Digital marketing has exponentially intensified competition among businesses. It is now much easier for any business to reach almost anyone in the world. Thanks to the ease of setting up websites and social media accounts. What this means for businesses is that marketing is such a huge deal now. You need to be able to come up with ads that will outdo others. In case you are wondering how you can come up with the best ads, this article is for you. Here are 7 ad ideas that have been proven to generate leads and drive conversions.
You Versus Others
This is bold because it involves making people compare you with another business or other businesses. You can do this by focusing on one particular business. Either you throw hints for people to figure it out or bracket all your competitors as ‘others’. The goal is to show how superior and unique your value proposition is. Thus, to do such an ad, you need to be sure about the quality and power of what you offer. A notable example of such ads in Zimbabwe is ads from Mambos Chicken. Be weary of Zimbabwe’s advertising law when it comes to how much you can say about a competitor.
Engaging Founder Or Pioneer Stories
If you have a unique and captivating story of how your business started, you can use that. The story can demonstrate how you emerged from obscurity. Maybe your business is literally a pioneer in your space. It could be about how you contended with many hurdles till you built your business. The story can also show how something random triggered the idea for the business. The scenarios are infinite, but an authentic founder story can be great for marketing your business. Strive Masiyiwa’s founder story did a lot in building the Econet brand.
Before And After
This is best suited for transformative products or services. These can be almost anything from any industry. For instance, ads for cosmetic products would do best by using the before and after format. Fitness and wellness products or programs can also be advertised this way. It could be interior décor, makeup artistry, landscaping services, and so on. You can tailor such ads if there is an element of transformation brought about by your products or services. Thus, your unique selling point will be that transformation aspect.
Reasons Why
When you offer services or sell products there are reasons why. When doing business, there are usually other players in the same space. Why, then, should people settle for your business and not the others? The ‘reasons why’ or the rationale for these dynamics can inform numerous ad ideas. You are simply answering the question, why you? It is about clearly communicating your brand promise. These are benefits and experiences you associate with your products or services in their current and prospective consumers’ minds.
Press Releases Or Statements
People generally love to hear the latest news. They also want to hear the news from authentic sources. That is what a press release does if properly done. Press releases also have a way of infusing authenticity into your brand image. I have noticed that simply doing a press release is viewed as a sign that you are the real deal. Press releases are mostly less than a page, but they do wonders in publicising your business. You can do a press release when officially starting out the business. You can also do a press release whenever there is something newsworthy, e.g. unveiling a new product.
Imaged Core Benefits
When people come to your business, they have pain points that need to be addressed. This means when you are selling anything; you are selling solutions to challenges. That is why it is advised that you should sell benefits, not the product or service per se. The best way to do this is to use images or any graphical depiction showing the core benefits. It will be ideal if it is just a single image with limited text. The idea is to grab people’s attention. Put the pain point and its solution in one shot, clearly showing the core benefits.
User Generated Content (UGC)
I once spoke at length about user-generated content (UGC). I did so in an article titled how user-generated content has changed the business world. You would do well to check out to learn more. UGC refers to various types of content authored and propagated by random people (who are not necessarily paid or asked to do that). For example, someone can make a post doing a positive review of your product or service. It can even just be a general appreciation post for a good customer experience.
There are also online platforms where people post UGC. Examples are Tripadvisor, Yelp, and Angel’s List. It is said that roughly 9 out of every 10 online consumers trust user-generated reviews. These days, most people make purchase decisions based on such social proof. Thus finding and propagating UGC specific to your business will attract customers.
These are 7 ad ideas that have been proven to work. You will notice them at play if you do a random sweep across the internet and social media. All the best ads are built around these 7 ideas. It is up to you to get creative because there is no limit to what you can do with these ad ideas.
