Social Media Advertisement Strategies
Remember my blog about Branding? I talked about creating your image; now, let's talk about presenting your idea to the world. Think of advertising as a way of branding your company. Many businesses are known for the type of advertising they do. I know I always talk about Starbucks, probably mentioned at least once in every post this year. Starbucks has created a brand that even if you have not tasted their coffee, you know who they are. They use images, videos, and interactions on social media to advertise and brand their business. This type of acknowledgment of your business will always be the goal.
Branding- the promotion of a particular product or company utilizing advertising and distinctive design.
Advertising - describe or draw attention to (a product, service, or event) in a public medium to promote sales or attendance.
97% of marketers use social media, and 78% of salespeople outsell their peers by using social media for their business. Social media marketing increases your brand awareness, increases traffic on your websites, and promotes products and services.
Your social media pages and websites play an essential role in your advertisements. If your ad creates interest to a consumer, your social media and website presence should be up to par as well. Strategically place your logos and learn to interact with your followers. Even though you place an ad on their timeline, you want to create a conversation about your business on your social platforms.
Be sure to know your audience; you don't want to advertise tampons to single hetero men. It's unlikely they will ever use or buy them for any reason. Make sure your customers know you can provide excellent customer service if a problem arises. By creating a conversation and provide customer service enables customer loyalty. (Dukart, Brady)
Social media advertising makes your products and business available on the market. Advertising gives consumers an idea of what's available to them. How many times have you scrolled your favorite social site and noticed a new product, whether it be clothes, shoes, home decor, or something as random as an accessory for your car? Since we live in a world where we are forced to wear masks every waking moment we are not in our homes' privacy, I noticed some changes to my face and lips. I kept wondering whether a product on the market would allow the mask to work correctly and keep the mask off my face. One day I was scrolling social media, and I saw an ad for "3D Mask Bracket". I had no idea if the ad was from a secure site, so I took off to Amazon to search, and I found it. Now think, why was this ad presented to me? Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all have algorithms they follow to advertise to specific consumers. On Facebook, I posted a lot about masks, selling, making, and how irritated I am about wearing them. It was only a split moment before I saw an ad about masks or mask accessories. I was targeted for this ad, but I have no complaints about this one. Sometimes the ads can be very random, or so you think, but if you do a quick search, it will relate to something you've posted or liked.
Let's talk about the ways you can present ads to consumers.
1. Utilize Search Engines
When you utilize search engine ads, it helps you become searchable on the internet. Millions of internet users search for products on Google or Bing daily. I'll use coffee as an example; if you were visiting a new city and looking for a good cup of coffee, you would search something like: "Best coffee near me." Several locations would show up. You choose your keywords and compete with other businesses to appear at the top of the search. Usually, if you "Google" something, it will show "Ad" just before the product's link. Search engine ads can be a bit pricey for smaller businesses but come in handy if you're looking for new customers.
2. Display Ads
Display or better known as banner ads, are a great way to get brand awareness. While consumers are reading news articles, blogs, or viewing other websites, the ad is in their eyesight. Banner ads can be placed on the top, bottom, sides, or the middle of content on website pages. Display ads will test your creativity; it must stick out and not blend with the content to be noticed.
3. Facebook Ads
Facebook has over one billion active users; why wouldn't you want to advertise there? Running an ad on Facebook is simple; you create your ad, then choose your objective, target audience, and budget. Facebook ads allow consumers to contact you directly or drive them to your website and gain brand awareness. The average cost per click on Facebook is only $1.72.
4. Instagram Ads
If you understand Facebook ads, then indeed, you can follow Instagram ads. If you have both Facebook and Instagram, you can run the same ad on both platforms.
5. YouTube Advertising
YouTube (who's owned by Google) serves as the second largest search engine. It makes sense to advertise on YouTube. Ads on YouTube are cost-effective, averaging $0.10-0.30 per click. More consumers, more exposure.
6. Retargeting Ads
Have you ever visited a site, say American Eagle, then scrolled to another website and saw an ad for American Eagle while scrolling? That's a retargeted ad. You have already expressed interest in the business by visiting the website, but they place ads of items you've viewed or new things you may like. If this has happened to you, you have been retargeted.
(Heitman, Stephanie)
If you pay attention to your surroundings, you will notice advertisements everywhere. Now think about where you see most of the advertisements presented to you? Adults in the US spend an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes across different platforms. (Bullock, Lilach, et al.) Make their time worth your time. You may see ads on billboards, but those are presented to those locally. If you live in a city of 100,000 citizens, your exposure would be to those 100,000 people (not including travelers). I know everyone has their opinion of social media, but it only makes perfect sense when there is potential to expose your business to over one billion consumers.
Bullock, Lilach, et al. “Global Social Media Research Summary August 2020.” Smart Insights, 7 Oct. 2020, www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/.
Dukart, Brady. “20 Benefits of Social Media Marketing Every Business Should Know.” CoSchedule Blog, 7 May 2018, coschedule.com/blog/benefits-of-social-media-marketing-for-business/.
Heitman, Stephanie. “6 Terrific Types of Online Advertising You Need to Try.” LOCALiQ, 4 Nov. 2020, localiq.com/blog/types-of-online-advertising/.
Jaleesa, this was a great way to introduce social media ads to those that may not be familiar with them. I love the example you mentioned about coming across a ‘3D Mask Bracket’ after mentioning masks on your various social media accounts. I experienced similar situations where products that I discussed or had recently shopped for popped up on my Facebook or Instagram, and I hated it. I researched how to turn off targeted ads on all my social accounts and now I browse pretty much ad-free. For me, I hate the feeling of being watched, and although I can’t completely stop this process because I still use major search engines and social platforms, it felt good being able to somewhat control my online experience. I understand that I am probably a rare breed among consumers, but my preferences are an example of how companies still should consider traditional advertising routes.
ReplyDeleteJaleesa,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post. It is very informative and insightful for those looking to utilize online marketing and advertisements. I do not think companies truly reach their full potential in the arena of online advertising, and this is a good guide to get them started. For example, search engine ads can be very useful. If you search for a specific hotel, a similar hotel in the area you search could come up in the results list. Those particular ads, a lot of the time, are listed above the specific hotel you search. These particular ads, either by mistake or on purpose, could deviate the searcher from their original target. Social media ads can be very useful as well. People are already looking at their social media feed, so it is helpful to show them ads while they are on their page. I had not thought about retargeting ads. We get them all the time, but they most definitely can be a very useful marketing and advertising tool.