Persuasive Advertising Checklist

The online BusinessDictionary.com defines an advertisement as: ‘…Their objective is to change the thinking pattern (or buying behaviour) of the recipient so that he or she is persuaded to take the action desired by the advertiser.

So you’ve worked hard at setting up your business. Everything is up and running and now you have to ‘do the Facebook thing’. You start posting weekly specials. And then - not one phone call or query…

Or you just tinkered away in your workshop and now more and more people want your wooden furniture and your hobby turned into a very good business. Someone finally persuades you to ‘do the Facebook thing’. Good to share photos of your products, isn’t it? You click away, hit the share button… and not one like or share…

It is frustrating and disappointing and seriously, does it even work? Is it necessary?? Before you abandon ‘the Facebook thing’, ask yourself what customers see when they look at your advertisements.

BusinessDictionary.com also defines advertisements as ’Paid, non-personal, public communication about causes, goods and services, ideas, organizations, people, and places, through means such as direct mail, telephone, print, radio, television, and internet. An integral part of marketing, advertisements are public notices designed to inform and motivate.’ 

Here’s a quick checklist for finding out how persuasive your advertisements are:

1. State your business name clearly.

Don’t assume customers will always see it on your Facebook page! Adverts are saved and shared on different platforms and then your name will not be part of it anymore!

2. Physical address and contact info.

You wouldn’t believe how many business owners forget about this. I sort through hundreds of business profiles and some of them don’t even have a completed ‘About’ section, which means the most important information is unavailable. Why would you want to make it difficult for potential customers to find you? Or are you relying purely on existing customers that already have this info? (Contact me to help you set up a professional Facebook page!)

3. Highlight the event/product/service that you are providing.

Here you upload some nice pictures, right? Not if it is blurry!! Almost everybody can use their phone to take pictures nowadays - you can literally take a thousand photos and select the ones that are perfect. Don’t share it if you yourself can’t see what’s on the photo. It is better to have no pictures attached if it is inferior quality than to look unprofessional - respect what your customers see! 

4. If you’re advertising an event or a special:

Make sure to make the date and time in BOLD. This is the main information and reason for the advert. Also include any terms and condi applicable, for example ‘until stocks last’, ‘only 5 per customer’, etc.

5. Add a Call To Action (ATC).

Tell people what to do: ‘Order now!’ ‘Visit us this weekend’, ‘Contact me for more info’, etc. An ATC prompts people to act.

6. Also, good to add:

Use hashtags #bloubladdirectory #businesslegends #overberg

Tell people more about your business, products or services (if you have enough space).

I hope you can now ask yourself - does my advertisement inform and motivate people to act? Is it persuasive?

Written By: Joh-Mari van Heerden