As consumers we run across ads everyday, whether it’s on a billboard driving to work, social media, websites, TV streaming platforms, posters in stores, etc… Advertisements have a huge history and are still part of the marketing equation because ultimately, they work. So the question is, are you running ads for your business?
There are many benefits from running ads. The biggest benefit of running an ad is exactly what the definition of an ad is: you’re placing your service or product in front of an relatable audience, capturing their attention and encouraging them to take your intended action (purchasing, signing up for an email list, connecting with you, etc…) This is a great way to increase brand awareness!
With the digital technology we have today, you can target your specific audience and meet them where they’re at in the buyers’ journey. Including great hooks and action-provoking CTAs in your ads will significantly increase your chances of turning viewers into leads, and potentially close more sales. Increasing brand awareness is a good start to increasing your sales, and running ads for your business will help you get there.
Every advertisement you make may not perform well, but you can analyze each campaign to see what worked and what didn’t. You can then take this knowledge and apply it to your next campaign, so each one is more effective than the one before.
There are a lot of different ways to advertise. The way you format your ad depends on the platform you use, and the platform you choose depends on who your target audience is. If your target audience is 15-20 year-olds you likely won’t advertise on Facebook, because 15-20 year-olds these days are on TikTok, and maybe Instagram. Therefore, you should advertise on TikTok and Instagram.
Finding who your target audience is and where they spend their time will help you know where to place your advertisements and increase the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
Ads are investments into your company. They aren’t hard to create, it just takes time and market research. Spending money to run the ads could get your business life-long clients, increasing your brand’s overall success. Every business should be using ads to increase their brand reach.
It’s smart to test your ads by making a few variations and advertising them at low costs for a short amount of time. After your defined period of time, check the analytics of the ads and see what ad is performing better. Take the top (or top two) performing ads and run that ad at a higher cost for a long period of time.
This testing system increases ad effectiveness and cost efficiency so that you’re not wasting money into some ad that is not even attracting the interest of your target market. It's all a part of the strategic marketing process.
Running ad campaigns for your business is a great way to market yourself and should be included in all your marketing strategy. The business world is hard to break into with so many brands. It’s important to invest and put strategic effort into broadening your brand’s reach to help you break past your competitors.