How to Run Branding Ads at No Extra Cost.

For all the fancy talk surrounding it, branding is nothing more than differentiating yourself from your competition.Take a hard look at the last ad you ran. Did it tell anyone anything they didn’t already know?  If it talked about a sale, did you give anyone any other reason to buy from you? If not, when that sale ended, so did your influence. Not only that, you wasted an opportunity to differentiate your business from your competition.

You are going to pay for that ad regardless of the message you put in it.  Why not make it do a little branding while it’s selling? Everyone thinks they can’t afford fancy brand advertising. The reality is, when you put branding in your everyday ads, you increase your influence without increasing your ad budget. It doesn’t have to be revolutionary or extremely creative. What it does have to be is consistent. Think about what makes you different. You may have to invest a little time and do some serious thinking and investigating – do it.

Whatever you choose, make sure it’s different from what any of your competitors are saying. If you sell widgets and you’re not the only guy in town who does, you’d better make it clear why your customers should buy from you.  And make sure it’s something your target audience actually cares about. Always think in terms of benefit to your target. Sometimes, if you don’t have a unique selling proposition (something that makes you different and better) it’s an opportunity to look at your target and your market and find a need.  If you can recognize a need and provide a solution to that problem-that’s gold.  A good litmus test to see if your ad is branding you is to replace your name in the ad with a competitor’s name. If the ad still rings true, you obviously haven’t differentiated yourself.

No matter the medium – print, TV, radio, internet, or social media, make sure your brand message is clear and consistent.  Not having a branding message in every ad is the single biggest mistake most companies make in marketing. Brand yourself – it won’t cost you more money, but it will gain you more customers.