Why Small Businesses Should Consider TV Advertising

The use of social media marketing is on the rise. Everybody is talking about it. Companies are allocating larger budgets for social media marketing each year. Does that mean that TV advertisements are dead?

At a dinner recently, I happened to be part of this conversation with some of my friends in the marketing and advertising space. It was an interesting and insightful discourse. I want to share with you a few things about TV advertising that I learned that evening.

The Intent of Advertising

First of all, advertising isn’t intended to sell something or to have a call to action right away. People, who think that the intent of advertisements is to try to make them do something immediately, are wrong.

Some advertisements may attempt to persuade you to take immediate action. In general, those methods are frowned upon. Successful advertising focuses on creating a positive impression that influences our behavior to consider that brand for its appropriate purpose over time.

The Most Commonly Used Advertising Mediums

The many ways businesses choose to advertise their products and services are dependent on market conditions and their organizational budgets. Here are some of the commonly used advertising mediums:

• TV Advertising
• Radio Advertising
• Print Media Advertising (newspapers, magazines)
• Online Advertising (e.g. Google AdWords and other PPC type advertising)
• Social Media Advertising (Advertising on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.)
• Video Advertising (YouTube, Vimeo etc.)
• Printed Advertising (billboards, posters etc.)
• Trade Promotions
• Advertising through sponsorship of events
• Yellow Pages Advertising
• Direct Mail Advertising

There are many other advertising methods and many variations of the above listed mediums. This gives you a broad overview to the ways advertising is done today.

TV Still Dominates The Advertising Industry

For a country like the US where people take pride in saying, “I really don’t watch that much television”, a recent research report suggested that people on an average spend about 34 hours each week watching TV. As I write this article, the TV in my home is ON and my children are watching the Disney channel.

With many options available in broadcast, cable and microwave TV packaged and bundled with every type of entertainment and communication imaginable, TV is ubiquitous. If you live in the USA, you may be having a connection from Time Warner, Mediacom or similar TV entertainment provider. And if you are in the UK, you may be enjoying one of the Sky TV packages from the comfort of your home.

It is easy and affordable to install a TV or two in each household. The point here, in spite of busy schedules, we all manage to watch our favorite TV shows or sports. When so much time is being spent in front of a TV, it is common sense that TV advertising is still at the top.

One of my friends who works in the advertising industry mentioned that night; US companies spend over $90 billion a year on TV advertising. Another pointed out that the TV ad spending growth rate in the US continues to outpace the aggregate of all other mediums, according to a recent analysis released by Kantar Media.

Social media and internet advertising have taken the limelight in many ways and present a tough challenge to the TV advertising industry. Even so, it should be noted that TV advertising still dominates and continues to grow because of the impact it makes.

Can TV Advertising Benefit Small Businesses

It is important to note that many small business owners are scared of TV advertising simply because they don’t know enough about it. Most people assume that it’s just too expensive. In some cases, people think that they can’t benefit from TV advertisements as they are only for big businesses.

I think the best idea is to find out exactly how much it is going to cost and what kind of return on investment you can have if you go that route. That way you aren’t basing your decision on fears of the unknown.

As I see it, there are some obvious benefits of advertising on TV:

1. Your competition is probably not doing it and if you do, you gain a competitive advantage.
2. You get instant celebrity status when you’re in TV commercials. That is great for your brand identity because TV advertising puts you in the same league as the large companies in the eyes of consumers.
3. It delivers massive results when done right. Just looking at the massive growth of TV advertising year after year should give you an indication of the success it is producing for those who are leveraging its power.
4. It’s more affordable than ever before. Social media and the internet have presented a big threat to the TV advertising industry. They recognize that.  So, are getting very reasonably priced to survive.

Advertising on television is like any other form or marketing. It must be done correctly to get good results. If you do it poorly, your ads will do you no good and you will lose money. Advertising is all about doing it right.

Just because you are a small business, don’t automatically discount television advertising. If you advertise on the right station that serves your target audience with your right message, television is the most powerful medium you can use to get that message out.

Over To You – Share Your Thoughts

Where do you see the future of advertising for business going? Does TV advertising influence your buying decisions? Please share your thoughts in the comments by clicking here. Thank you kindly!