Here’s the deal: advertisement is not marketing. It’s like saying you want to have a garden, but you’re only willing to plant one kind of plant and only the seed.

What about watering, fertilizer, good soil, weeding and sunshine? You don’t need them, do you? After all, all that stuff just takes care of itself, right? Uh… wrong.

Well, the same goes for generating revenue. Done in a vacuum, none of these tactics will get you what you want. Your relationship with your target audience develops based on them trusting you. It’s all about layering your “market touches” in a way that incrementally builds trust over time. Too much, too close, too soon, and you scare people off.

Instead, you have to know what strategies to use and when to use them. You do this based on clear objectives set before you ever start a campaign – or business for that matter. Each strategy has a different purpose. Here’s a quick look at how to make the right choice.

Advertisement is getting the word out about your business through paid-for ads or commercials in the media, including print, radio, television and the internet. You advertise to...

  • establish awareness
  • build interest in the market
  • educate
  • interrupt
  • change attitudes about your brand or another’s brand
  • influence perceptions
  • meet a longer-term objective (like raising awareness)

Advertisement tends to be very expensive. Done well, with good messaging, good design, and a big enough budget to be consistent over time, it can be effective. But blowing a big piece of your overall marketing budget on only an ad or two is a huge waste of money.

So what’s another option? Public Relations.

Public Relations is getting the word out about your firm through the press, including articles about you (not by you) and interviews with you. These can appear in print, as a story in the media, and online. You use Public Relations to...

  • build credibility (and sometimes trust) through a third-party (the press)
  • move up a level in the eyes of your target audience and clients
  • align publicly (i.e., with a cause)
  • generate buzz (i.e., pre-launch)
  • get “free” attention

Getting good publicity requires a knack for WIIFM-oriented messaging (What’s In It For Me?). You have to pass the “who cares?” test every time. If you start a press release, for example, with “ABC Company is pleased to announce...,” you’re dead in the water.

Good relationship-building skills with the press are also a must. PR is often something to crank up once you have the tools in place to “catch” the attention you’ll garner, including a website laden with value and a decent keep-in-touch system.

Still another approach is promotion.

Promotion is getting the word out through articles/columns/newsletters that you write, talks you give, networking, sponsorships, events, committee work, referrals you give and get, follow-up meetings, thank you notes, and calls. You promote to...

  • encourage your target audience to try you (i.e., visit your website for a valuable download, to subscribe to your free e-newsletter)
  • invite your target audience to an event (real or virtual)
  • give stuff away (trials)
  • introduce a new offer
  • meet a shorter-term objective (like fill a workshop)
  • test new ideas (i.e., run a poll)
  • invite interaction (i.e., to an online discussion forum)

The arsenal of options in your promotional toolkit is both extensive and affordable. Get a basic system of online and offline promotional tactics in place, anchored by a value-packed website to act as your “revenue hub,” and you’re in good shape.

You also have tactical choices to make for each strategy: online vs. offline, print/graphic vs. audio/visual, live (in person) vs. virtual, and so on. Here are some rules of thumb to guide you:

  • deploy the WIIFM factor at all times
  • unless you have the backing of a big corporate marketing budget, promotion and PR tend to be your smartest investments
  • online is generally more cost-effective than print
  • offer ways for prospects and potential customers to interact with you before the sale. Be their go-to information source.
  • don’t randomly try tactics. Have a plan that moves your target audience from Stranger to Acquaintance to Friend to Lover to Loyal Partner.

If you want awareness, interest, trusted advisor status, and credibility, you need all three strategies: Advertisement, Public Relations, and Promotion, in your marketing mix.

For most companies, having a solid promotional strategy in place, first, is the smartest return on investment (ROI). Add public relations and advertising to the mix next, and your garden will actually flourish and grow. 

Sean McCool is an award-winning copywriter and the author of Marketing Secrets of the Ice Cream Man. He is known as The Profit Funnels Guy™ because Sean shows businesses how to set up multiple Profit Funnels™ throughout their business. Sean can be reached through his website, www.SeanMcCool.com