Do’s and Don’ts for Your Next Direct Ad Campaign

When businesses want to reach customers without some type of intermediary, they turn to direct advertising. As opposed to other marketing pushes, direct advertising focuses on reaching consumers at the individual level (think email or direct mail campaigns). Direct ads can be extremely effective, but if you don’t know how to put them to use, your ad dollars will go to waste. Here are a few things to keep in mind when building out your direct advertising campaign.

Do Create a Clear Purpose

This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many businesses turn to direct advertising because they don’t know what else to do. Direct advertising has a place in the business world, but for it to be effective, it must be a purposeful component of a marketing strategy. Your best bet with direct advertising is to narrow your purpose down and have one ideal target. If you have this target in sight, it will be easier to make the most of your marketing budget.

Don’t Start Without the Resources

If you can’t pay for the tools needed for direct advertising, don’t go into debt purchasing them. Your purpose may change over time and when you do have the funds to do things right you may not be able to use the tools that you previously purchased.

Speaking of resources, do you have the right employees to pull off direct advertising? Will you have to hire an outside business? All of these things need to be assessed before you begin.

Do Connect Your Direct Advertising with an Event

If possible, tie your direct advertising to an event, whether you create a new event or tie the advertising to an existing one. The holidays are a perfect time to promote your brand and your business. If you already have a holiday event, build your direct advertising campaign around that and encourage people to visit you in person. Tying your advertising to an event cements your brand and creates a clear call to action for consumers after they see your ad.

Don’t Advertise to Everyone

Have a target audience. Targeting a certain audience is going to make your direct advertising much more effective. Why try to sell to a demographic that isn’t interested in what you’re offering? You should know who the majority of your customers are and target them. Targeting the correct audience will reduce the amount of people who see your advertisements as junk or spam. The right people will be interested in what you are offering, and reaching those “right people” is what direct advertising is all about.