Advertising: What's the best bang for your buck? Part 2

So last time I blogged about advertising, I talked about my thought process behind paid advertising, but what can one do with little to no advertising budget?  Here are some thoughts... and while I tailored them to my business a bit, they really apply to any business.

- VISTAPRINT - If you haven't checked this site out, you need to... NOW!  Go ahead... I will wait... I will even play the jeopardy music... ok... You back?  Great!  As you just saw or already know Vistaprint is a great way to get inexpensive marketing materials.  And no, they aren't as fancy as hiring a professional printing company, but this is a blog post on advertising on the cheap.  My point is...it gets the job done and doesn't break the bank.

- The Internet - In my opinion, no matter how big or small, new or old your business is, you need a website.  It always floors me to see businesses, especially those that do artistic/custom work, not have a website.  Again, it doesn't need to be fancy, it just needs to be organized, easy to navigate, and contain the important information most customers are looking for.

In addition to having your own website, you can also search for directory-like websites and put your information on them as well.  Most will charge for a "featured" listing, but many will allow you to list your business for free.  You probably won't get much, if any, business directly from this, but you never know how someone will find you.

- Push your product - For a cake designer, this is easy.  Bake some samples and take them to places where the clientele fits the clientele you are after or to locations where you may get referrals.  It's not free, but you can always use "leftovers", especially if you are hitting up a business that has only a few employees such as a florist.  Word of mouth is still the best advertising one can do.

- Social Media - In this day and age, I think you need to do some sort of social media campaign.  Business pages on Facebook are free, Twitter is free, blogging is free... all help you spread the word.

 - Networking Groups - Whether the group is specific to your industry, gender, age, etc., there are a ton of networking groups out there.  My suggestion is find one or two that you like and fit your personality, and stick with them.  Most networking groups allow you to "visit" before you join and some are so casual that you can come and go as you please.  But be warned though, every group is run differently and many charge a fee for you to become a member, so make sure get all that info before you commit yourself and some advertising budget to it.

So there are some ideas on how to stretch your advertising budget... surely it isn't an exhaustive list, but it is a list of things that I have tried, used, done, etc.  I plan on talking more about networking in a future post, but in the meantime... What types of cost-effective advertising has worked for you?

Advertising: What's the best bang for your buck? Part 1

My head is spinning.... every time I turn around someone else is "inviting" me to advertise online or in a magazine, attend a bridal show, or improve my SEO rankings.  While I would love to be everywhere and do everything, it's just not financially possible.  So where should one put their advertising money?  I have no clue, as I am not a business guru, but I can tell you my thought process on my most recent decisions.

- SEO companies - I am starting here because I really have no clue which ones of these are legitimate and really know the least about.  The goal of paying for this service is to improve your visibility on the web by improving the way search engines find your business.  While I feel this is very important, I don't feel like I need to pay to be the top result when searching for cakes... I am fine with being in the top 3-5.

- Online Websites - The Knot, Wedding Wire, Get Married, One Wed... I can go on and on about all the wedding vendor websites.  I don't like the way these websites are set up for my area.  Fredericksburg is half way between Northern VA and Richmond, and most of these sites are setup for general geographic areas, none of which I feel represent my immediate area.  If I was in Fairfax, it would be a different story, but until these website change the way they are set up, you won't be seeing me there (unless it is a free listing).

- Print Magazines - This is where I personally struggle the most.  Local magazines are a great way to get your name out there, but at the same time, they are pretty pricey.  Sure you can pay for 1/8 of a page, but will anyone see that tiny ad?  I have paid to advertise in 3 different print publications... one was inexpensive, so I said why not!  Another one was more of a local bridal guide than periodical, but it was reasonable and brought my name out to an area that I serve, but don't have a lot of presence in.  And the third... well, this is where it went south... literally.  A local non-wedding magazine, targeted at larger household income family was putting out a wedding issue and it seemed like a good idea to advertise.  Well, to this day I am still not sure what happened, but long story short, the magazine went out of business and I believe the wedding issue became a regular issue.  The biggest thing I struggle with advertising in a magazine is knowing whether or not it is worth it.  Sure I have a drop-down on my form mailer letting folks select where they found me, but do most people actually fill this out accurately?  If they found me in "Cool Weddings" magazine but then googled wedding cakes to find my website, which do they put there?  And yes, you can do promos ("Mention this add and get blah blah blah..) or QR codes, but I just don't want to deal with either.

So that leaves me with Bridal shows.  For me and my business, I think bridal shows are a great way to get yourself out there.  Since wedding cakes have 2 components, look and taste, this is the only way for people to do both, and as a bonus they get to meet me as well.  They can be expensive and take hours to prepare and setup for, but it allows you to not only mingle with brides and grooms, but other vendors as well.  Your return on investment is also more easily trackable because you typically get a list of attending brides.  On top of that, I like to talk... I will talk to a spot on the wall until it moves, and I think that helps me too.  Do I think bridal shows work for everyone?  Definitely not, but for right now, that is where I am putting my advertising budget.

What are your thoughts?  Part 2 will concentrate on advertising on the cheap...

Facebook "Networking"

I am a "fan" of several local pages that are either interest-based, such as being a mom, or have some sort of local publication or group.  I follow them to see what is going on around town, as I rarely read the local newspaper.

I saw several local businesses post on the walls of these types of pages promoting their business.  "Need a photographer?  Check out ABC Photography!"  "Best Burgers in town at Big Burger!" Etc.

While I see the opportunity as some free advertising, I don't do it.  Why?  I don't know... there is just something about it that seems a bit "off" to me.  I will gladly self-promote myself if a page is asking for pictures/info from fans, but to just do it to do it... eh... maybe it is just me and my personality.  It's like me at networking events... I usually hang back and chat with whomever I already know or who I am really interested in meeting, not necessarily who I should be talking to because they would get me business or new business.

Along these same lines, I don't go to TV cake designers pages and say, "Check out my work!" in hopes of gaining new fans or recognition from them personally.  Sure I would love to have Kerry Vincent say that I do awesome work, but I don't do anything that at least half of the cake designers in the world do, and I am sure at least half of those designers do those things better than I do.

So what are your thoughts on promoting yourself/business on other Facebook pages?  I am out of my mind and over-thinking things (wouldn't be the first time)?