Retargeted Internet Ads – You Suck

June 29, 2015June 29, 2015 / Duane Christensen

I despise retargeted Internet ads.

Don’t know what they are? These are ads that “find you” from the things you search online. Here’s the latest gripe I have…

I needed to email Sling TV support because we were having glitches with it on our Roku (no, I don’t have cable or satellite). So, I Googled it to find some contact info. Found the email address. Emailed them. So, later on in the evening I’m on a different website and I see Internet ads on the page I’m on for Sling TV. All I did was Google them to find an email address so I could tell them about our issues and hoping something could be fixed. Now, I get to see their ads everywhere I go online now. Yay.

If you buy retargeted ads, I get what you’re trying to make happen. But most of the time, you’re just advertising to someone who has already purchased from you. And what’s a better way to advertise to those people? Pop a postcard or a letter into the mail. Seriously. Or email. Even though email gets deleted more than it’s read… it’s still more effective than online advertising.

I’ve heard people say to me… Oh, I want to measure my advertising. I love metrics! I gotta know exactly what I’m getting in return. Well, guess what… there’s no way your analytics are all 100% accurate. Ever see those demographics of the people clicking on your ads? Some are from Indonesia. Some are from South Korea. And they were paid to visit your website through your Internet advertising.

And how many of those “views” are really VIEWS? Not many. And even if your ad happened to be in eyesight of the person searching around the Internet, then there’s even a smaller chance that they gave the ad even one tiny iota of attention at all.

Internet advertising is great for some things… but most local advertisers are wasting a lot of money.

Ugh. I know it’s bright and shiny and new-ish… but isn’t it still the wiser move to utilize advertising methods that work?

I saw an ad for a local landscaper the other day on a some totally irrelevant website. It was a completely ignorable ad. The only reason I paid it any attention is because I know the guy. I rolled my eyes back in my head so far, I could see my brain.

Here’s the thing though, I’m in testing phases of Internet advertising with a few people. I’m doing my own research. And I’m not impressed. I’m doing it so I can be a better marketer for anyone that’s looking for some marketing help. I need to know what’s legit and what’s not worth a nickel.

Here’s a headline I saw the other day,

“90% of marketers say retargeting now as good as search ads, email marketing”

Ha! What does that mean? It means still just a little shittier than search ads and email marketing. How many emails from companies do you delete without ever opening? A thousand tons? How many search ads did you not even see… even though they were at the top or side of your screen? A billion tons?

Oh… and if you’re a small, local business who’s had success with any kind of Internet advertising, I want to talk to you. I want to see and hear how you made it happen. I don’t care if you’re 2 hours away, I’ll make the drive.

That’s my rant for the month. : )

Have a groovy day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media-Sioux Falls

605-940-7984

duane.christensen@results-radio.com

Are Your Radio Ads “Skippable”?

June 26, 2015June 27, 2015 / Duane Christensen

When someone hears your radio ad… what do you think they do? Are they interested, entertained, or intrigued? Or are they annoyed, bored, or oblivious? There’s a great novelist and screenwriter, named Elmore Leonard, who has a quote that sums up how your radio ads need to be written. He said, “I try to leave out the parts that people skip.”

In 1972, Elmore read The Friends of Eddie Coyle by the late George V. Higgins. It inspired him to “loosen up” and not be as rigid, to get into scenes quicker; Fifty-Two Pickup, (1974) Swag, (1976) and Unknown Man No. 89 (1977) remain the essential trilogy of the Elmore Leonard sound, the setting no longer the old west, but urban Detroit.
It’s never a bad idea to “loosen up” with your radio ads.

Dude. That’s all you have to do.

The WORDS are THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR ADVERTISING EFFORTS.

But unfortunately, most advertising you see or hear includes many “skippable” words within them. Don’t let it be yours.

How do you keep an ad from being skipped over? You have to put in the work up front. You have to do the research. You need to sit and think (yes, thinking is a lost art form – but if you get good at it, you can write your own paycheck). You have to get into the head of the people who want or need your product or service. What’s going through their mind? What do they care about? (Hint: It’s usually not how long you’ve been in business)

People want solutions to their problems
They want to buy from someone they can trust
They like to be entertained

And please, SKIP THE BORING AND IRRELEVANT STUFF.

So, remember those things when you’re putting your next radio ad together. If you think that radio ads are just the name of the business, a laundry list of what that business does, and the phone number 5 times, you’re going to be really upset with the lack of results you get.

“I try to leave out the parts that people skip.” -Elmore Leonard

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls, SD

605-940-7984

duane.christensen@results-radio.com

Improving a Radio Script (plumbing company example)

June 20, 2015June 20, 2015 / Duane Christensen

Here’s an ad for a plumber I did a while back. The first radio script was created by just having a quick conversation with the owner. He said, “I want to let people know that if they’d rather not take off work for a non-emergency plumbing call…they can have us over on the weekend. We’re open 7 days a week and don’t charge anything extra for the weekends.”

Ok. That information actually has some great potential because not all plumbing companies are open 7 days a week without charging extra on weekends. So…that gives a radio ad writer like myself something beefy to expand upon.

Tip: If you don’t have any major differences between you and competitors, create differences that customers would like and appreciate.

Here’s the original rough script that I wrote…

Have you ever had to take a sick day or vacation day just to wait for a plumber? Hi, I’m Geoff Ellerbroek from Summit Plumbing. If you’d rather not take a day off work for a plumber, that’s one more reason to call Summit. We’re open 7 days a week from 8 to 5. So, if Saturdays or Sundays would work better for YOU…give us a call and we’ll be right over. And we don’t charge extra for Saturday and Sunday calls either. All we want is to make your experience as pleasant as possible. I’ve had customers tell me that they used to dread making that call to a plumber…but they don’t any more. We work on Saturdays and Sundays to make it easier for you…

So, I let that script sit for a day or two…because it was missing something. I felt that the point Summit Plumbing was trying to make wasn’t “sticky” enough. Or dramatic enough. It needed some more “teeth” so it could be remembered better…and also a bit more entertaining to keep radio listeners tuned into the ad the whole way through.

Here’s the revision…

There are some crazy stories people make up so they can skip work. Like the guy who said a chicken attacked his Mom. Or the girl who said her Chihuahua had depression issues and needed a psychologist. Have you ever had to take a sick day or vacation day just to wait for a plumber? Hi, I’m Geoff Ellerbroek from Summit Plumbing. If you’d rather not take a day off work for a plumber, that’s one more reason to call Summit. We’re open 7 days a week from 8 to 5. So, if Saturdays or Sundays would work better for YOU…give us a call and we’ll be right over. And we don’t charge extra for Saturday and Sunday calls either. All we want is to make your experience as pleasant as possible. I’ve had customers tell me that they used to dread making that call to a plumber…but they don’t any more. We work on Saturdays and Sundays to make it easier for you. Now you don’t have to make up a story to miss work if you don’t have to. Like the employee that said his mother-in-law made a surprise visit and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Call Summit Plumbing in Sioux Falls. The 7-day a week, no extra charge plumber. 728-4212. 728-4212.

That revision gave the ad more IMPACT. It was more “receivable” for the listener. It added emotion. It added some humor. It dramatized the point we were trying to make. It made it much better.

Whether you want your current advertising to improve…or if you’d like a completely new advertising strategy, let me know.

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls SD

605-940-7984