Where should SMEs advertise in 2011?

Advertisers with multi-million dollar budgets can take their pick of expensive mediums to spruik their wares. But SMEs with limited budgets have to be a little more creative about how, where and when they spend their marketing dollars.

Constant scrutiny of advertising costs and the associated gains is commonplace as they make sure they get the best returns on every dollar spent.

But perhaps a recent survey into where national advertisers intend to advertise during 2011 can provide some clues as to where SMEs should commit their budgets.

The annual Media Futures survey by media buying group Starcom MediaVest Group shows that national advertisers intend to increase their marketing budgets in 2011, with almost all sectors of mainstream media are set to benefit.

The survey, released in February, shows that the top 600 advertisers (by expenditure) intend to commit big bucks to advertising on the internet, with search and display anticipated to be the biggest beneficiary of ad expenditure. In fact, advertisers predicted that internet search and display would grow this year by 23.6% and 19.6% respectively this year.

Digital television, meanwhile, is set for above average growth of 9.8% and free-to-air television and subscription television was expected to grow by 5.8% and 5.3% respectively.

Magazine ads are predicted to rise by 4%, out-of-home by 3.5%, newspapers by 3.3% and radio and cinema by 1.8%.

Meanwhile, public relations, email/viral email and point-of-sale are expected to be used by six in 10 national advertisers in 2011.

What about SMEs?

While not many SMEs can afford television advertising or ads in glossy magazines, online marketing has low barriers of entry and is predicted to be popular, with SMEs looking to keep costs down in 2011.

Some will need to start with the basics. The MYOB Business Monitor, released this February reveals that remarkably, only 35% of Australian businesses even have a website. This is despite the fact that the survey of 1,000 national business owners and decision makers found that businesses that have a website have more success – 30% of businesses with a website report a revenue increase in the past year, compared to 23% of those without a website.

But a website is just the start. Pam Brossman, CEO of Social Media Woman and consultant on digital media marketing, names video and digital marketing as the most cost-effecting way to market your business online in 2011.

“It’s a matter of putting your advertising where your target market is hanging out, and more and more people are hanging out on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter. And the latest trend is creating your own online TV show either on your own WordPress website or hosted from a YouTube channel,” Brossman says.

The next best option would be strategically targeted online newsletters or blogs where your target market spends time online, such as banners and paid advertisements, she says.

“Digital marketing is the way of the future – seriously, when was the last time you picked up the Yellow Pages to look for anything for your business? Advertising has gone totally digital and those who go digital with their marketing now will reap the rewards faster than those who are still sitting on the fence thinking social media is a waste of time.”

The virtues of online

Those SMEs unsure about where to start should invest in some professional advice from a digital agency. But once you have a strategy nutted out, it is possible for SMEs to book their own online display advertising campaigns on some of the premium websites, with operators like Webfirm offering a service that enables businesses to design their own display ads.

David Burden, CEO of Webfirm says the company’s AdSlot division opens up opportunities for SMEs who otherwise wouldn’t have large enough budgets to be serviced by the major website publishers to book campaigns.

Coupon or deal sites can also help SMEs achieve instant sales. These sites give buyers a time limit in which to secure large discounts from businesses, which are proving effective marketing tools for SMEs.

LivingSocial is a daily deals website that brought thousands of new customers to Australian businesses last year. Sites like Catch of the Day and Scoopon are also worth checking out, which costs nothing out of pocket for businesses to use. Instead, the site conducts the transaction with the customer and keeps a portion of the revenue.

Colin Fabig, CEO, Living Social Australia says businesses should prepare for a massive increase in bookings. “Make sure your server can cope with the increased numbers visiting your website and you have enough people to answer the phones for booking enquiries. It’s important to treat each customer as though they are paying full price and offer the highest standard of service in order to encourage them to return.”