Two Common Ad-Buying Mistakes for South Bend/Elkhart Businesses and How To Avoid Them

Our South Bend-Elkhart region is a community rich in personable spirit, where businesses thrive on local support and evolving strategies. As part of this vibrant region, it’s crucial that we stay informed about the most effective ways to reach and engage our local customers in an increasingly fragmented advertising world. In this guide, we’ll explore two common advertising mistakes that Michiana businesses like ours can more easily avoid, ensuring our advertising investments truly pay off.

Mistake #1: Overlooking the Hidden Costs and Redundancies of Digital Solutions sold by Legacy (TV and Radio) Companies

The Issue:

TV and radio sales reps often possess only surface-level understanding of digital advertising tools, and are not hands-on with campaign management. Typically, the responsibility for managing your digital campaigns is outsourced to a third-party company that lacks intimate knowledge of your business, and our local market.

This disconnection often lead to huge inefficiencies in targeting, with audiences being broader than your actual target market to fulfill predetermined impression quotas.

Additionally, the declining traditional media industry means these packages often come with high markups and utilize sub-prime inventory to maintain profitability. Think of those digital packages as the CDO’s that led to the Housing Market Crisis of 2008, explained in this scene from The Big Short (the whole scene is enlightening and entertaining, but pay attention at 4:21).

How to Avoid:

• Seek Transparency: Always ask who will be directly managing your campaigns and request details about their experience and familiarity with your market.
• Demand Targeting Details: Ensure that the audience targeting aligns precisely with your customer profile. Be wary of overly broad targeting that dilutes the effectiveness of your campaigns.
• Evaluate the Cost Structure: Scrutinize the cost-effectiveness of bundled packages. Compare the pricing with industry standards and the quality of the inventory offered.
• Consider Alternatives: Explore other advertising options that may offer better control over your campaigns and more direct oversight of ongoing management.

Mistake #2: Over-Reliance on Automated Social Media Targeting

The Issue:

In August 2023, Meta introduced Advantage+ Audience, part of their broader push towards automating ad management. This feature allows advertisers to set broader parameters, letting AI decide the best audience for your ads. While this can reduce costs and simplify ad operations, it often leads to less targeted campaigns that may reach many but resonate with few.

The lure of “set it and forget it” can be strong, but when local advertisers with limited budgets follow this path, they risk diluting their campaigns with impressions and leads of lower quality and relevance. By default, they allow you to set a targetable minimum age of 25, with no maximum. With approximately 200,000 people in St. Joseph County that are 18+, and imbalanced frequency caps, it’s easy to toss funds into the wind.

How to Avoid:

• Understand the Tool: Be aware that Advantage+ Audience aims for broader targeting to maximize reach, not precision. This can be great for general visibility but not always for conversion. The problem is, the value of general visibility is a thing of the past, unless you’re McDonald’s and have a massive budget.
• Stay Hands-On: If using automated tools like Meta’s Advantage+ (which I do not recommend), manually review and adjust settings to better fit your precise audience. Do not rely solely on the platform’s automated suggestions.
• Quality Over Quantity: Resist the platform’s nudges to broaden your audience excessively. If your ideal customer profile is well-defined (e.g., ages 40-55), stick to it despite warnings about audience size. Smaller, more focused audiences often yield higher quality leads. Turn off Advantage+ from the beginning, narrow your radius, and include only people living in that area (not recently in).

Conclusion

In the dynamic and increasingly competitive landscape of South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, and all surrounding communities of Michiana, the difference between advertising success and wasted investment often hinges on the choices we make about how and where to place our ads, and which agencies to trust in supplying and distributing those ads. By avoiding the common pitfalls of over-relying on bundled media packages and automated social media targeting, local businesses can not only save on costs but also improve the effectiveness of their campaigns.

Embrace a more hands-on approach to your advertising strategies. Ensure that every dollar spent is aimed at engaging the right audience with precision and purpose. Remember, successful advertising isn’t just about reaching the most people; it’s about reaching the right people with the right message, with consistency and frequency.

As we continue to navigate the complexities of digital and traditional media, let’s commit to making informed, strategic decisions that bolster our local economy and enhance our community’s entrepreneurial spirit. With the right approach, our advertisements can do more than just sell—they can connect, resonate, and thrive amidst the winds of competition.