Today’s tip comes from Tim Hart, Hart Communications and The Savvy Marketers, which offers affordable, Web-based marketing courses for small businesses.
Tim lives in the Bay Area, and he comments on his blog about a specific ad campaign on BART, but as he points out: You can book transit ads to run in specific, local 
neighborhoods for a short or long duration. Transit can include busboards (inside or out), bus shelters, train stations, benches, you name it.
Here’s what that campaign did right, Tim says:
1) The organization bought transit ads on a specific train line — affordable and a great way to target very specific geographic zones. In this case I was on the train that ran from Fremont (eastern suburb of San Francisco) to downtown SF.
2) They created a Web address that included BART, which spoke directly to people on the train.
3) There was a specific call to action: Go to their Web site and discuss the topic. You know exactly what to do with the information. Their tagline with their logo supports this: “think. discuss. connect.”
4) They can track results. Based on how many people use the BART address they can compare how their message is penetrating, compared to a specific address they might use for similar ads on the buses or the ferries. By slightly customizing a URL they have a campaign-specific tracking method ready to go. And that information can lead to new, tailored outreach later.
Tim concludes: “For small businesses this is a wonderful idea to think about. Transit ads can be much more affordable than you think and as this campaign shows, you can call people to action in a way that speaks to them directly rather than just being generic.”
If you have a strategy, resource or tip to help small businesses, click here to send it to me. If I use it, I’ll give you credit and link to your Web site.
