Written by Livia Gershon, Worcester Business Journal
Monday, 17 March 2008
Local experts offer tips for online advertising
When clients approach Vision Advertising in Worcester about marketing themselves online, CEO Laura Briere says they rarely start by inquiring about the intricacies of search engine optimization or the value of having a presence on MySpace.
“It’s more like, ‘Hi, we’d like a web site,’” she said.
Briere and other advertising professionals say companies that lack a web site certainly need to hurry up and get one, but that’s not all they need to do. For businesses that are used to dealing with old-fashioned advertising, learning to navigate the online marketing world is a complicated, necessary task.
Keeping It Fresh
Even the advertising format that most closely mirrors a traditional form, online newspaper and trade magazine ads, has some marked differences from its print cousin.
Jean Giguere, director of accounts at advertising firm smith&jones in Sturbridge, said the most crucial thing about online ads is that they are a gateway to a company’s own web site. As obvious as that may seem, she said clients often want to offer too much information on the ad itself. The key, she said, is simply making it appealing enough to click on.
Another clear benefit of online publications is that a company can check its web site’s statistics and see, immediately and in detail, how well an ad is working to draw in potential customers. Publications that require their readers to register are also able to offer a wealth of statistics to help advertisers target a particular demographic. Giguere said online newspapers and magazines also often give their advertisers a chance to place ads in e-mail newsletters or automatically run ads near relevant stories.
But Giguere said publication web sites are only appealing to advertisers if they keep working to generate traffic.
“You need something that is new every day because that’s what the consumer is expecting now,” she said. “People have very high expectations now for the freshness of a site, and something can look old really quickly online.”
Online Wilderness
Some rules remain the same in print and online publications.
Rich Suitum, president of Exsel Advertising in Spencer said one key to online ads is keeping a consistent message and image. He said some companies overuse flash animation and other gimmicks.
“Sometimes they might get so overwhelmed and excited about the special effects that they lose their base message,” he said.
And Briere said that, as with print ads, companies should resist the impulse to skip a professional graphic designer and create their ads themselves.
“If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing correctly,” she said.
Online versions of print publications still have advertising staffs to help clients through the process of placing an ad. Things get more confusing as businesses look at other parts of the online world, but there are many options that the experts say are worth mastering.
Suitum said he advises many business-to-business companies to use industry web sites, forums and blogs to drive traffic to their web sites.
Briere said business directories are also a good way for anyone marketing to other businesses to get their name noticed.
For example, she said, an organizing consultant would be well advised to join the National Association of Professional Organizers. Potential clients will likely use the NAPO site’s directory to find a link to an organizer in their area.
Briere said she advises her clients to advertise on any page that shows up when they search for the keywords that describe their business.
Another common type of online advertising is “pay-per-click” ads on search engine sites like Google and Yahoo. The sites show the ads when a user searches for a particular keyword, and the company pays $3 or $4 each time someone clicks through to their web site. Suitum said the ads can be useful, but $4 a click adds up fast.
“You truly have to stay on top of how many of those visits you’re turning into sales,” he said.
For companies that market to consumers, especially young consumers, social networking sites like MySpace and Twitter can be a crucial tool for getting a message out. Briere said even business-to-business companies can use professional networking sites like Facebook, and there’s no reason for any company not to at least try using social media since it’s typically free.
“There’s zero risk except a couple hours lost,” she said.
The event will feature a breakfast keynote by Mark Buckley, the Vice-President of Environmental Affairs at Staples, Inc. In his efforts to direct Staples’ environmentally-conscious pursuits, he focuses on improving recycling, eco-friendly product offerings, energy efficiency, and education on sustainability. The WBJ welcomes all who are interested in the event to attend; registration is required no later than May 14, 2008. Admission is $35 per person. Please contact Kris at 508-755-8004 ext. 286 or email 
