Advertising has been around as long as humans have had something to say. From early runaway notices in Ancient Egypt to the first print advertisement from China in 4000 BCE, people have been trying to communicate their services and needs since immemorial. In the modern day, advertising is the mouthpiece for your company online. Without advertising, you may as well have an unmarked storefront sitting on the internet, hoping someone gets curious enough to stumble into your website or e-commerce store.

Advertising comes in many forms, from early candy jingles played on flutes to today’s social media and influencer marketing. No matter what kind of advertising you work with for your company, having advertising is crucial to business growth. This article discusses the different types of advertising, their use, and how we at Planted Marketing can help take your advertising campaign to the next level. So let’s jump into it, shall we? 

Advertising at a Glance

As mentioned above, advertising comes in many different forms; it’s hard to note every kind of advertising. So instead, we’ll cover more common categories and how they apply to modern and online advertising spaces. Keep in mind that there are many other kinds of advertising, but these are some of the more common:

• Word-of-mouth: One of the more common kinds of advertising, this advertising involves a customer telling someone they know about your business or services. This kind of advertising is nominally free, although it requires a loyal customer base and can be slower than other kinds of advertising on this list. Word-of-mouth advertising is harder to track metrics-wise but not less valuable to your business. Remember, customer comments and reviews are modern word-of-mouth advertising, so keep this in mind when dealing with your clients. 
• Direct mail and paper advertising: Whether you place an ad in the paper or send out newsletters and magazines to your customers, direct or paper advertising uses physical mail to convince your customers to try your services. This includes offering coupon books, discounts, and more using a mailing list. While physical mail is less popular for advertising than it used to be, it’s worth noting that direct mail has an ROI (return on investment) of 112%, so don’t count physical mailers out yet. 
• Physical advertisements: Things like billboards and park benches count as physical advertisements. Unless they’re heavily local-focused, most small businesses cannot make up their initial investment easily with physical promotions. Still, this is a necessary form of advertising worth noting in this list. 
• TV ads: From local to national spots, TV ads are another form of advertising that reaches directly into your customers’ homes. While less popular now than they used to be, TV ads are still going strong, and local TV ads may be a potential outlet for locally-focused small businesses. However, they are less effective for the overhead cost than some other modern advertising strategies. 
• Sponsorships and influencers: You don’t have to watch NASCAR to notice each vehicle sports hundreds of advertisement stickers. Sponsorships and influencer marketing take the personality and following of a notable individual and put them to work for your business. Influencers are social media celebrities who pitch your products and services to their followers for a price. Working with influencers is a great way to boost your small business and is much more reasonable on a cost scale than purchasing part of a NASCAR driver’s vest. 
• Web advertising: From search engine advertisements to social media paid ads, web advertising offers part of online real estate to your business and lets you grab your customer’s attention. Web advertising includes everything from social media marketing campaigns to email campaigns, making it a crucial aspect of any online business’s marketing strategy. Email marketing alone boasts a $36 return for every $1 invested, making it an excellent option for businesses everywhere. With so many topics in web advertising, we’ll break down these categories in the next section. 

Advertising with Planted Marketing

When you’re ready to take the leap, here’s how we dive into an advertising strategy for your brand.

First, we discuss your budget and make sure you can commit to a form of advertising for a minimum of 3 months. Then we do a deep dive into your brand and your target audience. We analyze your competitors to scope out their advertising strategy, estimate their budget, and what their ads look like.

Then we combine all of this information into an effective ad strategy for your brand. We do everything from research and strategy to content creation and copyrighting. Then, of course, we launch and manage the ad. We are constantly watching the ad results to ensure your ad dollars are being spent efficiently.

If you’re ready to build more awareness around your brand and drive sales, send us a message!

Planted Marketing is a full-service digital marketing agency that specializes in content marketing and organic solutions for woman-owned brands. Our wide variety of services allows for customized plans that work best for your brand and each stage of growth. Want to learn more? Send us a message at info@planedmarketing.com. Talk soon!