Services LP, and author of the monthly Index.

“Looking at other components of the Index in July, we see that tax rates, which had declined sharply during the recession, have basically held steady since the start of this year.  Real earnings ticked up slightly, following five consecutive declines,” said Steidtmann.

The index, made up of four components, tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices, feel to 4.45 percent, from an upwardly revised gain of 4.63 percent a month ago.

“American households continue to be cautious about spending while economic growth continues to be uneven,” said Alison Paul, vice chairman and Deloitte’s retail leader in the United States.

“At the same time, consumers economized over the past two years and likely have pent up demand for goods they have foregone.  Retailers should consider strategies to stay nimble amid shifts in consumer behavior in the months ahead.  Customer data and business analytics may be particularly valuable for retailers to hone pricing, merchandise and promotions that attract their target consumers.”

Highlights of the index include:

*Initial unemployment claims fell for the seventh consecutive month, but the year-over-year declines are lessening. Unemployment claims peaked in the spring of 2009. While claims are still high, they are down nearly a third from their peak.

*Real home prices have fallen for two consecutive months.  Home buying activity has declined in recent months due to the ending of the tax credit.  Prices are likely to remain depressed for a while longer until demand strengthens again.

*The consumer’s tax burden declined sharply through most of the recession.  In 2010, however, the rate has held steady, although it continues to be down from year-ago levels.