By Sharon Jones
Whatever your product or service is that you’re trying to get people to buy, it’ll be next to impossible to get the kind of traction you need to be a success if you’re not doing some kind of paid advertisements. We know what you’re thinking: ‘paid advertisements? I thought organic growth was much better.’ That’s true when it comes to how many Facebook followers you have and the like, but make no mistake: you need paid advertising. Everyone is doing it, including the big brands, and if you’re not then you’re bound to be left behind.
Source: Pexels.com
Traditional Advertisements
It’s funny that there’s such as ‘traditional advertising’ in the digital space, because it’s such a newly developed space. But if we can think of anything as traditional online, it’s banner advertising. It’s not fair to see that banner advertisements are ineffective, because they’re not - they do get results. However, for how long they’ll be effective is the real issue. There’s a downward trend that suggests the days of the banner ad are numbered. Some experts think that banner ads will not exist on mobile after the next few years, and with increasing levels of internet traffic coming from mobile devices, this all but spells the end for this method. Use it now if you like, but you probably shouldn’t have it at the heart of your long term strategy.
Social Media
Social media advertising is able to show a resilience that other advertising models are not able to show. This is partly because of how many people use social media sites every day, but also because of how advertisements are displayed. For example, unlike most websites (including Google), Facebook advertising will not be affected by adblocking software. It’s natively inserted into the feed of specific demographics that you have targeted for your advertisement. There aren’t many places online where you can have your brand shown just to the people who might become adds, and because of this it’s able to be a highly effective marketing tool.
Stealth Advertising
You know what you would do if you visited a site and a pop up for a product interrupted your experience. You’d click the ‘X’ of the ad and then, unless the content was unmissable, promptly leave the website. Now imagine if people were reading an advertisement of yours and didn’t even know? This is a form of stealth marketing whereby you connect yourself as part of a broader theme. For example, if you ran a website that sold running shoes and you had a blog titled ‘Best Running Routes in California’, people would read the article and already be in place to buy your product.
Right to the Phone
Finally, it’s worth taking a look at SMS marketing messages, which, done properly, can be a highly effective way to advertise. You have to be careful and ensure you’re not bombarding customers with annoying messages, but if you limit your ads to 2 or 3 a month and monitor response, you might just see results.
