Your Locations are not Convenient in the New Digital World
I just saw an ad that stated, “we have 5 convenient locations to serve you.” Unfortunately, the “convenience” is only enjoyed by the people who actually work there.
As we study search words and phrases, we are finding more and more of a disconnect between ad copy and people search. That disconnect not only makes ads less relevant in the digital space, it doesn’t help you in off-line advertising to drive search in the mobile and tablet space.
One example of this is “convenient locations.” No one searches for “convenient location.” People search for “_________ near me.” It’s a subtle difference, but there are literally hundreds of examples of poorly worded ad copy compared to search vernacular—and today, search wins. So if your “convenient locations” are not near me, they are not convenient to me, they are convenient to you as an advertiser. And the wording does not help you get “found” in the Internet jungle.
So the advertising copy needs to have a direct message match to the search terms. In fact, a good call to action would be to ask people in advertising to “Search _____________” to find you.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
