How to advertise on TV if you’re a small business

Most small businesses see television advertisement as only for ‘the big guys’, an advertising channel that only companies with lots of disposable cash can afford – this is not the case.

Television advertisement can be an affordable medium that can greatly increase your company’s profit. It’s proven to provide a significant return on investment for smaller businesses.

Small businesses can take advantage of this medium without spending a multi-million-dollar budget on a massive set with a ton of props, creative direction, and actors.

A successful television advertisement knows what works on the medium and how to take advantage of the remnant time slots.

Here are the steps to advertising on television for a small business from the public relations team at Adoni Media:

  1. Research and know your target audience

Knowing who your target audience is and how they respond is crucial. You need to make sure that you’re selecting an appropriate television show that matches your customer’s demographics.

It’s important to understand and establish the demographic of your customers including age, gender, ethnicity, income, and other information. This will allow maximum reach of your target customers.

  1. Select a TV station or show

When you’re deciding what television station or show slot to select to reach your target audience it’s best to request a media kit from each channel. A media kit will contain viewer’s information and demographics.

You can also ask the station’s advertising manager or a salesperson to help you find a show that closely matches your audience.

Most television stations charge more to place ads on certain shows (especially during primetime) than if you buy a run of schedule, which randomly places your ads on station’s shows. This is a great option, but it might not get your advertisement in front of the right people.

  1. Create your advertisement

To develop and create your advertisement, start by creating a list of key elements you want to include. If you are buying a 30 second spot, you’ll need to ensure that your ads are exactly 30 seconds long.

Viewers generally switch from one station to the next, especially if an advertisement isn’t interesting to them. In order to sell your product, you need to grab the viewer’s attention within the first 10 seconds of the advertisement. By presenting a problem or need that they have will make them want to stay and hear the solution, gaining their attention to your ad.

  1. Cost out your advertisement

Begin calculating how much your advertisement will cost including video production, post-production, talents, and consider how much the placement on television will be.

  1. Purchasing your advertising time

Before committing your entire budget and placing all your ads at once, consider test runs. If your advertisement is running on multiple stations, you can buy fewer commercial slots on each. This allows you to understand what station or slot increased your sales.

Are you considering television advertising to help get your business out there?

6 Important things to know about Tech Angels

 

Angels are private individuals who have access to enough wealth to put into startups and are willing to do so. Tech angels are a particularly rare breed. They may have sold a tech business or may simply be excited by the sector and willing to take a small gamble. However, there are a lot of myths about tech angels and it is important to understand the real situation or it can be extremely hard to secure funding by this route.

They know what they like – Tech angels are usually bright people who have achieved a high degree of success in their lives. They understand business and often know what they want to invest in. More specifically they know what they don’t want to invest in. It cannot be assumed that they will invest in the sector in which they made their money. They often know it too well and would prefer to look at new sectors. Angel investors will tend to look at broad areas such as B2B, consumer or fashion. It’s important to listen to what interests them and not sell too hard.

They want to spread their risk – Angel investors are simply people with a lot of money to invest. However, it is important to understand that they will only invest a very small percentage of their wealth into tech startups. It is a risky investment for them and will normally only represent 10%-20% of their overall portfolio, as a hedge against the obvious failures there will be, or a disaster proofing if you like. They will spread this portion of their investments over as many as 20 startups over the period in which they invest. Do the sums and be realistic about how much to ask for from each angel.

They invest in packs – Although you may occasionally come across lone wolves, angels generally invest in packs. This is because they want to spread their risk as much as possible and investing in groups means they can make a lot more smaller investments. A startup may be looking for £200K. Given that the average investment may typically be approximately £25K, the total round would involve 8-10 angels working together. Don’t expect to find too many angels investing upwards of £100K on a single startup.

They respect each others opinions – Tech angels may want to take the lead or follow an angel that they respect. The lead angel will often be a ‘smart’ investor who either understands the sector or simply has a track record of investing in tech. This is a useful dynamic to understand. Find a respected lead angel and they will recommend your startup to their friends.

They are not just in it for the money – Tech investors are rarely investing just for a return on their investment. They get a buzz from keeping their hand in and helping the entrepreneur to make a success of the venture. They can bring a huge amount of experience and contacts. They are usually looking for founders who are open-minded to advice. They will only work with people that they can get on with. Listen to what your angel is saying and avoid being defensive at all times.

They are not easy to spot – People with money to invest, do not shout about it. On the other hand there are plenty of people with no money who find it useful to pretend to be investors. Real angels are spread over multiple networks or simply stay hidden.

In summary, it is important to understand that founders will not normally find individual angels to fund anything other than very early stage businesses. It’s a bit of a numbers game. You may have to find as many as 20 angels to invest in a single funding round. These angels may belong to several networks or may work alone. It is useful to get a commitment from one or two smart investors and get their help in introducing others. Be realistic about the individual investment size and build the total commitment in small chunks. If necessary take part of the total round and continue fundraising until the total is reached.

 

What You Need to Consider When Moving Your Office

While many people think that moving to a new home is one of the most stressful things that they can ever do, this just means that they haven’t had to move their business. It’s normal for businesses to face a move because of changing needs. This is a daunting prospect, but, as long as you plan ahead and are prepared as much as possible for your move, then you can make sure that you don’t go over budget and that you meet your timeline. These four tips will help make your upcoming move as easy as possible.

  • Consider Your Location

When considering where you want to relocate to, it’s important to make sure that your key customers will still be able to easily access you. While some customers may still come to visit you if you are farther away from them, it can be difficult to keep customers loyal to you when they expected to make a longer commute. This means that you will have to target new customers, which can be very expensive. Moving your business to a location with other bustling businesses can help drive new customers to your door and keep your employees happy.

  1. Have a Leader in Charge of the Move

Here at PRTR in Bangkok we have a large team with many division heads, for our move to happen smoothly, it is a good idea to have one person in charge of the move. They will serve as a contact person for any external movers you hire and will help to alleviate fears and concerns that your employees may have. Because they will be charged with keeping the move on schedule, you need to make sure that you give this responsibility to a leader who is able to make decisions on behalf of your company.

  1. Be Careful When Designing Your New Space

When you move to a new location, you are given a great opportunity to redesign the space of your offices if you desire. If your employees do not have quiet areas in the office, as well as spaces where they can interact with others, they are likely to be very stressed and not be able to complete team work as easily.

  1. Be Prepared or You Will Fail

No matter why you are planning a move, it’s important that you are clear when discussing the reason with employees and customers. You need to plan ahead to make sure that you have information about your current lease and any obligations you will need to settle before you move. Additionally, try to avoid planning major activities around the time of your move to reduce stress. Having a budget is important and will help you move without spending more money than you meant to.

A move is a great way to enjoy more space, relocate closer to your ideal customers, and improve performance of your employees. It’s important that you keep your staff informed when making decisions regarding a move and that they feel valued during the process so that they stay happy and supportive during this time.