Confused with advertising techniques in the digital age?

Lately I have been asked by business people from all sectors about why some advertising techniques just aren't working for them and why it has been costing so much.

• Are agencies in touch anymore?
• Should I be doing more content instead of graphic ?
• Can someone explain this new world order to me without charging a fortune?
• Can I have a slice of it too?

Really, much of your own confusion may be down to an outdated perception of how marketing should be done, but for many it is understandably difficult to comprehend how the web has contracted the world and the cost of marketing to it.

Perhaps this way of explaining it may help you before you take a leap of faith.

Wherever in the world you live, you may have noticed a common theme among newspapers.

They are getting thinner and thinner because the advertising space is becoming harder and harder to sell.

Having come from an editorial background, I have seen this from their side of the fence and this is a major challenge for publishing worldwide.

Not too many years ago, the major publishers were clever enough to go digital, thereby offering their catchment area an alternative way to advertise - on digital versions of their publications which are far less rigid and offer all types of pictorial, pop-up and click through modes of ad space.

But yet again the web has evolved and created a new challenge - the individual!

I think anyone that is reading this blog would have at some point learned of clever and dedicated individuals who blog about their respective passions and with will, structure, focus and time actually become somewhat of a powerhouse in their chosen media space.

And what's more, the truly successful ones are monetising their blog sides on the strength of very large groups of followers. Basically, they began by writing to very few and before too long they are writing to the masses.

So, perhaps by now, you are seeing some clarity in why advertising campaigns aren't  like they used to be.

Today, a lot of advertising is being replaced by centralised, controlled marketing where your company, just like those successful bloggers to which I alluded, can harness the power of content and utilise digital distribution channels, an optimised website and landing pages as well as all levels of social media and blogging spheres.

Not only does this provide the ideal modern advertising campaign, these marketing techniques cost nowhere near as much, they are global, and will remain active to work for you for as long as you want them to without any time limit.

Why not have a closer look at your content? It's probably way more valuable to your business than you ever imagined.