Fundamentals of Digital Marketing: Do’s and Don'ts of Paid Media
What Is Paid Media?
In order to understand the importance of paid media, we first have to understand what it is. Paid social media refers to anything on social media that’s influenced by advertising dollars. Here’s a quick example:
Let’s say you want to create an ad on Facebook. You add an image, a read-worthy caption, and then hit publish. Rather than just letting the post organically (naturally) reach whoever is in your friends’ network, you can pay to have the ad reach a specific audience and to run for a certain timeframe. This way, you cast a wider net and are able to reach far more people.
A Digital Marketing Necessity
Social media is a business necessity, and it’s free, which makes it all the more attractive to both small and large businesses alike. However, as with most things, “free” will only get you so far. In order to customize your viewers and reach an untapped audience, businesses have to “pay to play”, as the saying goes.
In today’s digital marketing age, a staggering three-fourths of marketers run paid campaigns. This means that the already-saturated world of social media is even more competitive. Companies that choose not to pay for advertising run the risk of being drowned out by the content put out by their competitors.
Benefits Of Paid Media
There Are Many Benefits To Using Paid Social Media, But We’ve Highlighted A Few That We Feel To Be The Most Important:
Guaranteed Reach - The organic reach of social media posts is a dwindling number. Paid social guarantees your content will reach a larger audience.
Target Relevant Customers - In addition to reaching more people, you can target your most relevant customers by customizing your ad to reach people based on characteristics that you specify, from age to geographical location.
Invaluable Audience Insight - Targeted paid social media ads can teach you a ton about your audience through metrics that measure things like which content garners the most engagement, who is most likely to view and connect with your content, and how well your paid ads perform when compared to your native ones.
The Do’s And Don’ts Of Paid Media Social Ads
Do:
Use engaging, strategic language - Words and images are your only method of communicating with your audience, so it’s key to get your messaging just right.
Use calls to action (CTAs) - in addition to writing content that your audience will engage with, be sure to tell your audience what to do next. Examples are: “Comment below,” or “Reach out to us today”
As a side note here, have as few barriers to entry as possible. For example, if you’re asking your audience to connect with you, include a link to the Contact form on your website so that they are just one click away from reaching out to you.
Be consistent - From platform to platform, your audience should be able to recognize your brand. Be sure to keep your messaging, images, tone and voice consistent.
Monitor your data and analytics - Digital marketing puts so much information in your hands. You can use it to your advantage by targeting specific demographics and lifestyles, and understanding the reach you have based on the dollars you spend.
Use A/B Testing - Testing which marketing materials work best for your audience makes the difference between a campaign with a great conversion rate, and one that fails to connect with your audience. Create two pieces of content with a similar message and goals, then see which one performs the best in terms of conversions.
Don’t:
Use click-baity language - authenticity is key when it comes to brand voice and tone, so be sure to make your messaging true to your brand’s personality. Your audience will catch any attempts at being baited and they won’t be hooked.
Be too wordy - the key is for your messaging to be concise, clever, and engaging. Anything longer than 400 characters, and you’ve likely lost your audience.
Post randomly - There needs to be a strategy behind your posting. Each platform has specific days/times when traffic is at its peak and is more likely to garner engagements. Schedule wisely!
Switch gears too quickly - Paid media, as with any digital marketing strategy, takes time to yield results. It’s important to let your campaigns run, optimize and work for you before you make any decision about their effectiveness. Once your campaign is running, give it the time it needs and take a full look at your data before making any changes.
The key takeaway here is that paid social media advertising is a must if you want to reach and engage with your audience. Hopefully, you’ve found tips here that can help you get started. If you’ve read through this whole thing and are sold on this idea, but don’t know where to start, we’re here to help!
Hackett Brand Consulting has a mission to make a positive impact on the world, and we combine that with our marketing knowledge and experience to bring your brand’s mission and vision to life. We can help you increase your brand’s visibility, and find your audience through media that converts potential customers into your most loyal brand supporters. Contact us today!
(See what we did there? One-click CTA!)