Starting a new business or hoping to take your current one to the next level? The internet is your most important tool in doing so, and there’s no way around it. Ever since the internet came along and companies and brands started having an online presence, their numbers have exponentially improved due to the power of the digital world. More and more businesses are allocating huge sums of their budgets to capitalize on that power. They’re aware that people spend a lot of time online, checking social media and searching for whatever services or products they want. If you want your company to be a part of that success, you need to be well aware of the different types of internet advertising you could utilize to promote your brand.
Display ads
This is one of the most famous and efficient paid forms of online advertising. Displayed ads use text and images to promote a certain brand, and you see them almost every day when you’re surfing the internet. Their most popular forms are banners, landing pages, wallpapers from a website, flash ads, videos that play automatically on landing pages, and those pesky pop-ups that you get when you’re checking out a new website. The thing about display ads is the fact that they don’t appear in search results, and they’re usually quite affordable too. They’re usually displayed on third party websites, which means their rates will vary from one to the other. They’re one of the most successful forms of online advertising and have a pretty high conversion rate.
Social media ads
You’ve definitely also come across those, probably on a daily basis. Ever been scrolling on your Facebook homepage and found an ad on the right side? This is a clear example of social media ads, and it’s one you stumble upon a lot. They’re also very efficient and can bring a lot of traffic to your website. In 2015, social media commerce brought in a whopping $30 billion in the US, which goes to show how effective they can be. The great thing about social media ads is the fact that they target your audience in very specific ways. For instance, Facebook takes into consideration factors like age, region, education, interests, and much more.
They can either be organic or paid, the first being a simple form of word of mouth and the second leveraging promoted posts and targeted reach. The best platforms for this kind of advertising are LinkedIn for B2B sales and Facebook for general marketing purposes.
Search engine marketing (organic and paid)
You’ve probably heard the term SEO plenty of times, and it’s the most powerful tool in the age of the internet and one that all companies must utilize. This is where you rank organically in the search results for relevant keywords and this brings you a tone of traffic; you do not have to pay to be at the top. Of course, you’ll have to invest in amazing content plus link building to help get you there but once you are there the reward is massive.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for a quick win you could hire a company that offers ppc services. Pay per click is where you are essentially bidding against other companies for your ad to be displayed at the top of the search results. This means you can get an instant return and unlike with SEO, you don’t have to wait months to be at the top of the search results you can be there instantly.
Native advertising
Ever been reading a blog post and found a sponsored ad at the end recommending you check this website for more information? You sometimes find it at the end of Facebook posts as well and other social media platforms. This is called native advertising. The thing about this form of ads is the fact that it’s usually hidden in the page, and they come in different forms: In-feed, search ads, recommendation widgets, and promoted listings. Native advertising is one of the most popular forms of online ads because it doesn’t feel intrusive and is quite easy on the eyes.
Video ads
If you’ve ever been on YouTube, you’ll have encountered a video ad one way or another, but there are actually other forms of those. You don’t have to create that quick, short video. Some creators opt for educational ads that might be informative or would help people know how to do something specific. It’s very important to create a captivating visual story because people are very receptive to visual stimuli and capitalizing on this could do your business a world of good. Another great feature of video ads is the number of platforms you can post them on, like YouTube, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Vimeo, Hulu, AOL, and plenty more. This means that your ad has the potential of reaching a huge audience if you use just a few of those different platforms.
Email marketing
Of all the different marketing and advertising approaches online, email marketing is probably one of the most important and marginalized. It yields great results, yet many people forget about it. It’s fast, cheap, and pretty effective and could do a lot of good for your business. After you build a list of email addresses, you need to use an email campaign manager to prepare and send your emails, as well as track their ROI and how well they do. The thing about this approach is the fact that it creates a personalized ad that is tailored to each specific customer based on their previous patterns, which makes it a very powerful tool in promoting your product/service, and it’s a tool people could really come to appreciate.
There are other forms of online advertising, and you need to look into each and every one of them to understand which would work best for your business. They all have different budgets and functions, so it’s imperative you fully understand how each works so you could properly use it in your marketing strategy. Internet marketing is indispensable today for any business hoping to grow, and if you play your cards right, it can take your entire brand to a whole new level. This is why you have to research and utilize some of these approaches.
