If you are struggling with digital advertising, you are not alone! Many small businesses struggle with running ads on digital platforms. There are technical barriers, as well as strategic knowledge that many business owners don’t have access to. Because of the financial component to digital advertising, some businesses feel they don’t have the funds to make paid advertising work and focus instead on only organic content. But ads don’t have to be scary or feel out of left field. And with these tips, they also don’t have to break the bank to see ROI.
Think of your ads as an extension of your overall marketing strategy, not a separate part of them. Your organic and paid content should support each other. Ads should feel like a natural extension of your organic content and your brand. (Read last week’s post on how to create ads that match and support your brand here.) A smooth user experience can build brand loyalty and convert potential customers into paying ones.
Choose images that have a purpose and are connected to your product or service, and make sure the image is clear, in focus, and matches your brand. Yes, your images (or videos) need to grab attention as people scroll, but they also need to hold their attention. This is why cat or dog images don’t work in the way that many small businesses hope — they might get someone to stop scrolling, but that doesn’t always keep their attention. And, if it doesn’t connect to your brand in any way, it won’t help you grow your customer base. Having a clear, on-brand image or video that is about your product or service and relevant to your brand will get the right people — who are actually interested in purchasing — to click on your ads.
Most important: decide on goals for your ads, and focus your copy, images, and core objectives on meeting these goals. If your goal is to drive a lot of traffic to your website to raise brand awareness and to get data for your pixel (or other analytics tools), then your core objective is landing page views, and your copy and images should reflect that as well. The benefit of setting your core objective as landing page views is that you can measure how successful your ads are at getting potential customers interested in your brand and you can gather their data to help you form your ideal customer. You can also use this data to help you set up retargeting ads when your goals change from brand awareness to conversions. If you want to measure how many people are clicking through your ads all the way to purchase, then your core objective is conversions or purchases. Again, your images and copy should also be focused on that goal. Conversions/Purchases can show you how effective your ads are, and if you are selling a product, this is critical for measuring the success of your ads. This data can also show you any potential disconnects between your ads and your landing page or any other barriers to purchasing. If you have not defined your goals for your ads, then you will not be able to look at the data you are receiving and know if your ads are successful.
Questions to ask when getting started with digital advertising:
What are my goals for my ads?
Does my core objective match my goals for my ads?
Do my ads support my business goals?
Where am I sending my ads? Does this create a smooth user experience?
Do my ads match my branding?
Do my ads show my customers that my product/service will help solve their problems?
Digital advertising doesn’t need to feel daunting! By following our tips and asking the right questions, you can create ads that match your branding, support your business, and grow your community.
If you need help with your digital advertising, send us a message or schedule a call with one of our experts.