The Value of Multi-Channel Advertising and How to Get it Right
These days, there are so many different places where a small business can be seen online.
Smart small business marketing is all about making sure you’re as visible as possible anywhere and everywhere someone might be looking for what you have to offer. That’s where multi-channel advertising comes in.
Be visible with multi-channel advertising
There’s a lot of competition out there, which can drive the cost of advertising up. Break the cycle of the competitive bidding game by making sure that your brand is the first thing people think of.
You want to make sure that you have a visible presence wherever people are looking, so that when they’re ready to take the leap to make a purchase or schedule a payment, you’re there.
That is what multi-channel advertising is all about.
Which channels should you focus on?
There are so many different channels out there that you could advertise on, but unless you have an endless advertising budget, you won’t be able to have a presence on them all.
When developing your multi-channel advertising strategy, keep in mind that not every channel will be right for you. The right channel will depend on your goals, customer base and industry.
In general, here are a few of the best advertising channels to focus on your efforts on:
Google is always going to be the channel that you want to round out your advertising strategy with, and it’s all about making sure that you’re visible when someone is searching for you or what you have to offer.
Although it’s been around for a very long time, it’s still king as far as users go. People spend so much of their time on Facebook, and best of all, many of them are actively looking for brands or local businesses.
Instagram has gained so much popularity and traction over the last few years. What used to be a very limited channel as far as advertising is concerned has become a lot more usable, and is now a key advertising channel for many brands.
YouTube
Video advertising on YouTube is an effective way to get your message out, yet YouTube advertising is still very underutilized. As fewer people are watching traditional television and more people are streaming YouTube, smart marketers have graduated from expensive television commercials to video ads on YouTube.
For some businesses — particularly B2B companies – LinkedIn is an important advertising channel. And while it may be smaller than other ad channels, it allows for more accurate, targeted campaigns.
Spotify/Pandora
If YouTube is the new television, Spotify, Pandora and other music streaming services are the new radio. People spend a lot of time on these apps, and Spotify and Pandora advertising is an effective way to get in front of a wider audience.
How to do multi-channel advertising effectively
Identifying the right channels to advertise on is just the first step in creating an effective multi-channel advertising campaign.
Here are a few tips for doing multi-channel advertising effectively
Provide value
Nothing makes someone want to click away from your ad more than an overtly salesly message.
Instead, provide value with your ads. Give information away for free. Show consumers how your product works. Talk about your services and how people can take advantage of them.
Maybe, after all is said and done, they still don’t go with you. Add value anyway. Eventually, they will recognize the value that you’re providing and choose you.
This strategy is so much more effective than aggressively pushing sales. It just might take a little longer to pay off.
Target the right audience
You can’t expect for your message to resonate with everyone. And regardless of what industry you’re in, chances are, some people will want or need what you have to offer, and others won’t.
One of the reasons why traditional outbound forms of marketing, like television ads, don’t work as well is because they are about getting a single message to as many people as possible and hoping it sticks.
Advertising on popular channels, like Facebook and Google, is most effective when it’s targeted. With targeting, you’ll get more bang for your buck by only advertising to people who are already interested in what you have to offer.
You can also create lookalike audiences based on your existing customer case.
Monitor your results
Get more out of your advertising investment by closely monitoring your results, and by doing more of what’s working for you and less of what’s not. But, which data points are most valuable to keep track of?
Unlikely though it may be, monitoring engagement can be a great way to gauge the success of your campaigns.
The more likes, shares and comments your ads get, the more trust it builds with future users who see your ad. When people see that others are engaging with your content, it’s going to give your ad more credibility and social proof.
Sometimes, it can be misleading to focus solely on the conversion rate, as not every sale will be direct. But, if you see engagement increasing, that means it’s a good ad and that people are liking it, which is just going to equate into sales eventually,
If you want market share, it starts with mindshare.
The Marketing 360® Ads app has all of the tools you need to run and monitor ad campaigns across all of the most popular channels. Plus, work with our team of professional ad specialists and marketing experts who can help you maximize your efforts and get the best possible return on your investment.
