Small Business Advertising Basics

In the broadest sense, anything that promotes your business might be considered advertising, whether it's a radio spot, a brochure, or a booth at a trade show. But the term advertising usually refers to paid commercial messages in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, the Yellow Pages, or outdoor advertising.

Here's a rundown of the key media:

• Newspapers are an inexpensive way to reach a mass audience. They're flexible and the ads are reasonably priced. They are ideal to promote a sale or a special deal on your product or service. Newspapers carry a lot of ads, however, so there's a risk that yours may get lost in the clutter.
• Magazines offer a slightly better opportunity than newspapers to catch a reader's attention, but they typically cost more. Magazines are good for promoting your company's image and building its credibility. Trade magazines and general business publications are worthwhile for business-to-business advertising.
• Radio is a relatively low-cost, high-impact choice for local advertising. It's one of the best ways to reach a targeted market; however, its cost is slightly higher than with print ads. Repetition is especially important in radio advertising.
• Television advertising is extremely high-impact, but spots on major networks are expensive. Cable channels that will air your ad in select markets are more affordable.
• Yellow Pages advertising isn't cheap, but it delivers hot prospects — people who are ready to buy. It's a good choice for local and area-specific businesses.
• Outdoor advertising offers high visibility, and the cost per viewer is relatively low. But outdoor ads — billboards and transit ads — are best used in conjunction with other forms of advertising.
• Internet advertising offers a means to rapidly adjust your advertising reach. Tools like Google Adsense enable you to analyze a broad number of metrics such as click-through rates.