Why Investing Exclusively in One-Way Advertising No Longer Makes Sense
A recent Internet advertising bureau study indicated that 90% of consumers, after interacting with a business on social media, would recommend the business to others. To put it another way…if you have online conversations with your potential clients, they are more likely to choose you when they have a need for your funeral-based services.
So, should you continue to spend the bulk of your advertising dollars on one-way promotions in which there is no opportunity for you to engage with the public?
Social media provides the most cost effective way for you to engage in two-way advertising. Traditional methods of promoting your funeral home may still have some value, but the fast-paced, Internet based world of today demands that you shift your spending to more effective means. Consider this graphic:
Now consider where your advertising dollars are currently going. Isn’t it time to invest in ads that allow you to engage your public in the forums where they are living and active?
A little research on Google yielded the following information:
- Newspaper print ad revenues are the lowest they have been since 1950, losing well over half their effectiveness in just the past several years.
- Paid, print-based newspaper circulation numbers have dropped by more than 30% in the last 3 decades, and their fall is continuing each year.
- Radio ads may be less expensive per 1000 people, but there are only so many ad spots available to go around. This can drive up the cost for choice time slots.
- Static advertising no longer appeals to Baby Boomers who, as a huge online demographic, increasingly prefer having interactive, two-way conversations with brands online.
- Millennials get the bulk of their information and interaction from their smart phones. Most people under 35 years old are connected to their world through their hand-held devices.
The decline in access to static, one-way advertising sources is an obvious indicator that you need to invest more time and resources there when trying to get the attention of consumers.
If you find yourself lacking in the time or know-how to make this happen, you can turn to the experts at DISRUPT Media. We are the only full-service social media agency specifically catering to the funeral profession. Go to http://funeralsocial.com to find out more about the services we offer. Our clients who are a part of our FUNERAL Social Design Process are seeing an increase in post reach and engagement of over 300%.