Know where your ads appear - 3 ideas to make your offline ads more effective

Auditing Ad Placement - Even Offline Ones Such as the Valparaiso Indiana Tourism Ad - Can Reveal Where Adjustment is Needed for Your Marketing and Analytics Strategy.

This image shows a great ad for Valparaiso, Indiana, located 50 miles outside of Chicago.  This ad appear on the South Shore line, a commuter line which runs from Chicago, through Gary, and ends in South Bend.  The rail line does not pass through Valparaiso, which  is 20 miles to the southeast of Gary Metro Station.

This means that the ad is overlooking the action a person can take after viewing it; An ad like this can provide some level of branding, a reminder of a great place to visit. But with mobile and tablets becoming used more frequently, it is more important to set ads that permit people to take action.

To address the action needed in these instances, consider a few starter ideas:

• Adding QR codes, like the ones in this Zimana post, is one way (Editor's note: though QR codes are on wane, thanks to beacons, they can still be effective for small businesses.)
• Another is to indicate the social media platform on which you best respond. You may be able to gain followers for a fan page or be able to respond in Twitter such as to encourage curiosity and a retail visit.
• Consider a simple app that offers details such as scheduling and order selection before arrival to your store or restaurant.

In this age of digital ads, auditing where your ads shows is important.