Danielle has a master’s degree in business administration and extensive professional experience in marketing. She has worked on effective marketing campaigns for companies of all sizes in a variety of industries.
You see advertisements for businesses every single day. Look at your Facebook feed, turn on the television, drive down the road, and even look at the logos on your clothes, you cannot help but take in ads. Advertising is an established business practice that drives growth by increasing sales, improving customer education, and adding to market share. It can be expensive to advertise, but some great deals are available.
Best Online Advertising Deals
Online advertising is growing exponentially. The United States digital ad spend is expected to bring in $83 billion dollars in revenue. This is a key category for businesses seeking to attract customers through advertising, and there are some great deals to help make sure you get the most for your money.
Growth Geeks: Facebook and Instagram Ad Management
Advertising on Facebook and Instagram expands your company's reach to a very specific audience at a set budget. This is one of the best deals in online ads because the minimum spend per day starts at 50 cents and the network has more than a billion people with accounts.
Don't have an internal marketing department? Instead of training someone to manage your ads, paying them for hours spent, and trying to figure out the world of Facebook and Instagram ads for yourself, hire seasoned professionals to help. For an affordable fee, the experts at Growth Geeks will manage your ads on Facebook and Instagram in a way that saves you both time and money. They will study your audience and reach them where they are posting.
For only $249 a month plus the cost of your ad spends (up to $5,000 monthly), you get:
A dedicated account manager able to run everything including text ads, video ads, photo ads, and boosted posts
Up to five campaigns set up or restructured, for new accounts get your business started on Facebook
Discussion and briefing of goals and strategies
Up to 20 geographical targets if you have multiple locations
Ad design and creation (wording, photos, etc...)
Monthly ads report
This form of advertising is effective with all types of business. According to a survey conducted by Vertical Response, 43% of small businesses spend about six hours per week on social media marketing. At a rate of $25 per hour, this is $150 a week and $600 a month just to pay an employee. That makes the $249 price tag from Growth Geeks one of the best deals in online advertising!
Outbrain: Grow Your Audience with Blog Posts
Outbrain is of the best advertising deals out there. This useful platform helps get your content and blog posts on major magazine websites at a fraction of the cost of direct placement. The next time you visit a news website, scroll down to the bottom of the page. You just might see the icon "Powered by Outbrain" above a few articles. Outbrain's network includes thousands of sites, and some of its top partners are CNN, US Weekly, Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, Mashable, and Time.com.
Outbrain takes a blog post you've written, although it must fit within their standards, and distributes it throughout their network. You set the budget you will pay per click, and you only owe money when people select your article. You will be able to get your content and company name on some of the biggest networks around without paying too much.
You can create this advertising account on your own or you can speak with an Outbrain professional (for free). The minimum spend is $10 a day. Huggies, Visa, and McDonald's are examples of organizations that use Outbrain.
This form of advertising works for businesses of all types and sizes, including product and service-based organizations.
AdColony Network: Mobile Ads
The AdColony mobile ad network is one of the best advertising deals online. A solution unlike any other on the marketing, this network runs high-definition instant video ads across iOS and Android platforms.
AdColony offers a few ad formats, helps you reach people in a network of several Fortune 500 brands, and gives you an edge in reaching the customer base. Like cost per click (CPC), you are charged by cost-per-completed-view which means you pay only if the entire ad gets played. Other platforms focus more on the publishers but AdColony "is very advertiser focused" and "has mostly 1st tier inventory."
Additional benefits of this platform include:
Trademarked HD video ad experiences
Zero-buffering for media load times
Actually shakes or vibrates a users' device at key moments
Brand advertisers and app advertisers welcome
There is a self-serve option but you can also work with an account manager if you wish. The average cost per 1000 impressions is $6.62 on the platform, the price will vary based on how many impressions you want to make.
This form of advertising works well for products you can put into a visual campaign in 15 to 30 second segments. If you are introducing a novel idea, it could be tough to explain in a short video.
Advance Publications
Are you ready to see your company in print (online)? Advance Publications is the entity responsible for filling local and national platforms with ads. From smaller sites to Cleveland.com to large publications like Allure magazine, reach your audience where they are. They run banner ads on the top and sides of websites.
The cost for this type of banner ad varies based on the website and the size/prominence of the banner. For example, a homepage banner all month could cost in the thousands but shorter runs start in the hundreds on sites like OregonLive.com. While large publications tend to be tantalizing, stick to the options with smaller audiences to get the most bang for your buck. The best deals are with the less popular, yet still effective, publications.
This advertising option works for businesses of all types and sizes. Tip: Be strategic about your geographic area when placing ads.
Best Deals for Traditional Advertising
According to Business Insider, digital spends are increasing year over year but advertisers are still spending money on traditional advertising. With that in mind, be sure that you don't discount the power of using traditional advertising to reach your audience. Just look for great deals to help you maximize your investment.
ClubFlyers: Postcard Mailers
Sending postcards promoting your products or services can be a great traditional advertising option. ClubFlyers.com is an online platform that produces physical collateral like postcards, brochures, and business cards.
The cost for 500 4 x 6 postcards from ClubFlyers.com is less than $60. The site runs regular promotions and their print quality excellent. In a Yelp review, one customer reports, "I absolutely love every single thing I've ordered and with their prices being so low and for such amazing quality I couldn't possibly think of going anywhere else!!!!"
If you decide to go with this option, get creative with the style of your postcards. Incentivize your customers with coupons or discount codes on the flyers.
This advertising option works best for local businesses with set geographic locations.
Remnant Radio Ads with Media Partners Worldwide
If you don't have a big budget, you can get your company on the radio with remnant ads at prices much lower than standard rates. Remnant ads are spots that haven't sold through traditional channels. They are often at less popular times, but still deliver listeners. Media Partners Worldwide works in remnant advertisement by purchasing these ads and reselling them to their clients at a discount of up to to 70% off rate card pricing.
They are one of SiriusXM's advertising agency partners, and will even assist with producing ads and writing ad copy. You could reach out to stations in your area one-by-one, but a company like Media Partners Worldwide does the hard work for you. One customer calls them "by far the best marketing company I have ever dealt with" and says "if you ever need radio advertisement...give them a call, you won't regret it."
Since ads are placed in local market radio stations, this option is best for companies that offer local services or are product-based.
Best Deals in Advertising
If you've been wondering where to start with your limited advertising budget, you should have some great ideas now! There are great advertising deals available in both traditional and digital media. Get your business rolling by investing in these affordable growth opportunities.
