Paid media is a digital marketing component that allows brands to pay for placement. This means you’re essentially buying visibility. That could include on search engines like Google or Bing. Other options include social media feeds and apps. Beyond this, ecommerce sites like Amazon are also an option.
It’s hard to stand out in an increasingly saturated digital space. That’s why a paid media strategy is so crucial for many brands. An effective approach can help you grab the attention of audiences that may not have come across your product or service otherwise.
Paid Media Best Practices
Implementing paid media into your overall marketing plan can increase brand awareness, direct more traffic to your website, generate leads, and ultimately drive more conversions. Not sure where to begin? These best practices can help set you off on the right foot.
Audit First
As with all digital marketing tactics, we recommend starting with an audit. Collecting and analyzing information about your target market, current SEO, social media presence, website usability, accessibility, and overall design can help you figure out which approach (or approaches) might be most fruitful.
Determine Your KPIs
Before diving in with a PPC (pay-per-click) campaign, launching branded social media posts, becoming a sponsored brand on Amazon, or implementing a traditional paid search strategy, it’s important to determine your KPIs (key performance indicators).
You might focus on impressions, cost per click, or CTR (click-through rate). Or maybe your strategy is more about conversions, CPA (cost per action), or search impression share. In any case, KPIs can tell you how effective your efforts are.
Embrace Targeted Ads
Targeted ads have somewhat of a bad rap because they depend on online data collection. But on the other hand, they provide consumers with personalized content they’re more likely to find useful than traditional broad stroke advertising.
Currently, social media advertising accounts for about 15% of the world’s total ad spend, and that number is expected to grow. The fact of the matter is people are more likely to engage with content tailored to their behaviors, preferences, and tastes. Ecommerce has become a major part of the social media experience, and brands are smart to embrace the trend with a paid social strategy.
Create Videos
Over the last several years, video content has evolved into a crucial component of paid media. As smartphones become more efficient and internet speeds get faster, you can expect it to become even more prominent.
If you think video creation is more effort than it’s worth, get this: Almost two-thirds of consumers have purchased something after watching a branded video on their social feeds. Not only that, but 93% of brands have gained new customers by running sponsored video campaigns.
Be Transparent
An effective paid media strategy is all about trust. Though most consumers are well aware of the abundance of marketing pushed their way on a daily basis, they still care about transparency. In fact, 80% say their trust in a brand is a deciding factor for making purchases.
Things like Google AdWords, Amazon Sponsored Products, and paid social media promotions automatically disclose that the content is an ad or a sponsored post. However, if you meander into influencer and affiliate marketing, you (or your partners) will need to clearly state when a poster is compensated. Make sure you’re upfront about the ways you collect data from your customers. You can do this by making your privacy policy easily accessible. Finally, get consent if your website uses cookies.
Partner with a Digital Marketing Agency
While online advertising is more accessible than ever, the world of paid media is complex. For many brands, partnering with a digital marketing agency is the best path forward.
We are seasoned paid media professionals. We can help you develop a data-driven PPC strategy. From fine-tuning targeted ads to innovative analytics to track your audience’s experience. Get in touch with us to learn more about what we do and how we might be able to help your brand.
