We get a lot of requests for advertising, from the Catholic Church asking us to place a weekly ad in the back of the Sunday Program to the Dover Post's "stimulus ad" a few weeks back. We rarely participate in print ad requests - although the Dover Post charge of $125 for exposure over that way was priced to sell and we bought - mostly because it is just so expensive for the fleeting amount of publicity it gives back. We are regulars on the Tidewater Trader pages, but other than that, not so much. We've been told that we won't get anything in the way of coverage from the many periodicals that cover the Eastern Shore and environs if we don't advertise in them, and maybe this is true, considering how long I've been trying to get a listing in What's Up Eastern Shore, to no avail.
We seem to advertise more often via online technology. I have found that our Facebook page is very effective for letting our real customers know directly what is going on at Brooks Tavern in pretty much real time, not a week or two after the ad was written. And as a result, we have had people come in specifically for notices they have read on their Facebook wall from Brooks Tavern, which in itself tells us the "ad" is working, something else we don't always get with print ads. We can send Fans of Brooks Tavern specific announcements about events, specials, new menus, anything we think might interest them, without costing us a penny. The BT website and this blog are also convenient and inexpensive forms of advertising, especially since I am the WebMaster and work for nominal compensation (mostly in the form of comestibles). Our weekly email, notifying guests of the Wednesday Night Prix-fixe is another way to get the word out, targeted to specific set of clientele who actually want to receive that information.
A mix of print and online advertising seems to suit us best. We'll keep evolving with the times to get the word out, but targeting an audience that actually wants to be targeted seems to be our method of choice. Only the mucky-mucks on Madison Avenue presume to know what really works to bring the customers into the fold; however, we use our mute button all to often to rely on their advice...
We seem to advertise more often via online technology. I have found that our Facebook page is very effective for letting our real customers know directly what is going on at Brooks Tavern in pretty much real time, not a week or two after the ad was written. And as a result, we have had people come in specifically for notices they have read on their Facebook wall from Brooks Tavern, which in itself tells us the "ad" is working, something else we don't always get with print ads. We can send Fans of Brooks Tavern specific announcements about events, specials, new menus, anything we think might interest them, without costing us a penny. The BT website and this blog are also convenient and inexpensive forms of advertising, especially since I am the WebMaster and work for nominal compensation (mostly in the form of comestibles). Our weekly email, notifying guests of the Wednesday Night Prix-fixe is another way to get the word out, targeted to specific set of clientele who actually want to receive that information.
A mix of print and online advertising seems to suit us best. We'll keep evolving with the times to get the word out, but targeting an audience that actually wants to be targeted seems to be our method of choice. Only the mucky-mucks on Madison Avenue presume to know what really works to bring the customers into the fold; however, we use our mute button all to often to rely on their advice...
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