So, you’ve launched your business on your social media channels and gained a couple of organic likes here and there. But suddenly your audience reach and engagement has gone quiet. Time to consider opening your options to the world of paid advertising and paid advertising types. This may seem daunting and only something the gurus of the digital marketing space will use but we’ve broken it down into some simple paid advertising types for you to see which is best suited to your business.
Firstly, let’s break down the digital marketing trifecta. Paid, owned and earned media. Paid media is promotional content that requires you to purchase advertising space i.e., ads. Paid media can take various forms, for example, it can be written, or it can be an image, or a video and you can choose a variety of channels to publish this content on. Owned media is exactly that, media that you own, such as your website, social media profiles and blog etc. Earned media is publicity gained from your promotional efforts such as mentions, comments, shares etc.
Now that you understand those basics, let’s jump into the different paid advertising types to choose from.
Pay per click (PPC)
PPC advertising is very straightforward because it’s just that, you pay when a user clicks on your ad. There is no initial upfront cost. Your advert will come up in in a search when a user searches for specific keywords associated with your ad.
However, it can get a bit tricky as you are competing with many other brands out there who are trying to do the same thing, and the majority of those brands are bigger with a much healthier budget. When it comes to your budget, you can set an amount for yourself or you can go with Google’s recommending bidding price which uses a real-time automatic bidding system where you agree to pay them that price any time an ad is clicked.
You can choose to be placed at the top, bottom or sides of the search results as a sponsor and you can also opt to go into the Google Ads rotation to be seen on individual websites. You will pay more to have your ads featured on more popular websites.
Statistics show that you’re more likely to converts leads that are derived from PPC than from any other organic search.
Social Media Marketing
This is one of the most powerful tools out there as the majority of the world’s population have some kind of social media in one form or another. This strategy allows you to target your audience on social media platforms with ads based on their interests and preferences.
Your customers would expect to find any business on at least one of these platforms which is why a social media presence is vital for your brand. Running paid ads on social media allows you to reach customers that may have never heard of your brand before, allowing for a stronger brand presence.
These platforms have a massive reach. According to Statista, Facebook alone has 2,7 billion active monthly users. Imagine an eighth of those people seeing your ad? Like PPC, they use a bidding model to serve ads to users who have either shown interest in your offerings or who exhibit online behaviours similar to your current customers.
Do you have a business with no social media presence and unsure where to start? Speak to us about hiring your very own social media manager for as little as £12.75 per hour.
Online Display Advertising
You are probably being exposed to online display advertising every day without even realising it. It is used so much in our daily lives that we have become so accustomed to it. Online display advertising is graphic advertising that is made up of pop-ups, wallpapers and banner ads. These adverts can include images, text, videos and animations that are placed in strategic positions on websites for maximum impact and brand awareness.
Display ads use cookies which allow you to collect data about a visitor’s online activity. This way you can create a detailed picture of their interests to deliver even more targeted advertising.
Ever had that yearning hunger for a delicious burger after searching for something on Google? That’s effective display advertising.
Retargeting
How often have you gone onto your favourite retailer’s website, added those must-have shoes to your cart, thought twice and abandoned your cart only to see those exact shoes pop up on another website? This is called retargeting.
Retargeting ads are ads that are served to an audience that has already visited and left your site only to be reminded about your products or services further along the line. Retargeting is an effective strategy because you are directing your ads at users who are more inclined to convert as they were interested in your offering, to begin with.
Paid advertising can seem intimidating if you don’t know what you’re doing or if budgets are limited. Every small business is unique and finding the right paid advertising strategy might come with a bit of trial and error or even a steep learning curve. You need to find what works best for you. Whatever the journey may be, once you find the right paid advertising type, it’s guaranteed to bring in the desired audience for growth.
