Budgets are often the biggest objection from prospective customers. They lament that they have few dollars to spend, so they revert to executing ads themselves to save money. Some may not even advertise at all. However, local businesses need visibility to attract their target buyers. While advertisers with small budgets may not be the most attractive, if you start with them early and they succeed, they’ll stay with you when their spending increases.
In this post, we’ll offer some creative ideas for working with advertisers with small budgets.
Focus on Bottom-Funnel Ad Tactics
Brand awareness advertising has value, but its impact isn’t as measurable as bottom-funnel tactics. It’s hard to attribute branded ads to revenue, so small-budget advertisers should stick to ads that hit at the decision point of the customer journey.
With a narrow focus on this part of the funnel, they can allocate their budget here with tactics like SEM (search engine marketing) ads that focus on transactional intent, which signals that someone is ready to buy. The keyword focuses for these would be action terms, such as find a plumber, hire a landscaping company, etc.
Use Cost-Effective Channels for Already Engaged Customers
Once an advertiser has a customer in their database, they can continue communicating with them to build loyalty. Regular promotions and exclusive deals can trigger repeat buyers. To grow this relationship, recommend cost-effective channels like mobile messaging and email marketing . They both have strong engagement rates, so they offer great ROI.
Recommend Creating Content for Multiple Channels
Ad content, including video and graphics, are reusable across channels, including display/programmatic, social media, email marketing and OTT/CTV.
Small-budget advertisers might say they can’t buy from you because content creation is too expensive. If you approach them with a strategy to create one piece with a long shelf life, they may realize it’s worth the investment. Because the content needs to apply to multiple channels, it should be evergreen versus time-bound by a specific event.
You can also suggest budget-friendly options for video advertising with these tips.
Test Campaigns on Social Media
Before advertisers want to commit more dollars, they want to see some return. You can execute test campaigns on a small budget with most social media ad profiles. Keep these to bottom-funnel goals again, so it’s easy to attribute sales or leads to that tactic. You can reuse content they currently have and target specifically to ensure it shows up in the feeds of users most likely to click.
Offer Lower-Demand Spots for OTA Buys
In addition to digital, you’ll also want to propose OTA (over-the-air) buys. High-demand programming may not be in their price range, but you have inventory at lower rates. You don’t want to say they are less attractive spots, of course. Instead, draw parallels between the type of programming and its audience. It’s hard to beat the reach of linear spots, so make sure to include this tactic in the conversation.
Small Budgets Don’t Have to Be Limiting
Working with advertisers with small budgets doesn’t have to limit the options. You can build a relationship and results by focusing on bottom-funnel promotions and low-cost channels. As they grow, so will their budgets and trust in you.
Get more tips on working with advertisers with any budget by subscribing to Aspire, written by and for broadcast media sales pros.
