The current cost-of-living crisis is not only impacting households and individuals, it is also affecting businesses both internally and externally. For instance, as the economic climate calls for consumers to be more budget conscious and frugal, this is influencing consumer behavior where consumers are now less likely to purchase non-essential or luxury items.
For brands that sell these types of products, this can be damaging to their conversion rates and lead generation. Internally, the economic turmoil may be putting pressure on businesses to also adopt a frugal approach to business practices, including advertising.
So, the question is – how can businesses advertise during this time?
Don’t heavily cut the advertising budget
Contrary to popular belief, the advertising budget does not necessarily need to be cut down – which many businesses do because of the economic downturn. As this is common for businesses to do, it makes it even more important for your business not to do it!
As other businesses place less significance on advertising, this is exactly the time for your business to emphasise advertising. This does not mean to increase the budget, but you should definitely make use of it.
Cost-efficient advertising methods
Sometimes expensive advertising campaigns are not always as effective in improving conversion rates, which is why during this time of economic turbulence, you should be looking at cost-efficient advertising methods for your advertising campaigns.
In particular, traditional advertising forms such as out-of-home (OOH) advertising formats like billboards and even shopping centre advertising via digital screens and kiosks are excellent ways to advertise your business without breaking the bank. Another cost-effective option is advertising in high-traffic transit systems. Public transport networks offer repeated exposure to a large and diverse audience throughout the day, making them highly effective for brand awareness. For example, learning how to advertise on the Underground can give your brand exposure to millions of commuters and travelers daily. Ads in stations, on platforms, or inside train cars reach a captive audience, often for lower costs than many other premium media placements
Additionally, if you are up for the challenge, guerrilla marketing tactics are ideal for low-cost advertising campaigns that are not only effective, but engaging and interactive with your audience as well. Keep
in mind, however, that with this type of advertising, you will really need to get your creative juices flowing!
By the way, did you forget about email? Email ads are perfect for when you are on a tight budget, and to ensure that they do not end up unopened or in the bin, make sure that you use eye-catching subject lines and offer incentives! In a cost-of-living crisis, people want offers and discounts, so remember to include these.
Increasing online presence
Let’s not forget the popularity of the internet! Creating a social media account and posting content online is free (minus any production costs of creating content), so another way for businesses to advertise is online via social media platforms and the business website itself.
Improving your online presence and visibility is crucial during a recession, which is why you must utilise digital marketing techniques such as writing search engine optimisation (SEO)-rich blogs, optimising website pages, utilising social media, and even possibly pay-per-click (PPC).
Social media is extremely useful during this time, so never underestimate the power of platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and even LinkedIn for ad campaigns! Make your content intriguing and engaging, and always interact with your audience in whatever way possible – create hashtags for them to use, produce polls and allow them to tag you in their posts and stories.