(Note: Sitegeist has invited Rob Armstrong, owner of Matador Creative, to be a regular contributor to the blog. Rob does most of the writing at Splat Productions and, additionally, takes on clients of his own, under the Matador name.)
Not long ago, my friend David Hitt brought up an interesting aspect of online advertising. Specifically, just how does one determine where to do it? Once you’ve created banner ads, what websites should you post them on? Not being a media specialist, I can only hypothesize based on my experience as the guy who writes the ads that find their way into the daily papers, monthly glossies and yes, the Internet.
I won’t waste time discussing real estate sites. Nobody needs me to tell them to post ads on their local paper’s website, local Realtors’ websites and national sites like wallstreetjournal.com or REALTOR.com. And despite how unglamorous it is, the good ol’ MLS should be on a must-post list as well. Those are easy choices. It’s obvious they get scanned by people actively looking for homes—that is, when those people are actually making the effort to look.
Hit them when they're NOT really looking.
Homebuyers don’t just comb real estate sites all day looking at pictures of pretty condominiums. They’re real people with busy lives. They’re checking their bank balances, shopping on eBay, searching for the meaning of life on Google… People in homebuying mode will go a lot of places online. The trick is to figure out where. You have to start thinking like a grocer. It’s no accident they put the raisins in the same aisle as the oatmeal and the peanut butter with the jelly and bread.
One place to start might be sites about home-related stuff. Furniture, interior design and even home improvement websites. “Hey, why fix that roof again? Buy a new condo already!” Then there are the more esoteric choices. Think about music sites like rhapsody.com or the iTunes section of apple.com. I mean, why not listen to that new Alicia Keys mp3 file (or the latest from Paul McCartney for you Boomers) in the comfort of the living room in your brand new home? Liberty Mutual and Logitech were hitting customers there on my recent visit.
If you advertise where homebuyers are buying music, why not where they’re buying food—or at least getting recipes and tips on entertaining like marthastewart.com? By advertising on specialty sites, you can customize the message and make the connection between your new condo high-rise and, say, those freshly baked sticky buns from Williams-Sonoma—they’ll taste even more delicious in your new home’s designer kitchen.
More food for thought—newlyweds! They’re part of many developers’ target demographic. Young, and some not-so-young, professional couples seeking digs that suit their lifestyles. How interesting then that on theknot.com, a wedding planning site, I found a link to thenest.com, its sibling site all about setting up house together. And smack dab in the upper right, a prominently placed banner ad for the Dodge Journey crossover, PERFECT for small or growing families. Just like your new building in Center City.
Go green—if you’ve got the guts.
My last idea (for now) would be on a site related to environmentally conscious products and services, like green.msn.com. Chevrolet is doing it with their hybrid vehicles. You can do it, too—provided you are a genuinely green company building a genuinely green residential destination with earth-friendly products and building practices.
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3 comments:
this is terrible advice. you mention several sites, such as Apple, that don't accept advertising and others, such as the Wall Street Journal & MSN that would never call a small advertiser back. Sure you can use adwords, but then just let Google do it's thing.
You also over simplify how easy it is to cancel and change buys, On Google yes it is, on any of the publishers you mention there are minimums and out clauses. This protects the publisher from wasting time on advertisers who think they can pull an ad a hour after it starts. Doing so cost the publisher time and money.
It is obvious that you don't have much experience here. yes, it isn't rocket science, bit there is some science and best practices involved .
I do agree that it is important to test many sites.
Jack, thank you for at least reacting to the ideas in the story. "This is terrible advice" obviously wasn't the reaction I wanted, BUT... let me see if I can address the points you raise.
Yes, I am guilty of citing apple.com as a possible place to advertise. That was indeed human error. In quickly browsing at apple.com, I saw what I believed were paid ads. They in fact were not. Mea culpa. However, you'll note that the other music site I recommended, Rhapsody.com, DOES accept ads. In fact, as I write this, Charles Schwab banner ads are running on the top and upper right of the site. You say I mention several sites that don't accept advertising--would you mind pointing out which others I mention don't permit ads?
As for oversimplifying how easy it is to cancel and change buys, I don't believe I explicitly mention anything about that. I am not a media buyer or specialist in any way. Are you referring to my statement about revising your message based on the response you get and customizing it by site? That's the beauty of the internet. You can change what's on the web almost immediately--as opposed to billboards which would take forever to replace. I didn't mean to imply that you can post a banner ad and immediately change it without penalty. But after enough time has passed that you can tell your message isn't working, YES it's easy to update. It's merely altering artwork and resubmitting it. As for sites like wsj.com or green.msn.com being bad at customer service--I have no control over whether WSJ or MSN will return your calls promptly. But that doesn't mean they're not incredibly viable websites to advertise on. I promise if you ever hire me to write anything for you, I'll return your calls.
I have an idea, Jack. Why don't you write a piece on sites you've found profitable or favorable to use--those you've gotten good response rates on--and share it with your fellow readers. My piece was intended to spark thinking about advertising in unexpected places. Get the gray matter churning. It wasn't meant to be a comprehensive list or a panacea for everyone's response rates. There are TONS of sites you could potentially use. I just cited examples of a few I consider prime cyber-ad-space. Telling clients to advertise where they'll reach buyers when they're not necessarily making the effort to look at real estate listings or ads isn't terrible advice, is it? I hope your mind has changed, or will change. But even if it doesn't, please keep visiting Sitegeist and offering your opinion!
I'd invite all Sitegeist readers to do the same. Please feel free to submit recommended sites and strategies for the benefit of your fellow readers.
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