Aloha, Nick Ponte here. I own and operate 808 Marketing, a digital advertising agency in Maui, Hawaii. I love helping businesses find new marketing strategies to attract customers and drive revenue. Recently, I shared my top five features of an ideal web design and SEO company in Hawaii.
As a local business owner, do you consider the importance of advertising in Hawaii? Did you know that your advertising methods have a direct correlation to the success of your business? According to a 2019 Harvard Business Review, businesses that increased their digital advertising spending by 20% saw an average increase in customer acquisition of 12%. In short, advertising makes a difference—if you do it right.
But just spending money on advertising in Hawaii doesn’t mean you know strategies that have the biggest effect. If you own a startup and you want to grow, but you don’t know the marketing methods you should use for your business, you’ll find yourself closing your doors before you know it. Let me share more about why advertising in Hawaii matters so much.
Also Read: 3 Ways to Make Your Maui Advertising Matter
Why Advertising in Hawaii Matters
Have you ever asked, “Can’t I just rely on word-of-mouth and referrals?” It’s not that simple. If you only get your main source of traffic from word-of-mouth, referrals, and whoever happens to find your website (if you have one), your business won’t survive. According to a survey of nearly 400 small businesses, half do not have a formal marketing or advertising plan. That’s like trying to drive to a new city every day without a GPS or map. You might get lucky and find one sometimes, but you certainly won’t get to destinations consistently. And you definitely won’t grow your business with this strategy.
Instead, learn how to advertise in Hawaii the right way. With a professional advertising strategy, your business can target its audience effectively. Successful companies around the globe do this, and the same tactic applies to advertising in Hawaii. However, we know the trick: Hire a company that understands advertising in Hawaii—inside and out. Your audience has particular needs and interests, so you need an agency that thoroughly understands how to reach your target.
If you want to optimize advertising in Hawaii for your local business and grow in 2024, check out these top seven strategies.
Also Read: How We Consistently Drive Google Rankings and Traffic with Targeted Content
Top 7 Ways to Optimize Your Advertising in Hawaii
Check out these seven practices to boost your growth and yield the best ROI for your business in the new year:
1. Determine Your Best Channels
One big mistake I see businesses make: They try to advertise everywhere. YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, television, radio, print ads… and the list goes on. Maintaining profiles on all these platforms takes a good bit of time and energy. Each channel has benefits, but pay attention to how your audience most often finds you. Once you determine which channels work best for your business, you’ll more easily optimize your advertising in Hawaii.
3. Use Stories Over Selling
In today’s marketplace, consumers crave stories and narratives. If you want your advertising in Hawaii to stand out, craft stories around your product or service. Don’t just sell stuff—that’s not enough. Capture your viewers’ attention with story-driven advertisements—especially catering to Hawaii audiences.
3. Make Ads Ultra-Personalized
Young consumers value personalized and targeted campaigns. Instead of generic ads that cater to everyone, younger audiences prefer content that speaks to them individually. When a company resonates with a young consumer, that person feels understood and reciprocates with loyalty.
To target your audience in Hawaii, your advertising should reflect life in Hawaii. If you want your advertising in Hawaii to resonate with young Hawaiians, show you understand them at a deep level. Customers will feel they have a connection with you and keep coming back.
4. Create Short Form Video
Video content works as another key component of compelling advertising. As TikTok and YouTube Shorts continue to grow, young audiences seek brands that utilize short form video to speak to them. Moreover, thousands of young Millennials and Gen Z’ers move to Hawaii every year, so if you want your advertising in Hawaii to work, short form video is king.
5. Make Advertising Interactive
A huge trend going into 2024 is the popularity of interactive advertisements. Companies now deploy apps and websites that do more than explain a product or service—they offer an experience to personally connect the customer with that product or service. This provides a surefire way to boost engagement and make memorable advertising in Hawaii.
6. Leverage Social Proof
Businesses can also leverage social proof as another method of optimizing advertising in Hawaii. If you don’t have any online reviews yet, ask family and friends to review your product or service. As you get customer testimonials, integrate them into your advertising. According to a 2023 survey of over 8,000 consumers, 86% regularly read reviews before purchasing something. In fact, the same survey notes that nine out of ten consumers consider reviews before making a purchase. This means the more positive reviews you gain, the more customers will look to your business as a trusted source.
7. Hire a Hawaii Marketing Agency
Most small businesses don’t find the answers to their marketing dilemma in trying to manage it all themselves. Instead, they hire a digital marketing agency that knows how to handle all the aspects of advertising with expertise. Hire an agency that understands advertising in Hawaii—its audience and trends—at a deep level.
If you want to connect with a digital marketing agency to get you there, reach out to us today! We offer a FREE SEO audit to assess how your business ranks among your competition, and we provide professional recommendations on how to optimize your advertising in Hawaii.
Further Reading: 5 Unexpected Perks of Working with Hawaii SEO Companies
Photos Courtesy of Sean Oulashin, Swansway Motor Group, and Nathan Dumlao