Nobody else is marketing, why should you?

What if the best time to start advertising is when no one else is doing it?

I’m lucky enough to be able to work remotely and split my time between North Topsail Beach, NC and Johnson, VT. Both small towns with bigger small towns nearby, both with robust business, and neither with many businesses making a focused digital marketing effort.

There are two ways you can think about this. 

On one hand, it’s awesome. There are businesses who are doing well without putting the thought, time and effort into any advertising campaigns. Word of mouth, referrals, and just showing up somewhere in the Google search results are getting these businesses by. 

It’s great.

But what if they could be doing better, and for relatively little investment? Why bother with marketing when you’re already doing fine, and your competitors aren’t making the effort either?

👀 Increased Visibility

When fewer businesses are advertising, your message isn’t competing for attention. Naturally, this means your ads stand out, whether on the Google search results, social media, and local display networks. You become more noticeable simply because there are no competitors for anyone to notice. 

📣 You Look Like the Market Leader

When you’re the one showing up at the top of the search results, when your display ads are popping up on trusted websites and apps that your customers are using, or when your business is active on social media and engaging with other accounts, you naturally appear to be established and trustworthy. Especially in small towns and tight-knit communities, this type of continued presence can create a perception that you are the go-to option.

💵 More Bang for Your Buck

When no one else is advertising, there are fewer businesses competing for ad space. Google Ads works like an auction. The more people who are bidding, the higher the price. So if five businesses are competing for the same keyword, the cost will be driven up. But if it’s just you and one other? You’re getting prime spots for significantly less. And since over 25% of people are clicking on the first Google search result they see, the prime spots matter a lot.

💡Where to Begin? 

Where you begin with your marketing efforts is based on where you are right now.

Do you have a website? If not, that is step one. It doesn’t have to be intricate or over-the-top, but it does have to be clean and easy to understand, and clearly communicate what you do and why it matters.

If you do have a website, is it fully optimized for search engines? Is it a healthy site with no broken links, ALT tags on images, proper site structure and all the other technical issues that you didn’t think of while building the site but that search engines consider when ranking your site in search results? Does the design of the site make sense and is it easy to navigate? If you answered “no” or “I don’t know”, an SEO Audit is for you.

If you have a solid, working website, you’re ready for Google Ads. 

You can begin with Display ads - they are designed to increase your brand’s awareness and have a cheaper cost per click than search ads. Display ads are a great way to begin, because you are only charged when someone clicks on your ad, and yet the ad is spreading the message that you exist whether someone clicks on the ad or not. With this in mind, even a budget of $3-4/day is an effective way to grow your brand recognition.

Search ads cost more on a cost-per-click basis than Display ads, but with a well managed campaign, you can be sure that money is well spent. You’ll be reaching your clients at the moment they need you  for as little as $5/day (our recommended lowest daily budget for search ads). 

When I was growing up there was a saying - “if everyone was jumping off a bridge would you do it too?” The idea being that the crowd isn’t always making the best decisions - in marketing, sometimes not following the crowd is exactly what gives you the edge.

In business, being an early adapter will often give you a measurable advantage. For instance, the businesses who made websites before their competitors were the only ones showing up when a potential customer did a search. Businesses who optimized their websites for mobile devices early on had the advantage as more and more people used their phones to browse the internet. 

If no one else is advertising in your town, that’s not a reason to wait, it’s your opportunity to get ahead of the pack.  Let’s turn your quiet success into visible momentum, without breaking the bank. Get in touch today!