Digital Advertising Platforms and Choosing The Right One

The internet and advertising, a match made in heaven?

Yes, if you can find the right platform for you. There are many many options available to you but here are so,me of the big ones:

Google Adwords, Yahoo/Bing Ads, YouTube Ads, Amazon Ads, Mobile App Ads, Remarketing Ads, Audio/Video Streaming Ads, Email Content, Website Banners and Sponsored Content.

The easiest way to figure out what system is best for you is to analyse your goal and audience together… The platform. The filters. The spend. The design. The ad copy.

Here are some examples that should help you analyse you personal situation and develop a system that is a best fit for your business.

Remarketing Ads

Have you ever browsed a website for a product and then seen that same product advertised on your Facebook feed the very next day? Happens to me all the time, it’s almost scary the accuracy with which these ads target my wants and needs. That is the power of remarketing ads and it happens through your own little cookies. Advertisers can serve up extremely targeted ads to you. By using remarketing for your website, you can catch the attention of people who have already visited your site. Using a platform like Google Adwords or Multiview to manage your ads. It is up to you to be strategic with your visuals and ad copy and consider an offer or key selling point to drive them back to your site for a purchase. Remarketing generally sees high click-thru rates at an affordable cost, because you are targeting people who already know who you are.

Remarketing might be useful for someone who has a business website that gets a lot of traffic but relatively few return viewers or conversions.

Google Adwords and Yahoo/Bing Ads

These platforms are regularly recommended because they are so flexible, have many budget options and can be super targeted. Google, in particular, is so often the starting point for anyone seeking a vendor, product or service. Adwords is a great way to beat your competition, who appear in the organic results, and also provides more information in the link, like phone number and address.

Adwords can take some time to setup and different dynamics like time of day, location, and mobile vs desktop. Once you have personalized you approach, Adwords can consistently bring in suitable visitors who are not affected by your competitors.

Google Adwords is the good recommendation for someone with a niche clientele who is looking to drive people to their website and produce conversions in the form of a phone call, email link click or request for more info.

Audio Ads, YouTube Ads, In-Game Ads

Music and video streaming and mobile app gaming are boomed in the past few years and there is a huge market to advertise to, particularly to the teen and young-adult generations. Music streaming advertising through platforms like Spotify or Pandora is a great option. Make sure you target by location and music genres to advertise to the right people. Popular musicians are a good bet. Like music streaming, YouTube ads are quite powerful. They may be disruptive but continued exposure will see the user familiarising and identifying with your company. Make sure you get your message out very quickly as you the ad can be skipped in 4 seconds for all but those with mega-budgets. Xbox and Playstation live gaming services are another way to advertise, and will do so in between games and also directly in game. Gaming is very popular amongst teens and young adults and surprisingly receives an even split between the genders. Likewise, in app advertising can be very powerful.

These platforms would appeal to someone who has a new product, targeting teens and young adults, that is new and awareness creation is very important.

Local Mobile App Ads

Of all time spent on a mobile devices, 89% of it is spent in a mobile app (the remaining 11% is on the mobile web). This has continued to increase each year. To harness this power you need to identify your audience and what apps they are likely to use. The most popular apps amongst your target audience is a great beginning. Platforms like InMobi and AdMobi can set-up ads, select your targeting features (age, demographics, location, apps) and manage ads from one interface. These are based on a pay per click model.

This is an attractive platform for local businesses who think that radio and tv ads are too expensive and don’t work. You want to remind your local consumers who you are.

Sponsored Content

Sponsored content, as it is widely accepted in the digital publishing world, refers to editorial content that is paid for by a brand; in other words, sponsored articles. It is paid ads that are so cohesive with the page content, assimilated into the design, and consistent with the platform behaviour that the viewer simply feels that they belong. Advertising that doesn’t feel like advertising, sounds promising right? The way to go about this is contacting publications that your target audience reads often and asking if they accept sponsored content. Supply them with your blog post and for a fee they will run it on their site, getting much more shares and views and engagements than it would on your own company website. Or, see if you can agree to a deal where they feature your blog post in their next email campaign.