Display ads that don’t engage aren’t effective, and different objectives require different approaches. Read on for five best practices for choosing the right selection of ads for your next campaign.
1. Determine your objectives
Before you can choose the right ads, you need to have a deep understanding of the objectives of your campaign. Are you trying to bring awareness to your brand? Generate leads? What are you trying to accomplish with your marketing campaign?
2. Determine your target audience(s) and where to advertise
Knowing your target audience is crucial to advertising success. The demographic and psychographic information detailed in a marketing persona can provide guidance for selecting the right ads and predicting their probable impact. Is your target market more likely to view the ad on a PC or a mobile device? Where are they located? What publications are preferred? These are just a few of the questions that need to be asked before investing in a display ad.
3. Determine your budget
As with other important marketing tasks, it is essential to determine a budget. Ads should, of course, drive engagement with your brand. What is an acceptable amount of money to spend on this task and what return is required to justify the expense? These are strategic considerations that should precede purchasing ad space. A fee is generally charged for every thousand impressions, defined widely as views of the ad. Whether this leads to actual click-throughs and further communication with your brand depends on several factors, including ad design, the relevance of the ad, and the offering of an incentive for clicking.
4. Create a sense of urgency and communicate a single CTA
Ads that do not include clear calls to action will be unlikely to drive engagement. They will also prove more difficult to measure with any real precision. The simple act of including a concise call to action can improve engagement rates. One recent study by HubSpot found that including a CTA in the anchor text of the ad itself led to a 121% increase in conversion rates.
A well-designed ad conveys a sense of urgency with words like, “Act Now” and “For a limited time only.” It also clearly states what action the advertiser wants the prospect to take. Clarity facilitates the process of measuring ROI further down the funnel. If the ad directs the customer to “click here,” for example, the click-through rate can be analyzed in relation to the cost spent per thousand impressions. While click-throughs are not direct predictors of sales, they show interest and allow sales associates to make better decisions about who to engage – this saves money in the long run and tends to improve ROI.
5. Embrace a multichannel approach
Display ads are a single advertising tactic, and the impact they have may depend on previous attempts to engage the target market, as well as other marketing efforts. Because print and digital both come with unique benefits and drawbacks, a multichannel approach tends to realize the greatest gains in the long run. For more on this topic, be sure to check out our infographic on this topic.
SAGE provides both traditional and high-impact digital advertising solutions. With banner ads available in a range of sizes and rich media options like interstitial and sticky ads, we’ve got you covered! We offer tailored options to meet your advertising needs, including geo-targeting and website linking, and can provide usage reports allowing you to calculate your return on investment.
Reach out to see how we can help drive engagement with your brand today!