How can a small business advertise on cable TV, local channels at the lowest price? I read in a magazine that cable TV ads can be purchased for as little as $50? Is this true?
Probably, but remember that only purchasing a few ads probably isn't a good use of your advertising dollars.
The two most important keys to effective advertising:
- Target the right demographic. What people purchase your products or services? Make sure you reach those people and not someone else. For example, advertising to business professionals during daytime soap operas while professionals are at the office probably won't be effective.
- Make sure your viewers (listeners, etc.) get enough repetitions to remember your ads. If someone sees your TV ad just once, odds are they won't even remember it. It takes a few viewings before people start remembering your ads. Try to make sure that when you purchase an air plan, your average viewer will receive at least 3 impressions (more are better), otherwise, you will likely be throwing your money away.
Amongst various advertising media, outdoor (billboards) and radio traditionally have a lower cost per impression than TV, so they may be better deals for you.
If you do think you might be interested in TV advertising, talk to sales reps from your local TV stations and cable system(s). They should be able to develop air plans for you that target the demographics you are looking for.
TV sales reps can also generally suggest commercial production companies that do affordable work. And they may even have special programs for new advertisers to make producing your first ad more affordable.
If you talk to several sales reps, you should be able to get a good deal simply by comparing prices. Just make sure that you're comparing apples to apples. You should be comparing the CPM (cost per thousand impressions) not the overall cost of running ads, or the number of ads being run. And you should make sure that the CPMs you compare are for the same demographic, for example, women 18-34, or people 25-49, income above $50,000.
Whatever you decide your target demographic is, make sure all your CPM estimates from sales reps reflect those demographics and not some other numbers that the station thinks is more favorable to them. Some demographics are much cheaper to reach than others, and you will not be comparing equivalent pricing if you don't look at an identical demo.