From traditional printing advertising to the newest digital tools and platforms, advertising has been around for centuries. Yet, what is the purpose of advertising?
Whether it’s related to a product or service, advertising is meant to spark the desire in a consumer to buy what is being offered. Since the advent of the internet, advertising has taken on new forms, and companies can now create more personal ads that resonate with potential customers.
Key Points
- What Is Advertising
- Types of Advertising
- Advantages of Advertising
- Disadvantages of Advertising
- Purposes of Advertising
What Is Advertising?
Advertising is a form of marketing communication used to promote or sell a specific product or service. Generally, ads are used to influence the target audience’s purchase decisions.
While some people see advertising as a necessary evil, others view it as an enjoyable and creative way to learn about new products and services. Ultimately, its effectiveness depends on the advertiser’s ability to reach its target audience and deliver a message that resonates with them.
Types of Advertising
There are many different forms of advertising out there, ranging from traditional methods like print ads and TV commercials to newer methods like online advertising and social media marketing.
Take a look at the most popular platforms to know which kind of advertisement is the most effective form of advertising for your business.
Paid Search Advertising
Also known as pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, paid search advertising is an online advertising platform where marketers pay a fee every time their ad is clicked. If you choose to sell your products and services online, adopting a PPC advertising strategy might be your best shot.
Social Media Advertising
Promoting your brand on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, has become the trend of the last decade.
Social media marketing can be very effective in reaching a target audience, as it allows businesses to target users based on their specific interests and demographics.
Native Advertising
If you’re looking for a less intrusive way of advertising your products, native advertising is the way to go.
Generally, native ads are meant not to seem like an advertisement, making them even more difficult to ignore. Instead, it’s intended to blend in with the rest of a specific page’s content.
Display Advertising
Also known as rich media ads, display advertising aims to use images, videos, or text to promote products, learn more about the brand, and encourage a potential customer to land on their website.
Print Advertising
Print ads use physically printed media, like brochures and newspapers, to reach their targeted audience.
If you think traditional advertising will cease to exist any time soon, you couldn’t be any more wrong. Although this industry is expected to drop in both ad spending and revenue, print advertising is still alive and well, especially among the older generations.
Broadcast Advertising
Another traditional way of promoting your brand and reaching a wide audience is to use television, billboard, or radio broadcasting. Unfortunately, this can be a dealbreaker if you are unwilling to spend a large amount on this type of ad.
Outdoor Advertising
Billboards, signs, or other public displays are better known as outdoor or out-of-home advertising. Similar to print and broadcast advertising, outdoor ads can be quite expensive for a smaller brand, especially considering that the average advertising costs for a small business equal 1% of its revenue.
Advantages of Advertising
Increases Sales
Increasing sales for a business is arguably one of the most important benefits of advertising. Especially in our digital era, advertising can be a powerful tool if your purpose is to reach a larger audience and persuade potential customers to purchase from your brand.
Generates Interest
Ads can generate a solid interest in a specific product or service. By creating curiosity or excitement about what you want to sell to your audience, advertising can encourage people to learn more about it.
Increases Brand Awareness
Last but not least, advertising can also be used to increase brand awareness for your business. By reaching a larger audience and promoting a product or service, advertising can help people become more familiar with a brand.
Disadvantages of Advertising
Cost
Unfortunately, not all marketers and businesses have a vast budget to invest solely in ads. Creating an effective ad can be expensive, and businesses may not see a return on their investment if the ad is not successful.
Annoys People
It’s true that ads are a great way to make yourself known among the intended demographics. However, many people consider them annoying, offensive, and overall invasive. As a result, these ads can turn people away from the product or service.
Purposes of Advertising
As already mentioned, the main purpose of ads is to promote a specific product or service through various means, such as television commercials, print ads, and online ads.
Informing
Informing your audience about what you’re about to sell should be on top of your marketing goals. By reaching a large audience, advertising can raise awareness about your brand and encourage people to learn more about it.
Persuading
If you want to encourage people to buy your products, ads can help you do so. Present your product with excitement, describe its most unique features, and show people why they should choose it over the competition.
Reminding
Advertising can also be used to remind people about the availability of your products. Although this helps keep the product top of mind, it can end up annoying your potential customers if you overuse this strategy.
What Is the Purpose of Advertising: Our Takeaway
It’s vital for any business to use advertising in a marketing strategy. Without it, consumers would have no way of knowing about the products and services available to them.
Apart from raising brand awareness, marketers can use ads to reach their preferred audience and encourage it to take some form of action, such as purchasing a product or service. When it comes to achieving its final goal, advertising comes in various forms, such as celebrity endorsements, persuasive messages, and visual stimuli. Therefore, businesses should no longer ask the question, “what is the purpose of advertising?” Instead, they should be asking, “how can we utilize advertising to its full capacity?”
