Dmitriy К. Google Ad Expert

10 advertising mistakes to avoid

Advertising in small businesses is often done by executives, which can lead to serious errors that impair its effectiveness. We have collected 10 common mistakes that are most often found in commercials and ads so that you do not make them on your own.

No single strategy

When one company uses several different advertising tools, they should complement each other, working towards a common goal. But, unfortunately, you can often find that several sites of the same brand are run radically differently. This can be expressed in style, design and message. We can agree that sometimes such an approach is needed when working on different segments of the target audience, but even in this case, a common message should be traced. Such a difference in advertising can cause confusion in relation to the brand, and the buyer will go to a competitor.

Beautiful but not working ad

This can only be afforded by large companies that produce festival advertising for the Cannes Lions. In other situations, companies need to strike a balance between aesthetics and effectiveness. Sometimes an advertisement is incredibly attractive, but it is not at all evident what is being sold, therefore the advertisement serves no purpose. Contrarily, in other markets you must purposefully make the design simpler to avoid scaring away your customer. This is significant because a particular customer can be turned off by attractive packaging and decide he cannot afford the company's services.

Lack of adaptation to the website

This applies most of all to promotional articles or notes. Sometimes the editors of the publication do not think about how the advertising article will look, as a result of which it is knocked out of the whole concept of the portal. It is important to write such materials with the expectation of the style in which other articles are written, what audience is on the site and what their preferences are. Having dealt with these points, you can write effective advertising material that will not stand out from the general context.

Vulgarity and provocation

They risk becoming offensive advertisements if they employ somber themes or questionable humor. It is better to avoid using it if you are unsure that you can beat the theme with excellent quality. If not, the brand can encounter a backlash or perhaps a fine from the authorities.

Overhyping the product

Instead of singing to yourself, let the customers do it. Active self-praise by a company comes off as forced and as an attempt to draw customers to the brand. You can certainly discuss your accomplishments and advantages, as long as it doesn't come across as being overly narcissistic.

Use of stamps

Everyone is tired of advertising stamps. The expressions of the format only here and now, unique opportunity, premium quality and other similar options bothered the consumer 15 years ago. Today, the audience is more repelled than attracted. There are a lot of good advertisements around, so the consumer's visibility has become higher and he will not be interested in such phrases.

Extremes when working with USP

Not all products have a USP. Some products are so simple and clear that inventing a unique offer will look strained. But that's exactly what happens sometimes. One company comes up with non-existent benefits, while the other, on the contrary, tries to fit them all into one advertisement. We advise you to focus on one quality that makes you stand out from the competition so that consumers will remember it. If there is no unique USP, it is not scary. Just talk about the benefits of your product, because most people need a solution to their problems, not unique conditions and benefits.

Trying to please everyone

When in one advertisement they try to sell the product to everyone at once, they cannot adequately reveal it for each individual buyer. Any product has several segments of the target audience, which are divided by pain, needs, motivation, and more. Therefore, it is better to talk about each pain separately than to try to cover all aspects in one advertisement.

Selling a product, not a benefit

It is better to sell any product through a benefit for a person. Describe the benefits of your products in the customer's world so that he understands how his life will change when buying your product. We need to sell not a "multifunctional toaster", but a delicious breakfast with crispy toast.

Lack of clear KPIs

Before launching an ad, it is always necessary to determine the metrics by which its effectiveness will be determined. If this is not done, the business itself will not understand how well the advertising campaign worked and what needs to be corrected. Also try to set approximate indicators that you need to achieve. Then it will be even easier to determine the effectiveness.

When launching an advertisement, think about what is important to the consumer in your product, and how to tell him about it. Then it will turn out to create more suitable formats that will bring customers.

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