Four States Small Business Blog

Avoiding Cliches: How Your "Friendly Staff" and "Great Customer Service" are Killing Your Creative

Posted by Mark Zimmer on October 12, 2017 at 8:00 AM

You’re all geared up and excited to finally be putting together your new marketing campaign. You’re full of great ideas—words, phrases, and slogans that you’ve heard others use, so you know they’re attention-grabbers. But is using the tried and true the best choice? Or could it be getting a little (or a lot) tried and true…and tired?

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Topics: Consumer Behavior, Advertising Creative

How Often Should I Be Advertising?

Posted by Mark Zimmer on August 25, 2017 at 8:00 AM

Advertising is a critical business process and a major investment for businesses of any size. Most businesses understand that an ad campaign will help promote products, raise awareness for special offers and events, and hopefully influence shoppers to choose their brand. However, it’s also critical for both the products and services as well as the brand in terms of differentiation and staying top of mind, influencing consumer perception, and improving retention and recall.

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Topics: Radio Advertising, Marketing Strategy, Joplin Market, Advertising Creative

Why Your Brand Matters (and How to Make it Powerful)

Posted by Mark Zimmer on August 24, 2017 at 9:00 AM

Branding is what helps distinguish your company, products, and services from your competitors. It’s a way to create a connection between your company and your consumers in a visual, emotional, and cultural way.

If you think branding doesn't really matter that much (you've got a great logo, right?), consider that when choosing between two similar products at similar price points, consumers will probably select the brand they recognize.

Some other points to think about:

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Topics: Marketing Strategy, Advertising Creative

How to Effectively Use Interactive Quizzes to Increase Your Marketing ROI

Posted by Mark Zimmer on August 17, 2017 at 8:00 AM

Thanks to ever-evolving technology, the path to purchase has changed, and the advertising world is always adapting to keep up with it. New channels, platforms, and tools are constantly being developed, giving marketers a truly vast array of options, including some unique ones, like interactive quizzes. These quizzes may not be new, per se, but they’re vastly underrated by most brands as a legitimate way to build engagement and develop leads.

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Topics: Integrated Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Joplin Market, Consumer Behavior, Advertising Creative

6 Ways Casinos Can Win Big with Radio

Posted by Mark Zimmer on July 20, 2017 at 8:00 AM

When it comes to successfully promoting your casino through radio advertising, you’ll need more than a stroke of luck to beat the house and hit the jackpot. Here are six tips you can follow to ensure your casino marketing is effective, reaches your target audience, and increases your sales.

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Topics: Radio Advertising, Marketing Strategy, Advertising Creative, Casinos

How Radio Can Deliver for Your Recruitment Campaign

Posted by Chad Elliot on May 11, 2017 at 8:00 AM

Radio is a powerful way to reach audiences. In fact, it’s the top format in mass reach for adults between the ages of 18 and 34, and reaches 93% of Americans. It even reaches people all day long, especially while they’re at work or commuting home, reaching 41% of listeners between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.. That makes radio advertising a prime way to reach consumers for marketers, but that also makes it a powerful way to boost your recruitment campaign. That’s why today’s post touches on five of the biggest reasons why you should be using radio for recruitment.

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Topics: Radio Advertising, Advertising Creative

How to Increase the Value of What You're Selling with Powerful Branding

Posted by Melanie Gaudette on February 28, 2017 at 8:30 AM

Your company’s brand has market value, so creating a strong brand for your company can be one of the most effective ways to increase your sales. Branding helps distinguish your company, products, and services from your competitors. It’s a way to create a connection between your company and your consumers in a visual, emotional, and cultural way.

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Topics: Small Business Resources, Marketing Strategy, Advertising Creative

6 Reasons Why You Should Use a Radio Station with a Dedicated Creative Services Department

Posted by Pam Larimore on February 20, 2017 at 8:30 AM

It’s savvy of business owners to constantly be on the lookout for ways to get the most out of their marketing and advertising efforts.

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Topics: Radio Advertising, Advertising Creative

5 Questions to Ask Your Radio Partner to Determine if They Are Creating Quality, Effective Ad Creative

Posted by Mark Zimmer on February 17, 2017 at 8:30 AM

Radio advertising remains an effective and powerful tool for reaching your customers, but ensuring that your radio ad creative is conveying the right message — a message that will get listeners to buy — is essential. We’ve put together a list of five questions to ask your radio partner to ensure that they are creating quality ads for your company.

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Topics: Radio Advertising, Advertising Creative

Understanding the Differences Between Ear and Eye Advertising

Posted by Mark Zimmer on December 23, 2016 at 8:30 AM

In 1983, Advertising Age magazine published an article in which the authors cited evidence that consumers prefer ear-oriented messaging as compared with eye-oriented messaging. Speech is the primary form of communication for human beings, and for advertisers, this fact holds significant implications. It means that advertising for the ear is more effective than print advertising that’s designed to be received by the eye.

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Topics: Radio Advertising, Advertising Creative