What is online display advertising?
There are a few different forms, but the most common is the graphic, coloured banner adverts that you see across the internet when you are browsing web pages. They are usually animated with a few slides, and sometimes include short video clips within them.
Do they actually work for my business?
Yes. But the issue is that many businesses are using them, without fully understanding their benefit. Each business objective, and marketing strategy should match the benefit of the product.
So, where do they fit into a marketing strategy?
Online banner adverts have the same benefit of many traditional media forms – such as print, billboards, radio…etc. They generally fit into the ‘top of the funnel’ in a consumer journey (excluding re-targeting purposes), and are for raising awareness of your brand, but not necessarily to drive direct/quick response into your business, (However, when targeted and a strong message is included they can grab attention and be clicked on to drive potential customers straight to your site, but that isn’t the main reason you should incorporate them). They are taken in by consumers while consuming content online. This reinforces your branding, colours, products/services and builds familiarity with your brand. This is quite often subliminal where the consumers do not actively realise, they are absorbing a brands identity. Further down the line, when they need your product/service, they would be more likely to choose your business over any others if they have previously been exposed to it.
How can I make sure they are seen by the right people?
One of the benefits of using online display for awareness above traditional media is that you can specifically target people, based on their ‘online footprint’. By using cookies, (unfortunately not choc chip!), a profile of yourself is ‘built’ online. This means advertisers can specify the exact person they want their advert to show to. So, if you are a tradesman offering high-end kitchens for example, you can ensure your advert only appears to people that are homeowners, with some disposable income, and have actively viewed home improvement related articles recently. This prevents any wasted spend as the ads will only be shown to people that are most likely to be interested in your products or services.
But I have tried this before, and I never see my ads?
This is a common query. Because the adverts are set to only show to people that fit your target audience, you probably won’t. The ads are only shown to the people that are likely to react to it. If you’re a plumber, why would you need one? That impression (or view) is better served to a potential customer!
If I don’t see my ad…how do I know it’s worked, or I’ve got what I paid for?
Again, this is a common query. Unlike print, which is a tangible product, you get to see your advert on the page that week, the banners only show to a specified audience. However, full reporting can be given which will tell you how many times the advert was shown, how many times it was clicked on (but remember this isn’t the main focus), but also how long the advert was displayed for. An example report would say, 10,000 impressions (views), 20 clicks, 5 hours of exposure. This exposure time metric is great as that shows how long your branding has been visible to a potential customer, even if they didn’t click.
Further to this, part of monitoring your website is to make sure you are using Google Analytics – which is a free tool you should be using to monitor your website. Any display campaigns that you run should include a special code within the web link called a UTM parameter. This means it shows in your own reporting through analytics. It is a completely transparent form of advertising.
I’ve stumbled across a term ‘programmatic advertising’, what is this?
So, programmatic advertising is essentially setting the ‘rules’ for when you want your advert to appear, and then an ‘ad server’ (which is a platform that actually feeds the banner adverts onto the final website) – the Ad server knows which type of person you want to ad to appear for. Many websites, like news sites ‘link’ into an ad server, which has a ‘bank’ of adverts with rules assigned to them, so when a particular person visits a website, the ad server knows which ad to display. (There are other steps in this process, called the programmatic ecosystem, but I won’t bore you with all the intricacies! Feel free to give me a call if you want the specifics, but the important thing to know is that it makes sure your ad only shows to the correct type of person, relevant to your business).
Summary
To summarise, the ideal way to maximise your sales is to have a marketing mix. If you look into the consumer funnel, it is basically the journey people take before purchasing, generally speaking – Awareness (they need to know about your business) > Consideration/Research (where they compare products/companies in more details) > Purchase (once they have finally decided the product or company to use following all of the above steps).
Each type of marketing fits into different segments of the consumer journey, so running banner ads to make your phone ring off the hook isn’t likely to work, but when people are at the middle of the funnel, they would be more likely to choose you, if they’ve been exposed to banners of yours previously in their journey. Running above the line, or top funnel exercises increases your response and conversion rate from more targeting bottom funnel strategies.
It can all be quite complex, and overwhelming – that is where we come in. If you want any advice, with no obligation feel free to give us a call!