There’s no doubt about it, the current economy is significantly impacting businesses. With inflation rates through the roof, countless businesses are facing some tough decisions. Whilst many opt to reduce their marketing expenditure, this is often counterproductive. Now is the best time to increase your online advertising budget to give you the upper hand and prepare for success.
What is Online Advertising?
Online advertising, also known as digital advertising, uses the internet to deliver marketing messages to your target audience. After all, with over 8.5 billion searches on Google per day, search engines are the perfect opportunity for promotion. It’s one of the best ways to generate brand awareness, drive website traffic, and encourage customers to take a specific action.
Strategy Development
When it comes to crafting an advertising strategy, your first point of call should always be clarifying what you’re looking to achieve. Whether you’re looking to bolster your brand exposure or generate higher quality conversions, it’s important to develop the right strategy for your individual brand. You need to identify who your target audience is to effectively tailor your advertisements towards the right people. If you’re talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one!
Following these assessments, you can review your options and determine the best plan of action for your business. In an ideal world, you should utilise a range of different marketing techniques for the best possible results. This will allow our experts to compare performance and optimise your strategy for the greatest return on investment (ROI).
Digital Advertising Methods
There are two different internet advertising techniques that can be used to grow your business:
Pay-per-click (PPC)
PPC is a type of search engine marketing (SEM) that involves using Google Ads to position yourself at the top of the search engine results page (SERP). It allows you to target people who are searching for relevant terms that relate to your business and direct them towards your website. Moreover, you only pay when somebody directly clicks on your advert (hence the name!).
There are two types of adverts: search and display. Each of which have their own benefits and limitations. Search ads appear at the top of the results page when somebody actively searches for your associated keywords. On the other hand, display ads are shown on other suitable websites to take advantage of their audience. Search ads are text-based and are great for driving traffic towards your website. However, display ads are focused on visual assets and are mostly used to improve brand awareness.
When it comes to PPC, knowing what you’re doing is essential to avoid doing more harm than good. Our advertising experts are happy to share our recommendations and provide you with guidance every step of the way.
Social Media Advertising
Social media is arguably one of the best ways to speak with your target audience and build the bridge between your brand and it’s consumers. This form of online advertising is used to share social media content with new corners of your market, whilst targeting a specific audience segment. The only ‘visible’ variation between organic and paid posts is the fact that they have a ‘sponsored’ label attached to them.
Like PPC, social media adverts are pushed towards those who fit within your target demographic and are searching for related things. However, with social media, you also must consider where to place your ads and which platform is best for your business goals. For example, if you operate heavily B2B, then LinkedIn may be your ideal platform as it specialises in professional networking and communications. Comparatively, if you’re consumer focused, then Facebook or Instagram may be your preferred pathway to reach your target audience directly.
Remarketing
People tend to take their time when thinking about purchasing something. Sometimes, the customer journey can be lengthy and complex. For this reason, remarketing has become increasingly popular for both PPC and social media advertising.
Remarketing involves tracking users who have visited your website, but not committed to making a purchase; and then serving your ads to this specific audience. As a result, this can significantly increase the chance of conversion and opportunities to revisit your website.
Compare with A/B Testing
It’s often the case that advertisements with minimal copy and simple designs are the most memorable – your audience can absorb the message and act quickly. This is why it’s important to focus on creating eye-catching assets with clear call-to-actions (CTAs).
Professional marketers constantly optimise and experiment to stay ahead. With A/B testing, an advert is duplicated with a slight alteration to compare the results. This allows you to determine which ad performs better and gather insights into how your audience responds to particular messages, allowing you to make educated refinements to your advertising efforts.
Website Optimisation
Regardless of your sector, sharing authentic and engaging content on your website is a very effective way to connect with your target audience. Although arguably more marketing than advertising, blog posts are a great way to demonstrate your expertise in your field and establish yourself as a thought leader. However, it’s important to share regular updates and ensure each piece is long enough (but not too long!) to make an impact.
Did you know, brands who post frequent blogs see 3.5 times more website traffic compared to those who don’t? It might be time to partner with professional copywriters like those here at VerriBerri!
Furthermore, blog posts can help boost your search engine optimisation (SEO) value. SEO is the process of optimising your website to rank higher on the SERP. In turn, this improves your online visibility and generates more website traffic. Unlike PPC, however, this method is better at achieving long-term results.
Whilst both SEO and copywriting are organic marketing methods, they certainly work hand in hand with online advertising. These organic techniques help to showcase your personality and attract people towards your name, but when carried out alongside paid advertising, your ROI can dramatically increase.
Contact VerriBerri
Our experts have over a decade of experience when it comes to online advertising. No matter the size of your business, we can help! Whether you’re looking for social media management, a new PPC campaign or high-quality content writing, we’re here to lend a hand. Get in touch with the team today on 01376 386850 or click here to send us a message.