How to develop strong advertising creative for your business

We loved the insight and knowledge that News Corp Australia have written about in their article “How to develop strong advertising creative for your business” – read on for some top tips around creating strong advertising that will help to drive business outcomes.

Keep it simple, uncluttered and easy to follow.

Many people only scan content, so it needs to be easy for them to absorb the essential information they need. Use a headline with powerful and direct wording, as too many messages in one ad can be difficult to follow. Promote your most important offer, feature or service at any one time. This could be a great price, hot deal or an outstanding service promise.

Tailor your message, style and format to suit your target audience.

The better you speak to their needs, the greater the appeal of your advertising. Use their everyday language – an ad to a younger audience will be written differently than one to an older audience.

Make sure your message matches the media.

Consider the environment where your ad will appear. Re-sizing a print ad to fit a digital space more often than not doesn’t work well, and vice versa. Reading on screen is not as easy as in print. In print you can’t scroll through different information, so always check your essential information has been included.

You’d be surprised how many ads have appeared without a name or address!

Tips for print:

Use a headline with powerful wording or a memorable graphic to capture attention
Make sure graphics are high quality so they look professional when printed

Tips for digital:

If it’s digital display, make sure it’s attention grabbing, contains a key message and your business logo
As reading onscreen is not as easy as in print, make sure your advertisement is clean and uncluttered
If the creative will be running on mobile make sure the features aren’t too small
For social media, keep posts punchy, short and add video if possible

Be relevant and aware.

Before developing your creative, make sure you take the time to have a look around at what’s happening in the market. See what your competitors are doing and read what customers are saying on social media. This can help you to better target your message, with the right offer and at the right time. In doing so making your creative solution even more successful.

And don’t forget:

Use high quality imagery and graphics
Feature your brand / logo prominently
Tell your customers how you can help with their needs or wants
Include a strong call to action (CTA), such as an enquiry or visit to your store
Always include relevant information potential customers may want to know, such as opening hours or an address
Make it easy for customers to contact you – do you want them to visit your website, phone or email you, or come into your store?
Ensure all contact details, product information and prices are accurate

Examples of effective small business campaign creative.