Follow these 4 Tips to Make the Most Out of Your Digital Ad Spend
Digital ad spending in the US is expected to increase by more than 100% between 2019 and 2024. That’s $278.53 billion dollars being spent by marketers and brands around the country who are trying to deliver their crafted message to their target audience.
The huge surge in connected TV, e-commerce shopping, and at-home deliveries in 2020 created a pendulum swing that helped the digital advertising sector continue to grow despite the disruption caused by the pandemic.
It comes as no surprise that many local businesses are looking to drive sales and increase engagement for their products/services, but the question begs how can one make the most out of your ad spend in this digital-focused environment?
We’ve done the research and compiled these four tips for your business to follow:
1. Identify and Target The Right Audience
Marketers live and breathe in a competitive world dominated by consumer audience data and many marketers need help identifying which campaigns can help them achieve greater engagement and reach. Let’s look at email marketing for example.
Email continues to be the main driver of customer retention and acquisition for small and midsize businesses. Email allows you to capture their attention so your brand is top of mind as you retarget your target audience on their respective mobile devices to help you achieve metrics that meet or exceed your performance goals.
Far too often we become focused on the simple core metrics and lose sight of the bigger picture. What is the bigger picture you ask? People-based metrics that focus on a real person.
Every marketing strategy is more effective when it’s targeted specifically to the right audience. Many marketers, especially newcomers, make the mistake of “optimizing” marketing strategies to reach as many people as possible. There is some credence to the idea that reaching more people gives you more potential visitors and customers. However, if your messages aren’t relevant, they aren’t going to resonate, and it won’t matter how many people you end up reaching. Even if you’re working with large volumes of customers, all your messaging should be specifically targeted.
The best way to target real, verified people is to work with a PII-based data provider who can connect your business with a sea of potential customers.
2. Consistency is King
Advertising is, in essence, telling a story. As a business owner, you are in control of this story – how it begins, what the lessons are along the way, and where people can hear the story itself. A big component of successful digital advertising is making sure this story makes sense, is applicable to your business, and is of interest to your potential customers.
Keep it short and sweet. Trying to sell too many products/services in an advertising campaign is a surefire way to confuse your potential customers. Pick something that you know will set you apart from your competition. By keeping your message consistent, your customers will eventually come to associate the message specifically with your brand, which is a true sign of advertising success!
3. Make Sure You Provide Easy to Consume Content
Over the past couple of years, many consumers have begun to lean on easy-to-consume, on-the-go content such as podcasts and newsletters. 55% of Americans are listening to podcasts and 99% of consumers are opening their email daily. With more advertisers investing in podcasts and email marketing in order to reach their customers, this is a prime opportunity for you to do so as well!
Easy to consume content can help brands connect on a deeper level with customers and provides a more intimate way to keep in touch. Email and podcasts aren’t the only ways to reach your customers. With many households switching to streaming services, Connected TV and OTT devices are another great way to increase your reach to new audiences. According to the IAB, 60% of US advertisers have shifted their budgets from linear TV to CTV/OTT this year.
4. Ditch What Isn’t Working
This last tip is an effective strategy that too many marketers are unwilling to follow. If you have your budget distributed evenly among 2-3 separate campaigns, and one is clearly getting inferior results compared to the others, don’t keep dumping your money into it—ditch it. There are some exceptions to this rule; some strategies, like SEO, take several months (depending on the competition) to fully develop. But for the most part, if you’re consistently seeing lackluster results from one of your investments, don’t invest any more money into it, even if its ROI is technically positive.
These tips are a lot to keep in mind, but they will prove invaluable to the success of your advertising campaigns and your business. Businesses have little time and money to waste, so successfully spending those assets when advertising is doubly crucial. By adhering to a few general guidelines, you will be doing your part to ensure that your advertisements reach as many potential customers as possible, and thus, ensuring that your business has its best fighting chance at success.
