Follow this link to the Local News Poverty Map to see how many local media outlets have close, merged, or have been bought up.

https://localnewsmap.geolive.ca

Some of my readers will say – BORING . . . who cares! Those media (local paper, radio, TV, station, etc.) were old school, not keeping pace with the times, blah, blah blah. I can’t afford the price of the subscriptions, or the time. I can grab the local news I want / need on my social media apps for free.

Others, like me see something different. Local media – especially paid local media serve the community. Period. They keep local ad dollars in the community and promote opportunities and services in their home community. The loss of local media cannot be replaced by social media because a small business cannot compete for the keywords needed to promote its business online. Many small business owners do not have the time, money or expertise to do so effectively.

From a consumer \ recipient perspective, all social media channels are competing for a tiny sliver of your free time. In turn the small business’s “news or ad” is competing with all of the other feeds you’re getting from friends, family business collegues – and more. All that competition is exacerbated by the social medium’s proprietary algorithm which determines what you and your (paid) audience will see . . . and what it won’t.

At a time when “transparency” and “authenticity” are all the rage in communications, I find it VERY strange that marketing & advertising managers the world over have willingly bankrupted most local media and moved almost all of their ad dollars to on-line search and social media because online media metrics - PPC - is supposedly cheaper and better.

You will never know the truth.

Online media make billions of dollars with their highly proprietary black-box algorithms. You have no way of knowing if the "Ad Reports" are a fair and reasonable refleaction of reality - or not.

On the other hand all old fashioned "offline media" audience figures are reviewed and reported only AFTER they have been independantly audited and verified.

AI design is being used by more and more advertisers to make their ad campaigns more effective. Here's how:

• Automating content generation: AI can create content such as articles, blog posts, or social media posts based on the information that is fed into them. This can save time and resources for businesses and professionals who create content regularly.
• Improving content quality: AI can produce content that is more accurate and informative than human-written content, by learning from a large amount of data and identifying patterns that humans may not be able to see.
• Increasing content variety: AI can generate different types of content, including text, images, and video. This can help businesses and professionals to create more diverse and interesting content that appeals to a larger audience.
• Personalizing content: AI can generate content that is tailored to the preferences of individual users – which can help businesses and professionals to create content that is more relevant and engaging for their target audience.

AI can also help advertisers with planning, analytics, and creative aspects of their campaigns. For example:

• Segment audiences and target ads: AI can analyze user behavior and preferences to create more precise and effective audience segments. This can help advertisers deliver the right ads to the right people at the right time.
• Measure campaign success: AI can track and evaluate the performance of advertising campaigns across different channels and platforms to help advertisers optimize their budget and media channel allocations.
• Generate ideas and inspiration: AI can use prompts and mood boards to create art and copy that can spark creativity and innovation for advertising campaigns. These can help advertisers to come up with new and original concepts that stand out from the crowd.

AI art and copy are not meant to replace human creativity, but rather to augment it. AI can provide assistance, guidance, and feedback to human advertisers, who can then refine, edit, and improve the AI-generated content. AI can also challenge human advertisers to think outside the box \ web and explore new possibilities for their campaigns.

AI art and copy are still evolving technologies that have some limitations and challenges. For example, AI may not always be able to capture the nuances, emotions, and contexts of human communication. AI content may be biased, inaccurate, or inappropriate. So human oversight and intervention are needed to ensure the quality and ethics of AI-generated content.

In conclusion, AI art and copy have the potential to transform the advertising industry by offering new opportunities and benefits for businesses and professionals. However, they also require careful consideration and collaboration between humans and machines to ensure their effectiveness and responsibility.

Measuring the success of an ad depends on the goal that you have set for your ad. Different goals require different metrics to evaluate the performance of your ad. Here are some common goals and metrics that you can use to measure the success of an ad:

• Brand awareness: This goal is to increase the recognition and recall of your brand among your target audience. Some metrics that you can use to measure brand awareness are impressions, reach, frequency, and brand lift. Impressions are the number of times your ad is shown to your audience. Reach is the number of unique people who see your ad. Frequency is the average number of times your ad is shown to each person. Brand lift is the increase in brand awareness, preference, or intent among your audience after seeing your ad.
• Lead generation: This goal is to collect information from potential customers who are interested in your product or service. Some metrics that you can use to measure lead generation are clicks, conversions, cost per lead, and lead quality. Clicks are the number of times your audience clicks on your ad or call to action. Conversions are the number of times your audience completes a desired action on your landing page, such as filling out a form or downloading a file. Cost per lead is the amount of money you spend on your ad divided by the number of leads you generate. Lead quality is the relevance and value of the leads you generate for your business.
• Sales: This goal is to increase the revenue or profit from your product or service. Some metrics that you can use to measure sales are sales volume, sales value, return on ad spend, and customer lifetime value. Sales volume is the number of units or items that you sell as a result of your ad. Sales value is the amount of money that you earn from the sales that you make as a result of your ad. Return on ad spend is the ratio of revenue to cost from your ad campaign. Customer lifetime value is the estimated net profit that you can expect from a customer over their entire relationship with your business.

These are some of the ways that you can measure the success of an ad based on your goal. Of course, there are many other factors that can affect the success of an ad such as the quality, creativity, timing, and placement of your ad. You also need to consider the context and behavior of your audience and how they respond to your ad. 

You can use tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Ad Manager, or HubSpot to collect and analyze data about your ads and optimize them for better results.

You can also use that data to inform the design of surveys and focus groups to help refine the campaign effectiveness off and on line.

A great ad is relevant to its target audience and understands their needs, wants, problems, and desires, and offer one or more appealing solutions.

It speaks the language of the audience and uses images, words, and sounds that resonate with it.

A great ad is original and creative. It stands out from the crowd and catches the audience’s attention. It surprises, delights, or challenges them with something unexpected or unconventional.

A great ad uses humor, emotion, storytelling, or some other techniques to make a lasting impression.

A great ad is clear and concise - delivering a single, focused message that is easy to understand and remember. It avoids clutter, confusion, or distraction that might dilute the impact of the message.

A great ad uses visual and verbal elements that complement each other and reinforce the message.

A great ad is honest and trustworthy. It does not make false or exaggerated claims that might damage the reputation of the brand or the credibility of the message.

It can ALWAYS provide evidence or testimonial to support its claims and shows respect for its audience. A great ad don’t insult, offend, or deceive the audience.

A great ad is persuasive and action-oriented. It convinces the viewers that their need or desire for the advertised product or service should be acted on as soon as possible.

It provides a clear and compelling call to action that tells the viewers what to do next and why they should do it.

Great ads create a sense of urgency, scarcity, or exclusivity that motivates the viewers to act.

These are some of the qualities that can make a good ad a great ad. There are many other factors that can influence the effectiveness of an ad, such as the medium, the timing, the message frequency, message reach, the ad budget, and the competitive environment. But by following these principles, you can create ads that are more likely to achieve your advertising goals.

While creating a great ad is not an easy task, it can be done with some planning, research, and creativity. Here are some steps you can follow to create a great ad:

• Define your goal. What do you want your ad to achieve? Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, drive sales, or something else? Having a clear goal will help you measure the success of your ad and guide your design choices.
• Know your audience. Who are you trying to reach with your ad? What are their needs, wants, problems, and desires? How can your product or service solve them? Knowing your audience will help you craft a message that resonates with them and choose the best platform to reach them.
• Choose your platform. Where will you run your ad? Will it be online, on social media, on TV, on radio, on print, or somewhere else? Different platforms have different advantages, disadvantages, costs, and requirements. Choose the platform that suits your goal, audience, budget, and message.
• Decide on a budget. How much are you willing to spend on your ad? Your budget will affect the quality, quantity, and duration of your ad. You need to balance your budget with your expected return on investment. You also need to consider the cost of creating, running, and testing your ad.
• Craft a message. What do you want to say in your ad? What is the main benefit or value proposition of your product or service? How do you want to differentiate yourself from your competitors? Your message should be clear, concise, relevant, and persuasive. It should also include a call to action that tells the viewers what to do next and why they should do it.
• Get people talking. How do you make your ad stand out from the crowd and catch the attention of the viewers? How do you make them remember your ad and talk about it with others? You can use various techniques such as humor, emotion, storytelling, surprise, or controversy to make your ad memorable and engaging. You can also use social proof, such as testimonials or reviews, to build trust and credibility.
• Decide what you’re building. What kind of ad are you creating? Is it a banner ad, a video ad, a podcast ad, a flyer ad, or something else? Depending on the type of ad you’re creating, you’ll need different tools and skills to design it. You’ll also need to follow different guidelines and best practices for each type of ad.
• Don’t forget the details. How do you make sure that your ad looks professional and appealing? You need to pay attention to the details such as the colors, fonts, images, sounds, layout, and logo of your ad. You need to choose elements that match your brand identity and message. You also need to make sure that your ad is readable, audible, and visible on different devices and platforms.
• Create test ads. How do you know if your ad works or not? You need to test it before you launch it. You can create different versions of your ad and compare them to each other or to a control group. Use as many survey methods as you can (afford); surveys, focus groups, A/B testing, and analytics to measure the effectiveness of your ads. You need to test different aspects of your ads such as the headline, the image, the copy, the call to action, and the ad placement.
• Launch your ad. How do you get your ad in front of your audience? You need to launch it on the platform that you’ve chosen. You need to follow the rules and regulations of each platform and submit your ad for approval if needed. You also need to schedule your ad for the best time and frequency for your audience.
• Track and analyze performance. How do you know if your ad is successful or not? You need to track and analyze the performance of your ad after you launch it. You need to use metrics that align with your goal such as impressions, clicks, conversions, sales, or revenue. You need to use online tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Ad Manager, or HubSpot to collect and visualize data about your ads.
• Make changes, rinse and repeat. How do you improve your ad over time? You need to make changes based on the feedback and data that you’ve gathered from testing and tracking. You need to optimize your ads for better results by tweaking different elements such as the message, the design, the platform, or the budget. You also need to repeat the process for new campaigns or audiences.

These are some of the steps that can help you create a great ad. Of course, there are many other factors that can influence the quality and effectiveness of an ad such as creativity, originality, honesty, or persuasion. But by following these principles, you can create ads that are more likely to achieve your advertising goals.