Advertising Online: Innovative Marketing Strategies
For decades we’ve seen advertisements all around us. From commercials on television to billboards on the highway, and even products placements in our favourite movies. Even though these types of advertisements are still around, every year we see more and more companies expand their marketing. And the place they are expanding to is the digital world! Since everyone’s lives are so entwined with the internet, it makes sense that businesses want to use it to attract new customers. Along with the digital age, a new age of advertising has come, and with it a wide array of digital marketing techniques. To help business navigate complex digital marketing strategies, we’ve compiled a list of innovative strategies to use when advertising online.
Social Media Platforms
Social media had become integral in people’s daily lives. Nearly everyone uses it to interact with others, find entertainment, and stay up to date on news and trends. There are sites for everything, from entertainment-based platforms like TikTok and Instagram to socializing apps like Twitter and Facebook. Navigating through different social media is how many people engage with the world nowadays. So, for a business to stay relevant it’s important to stay active on as many social media platforms as possible. Some of the heavy hitters for business social media accounts include Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Facebook. Steady advertisements for new products, events, and promotions will help get the word out for your business. And with more frequent updates you can stay active on the timelines and keep ahead of your competitors.
When advertising online as a business social media account, it’s important to remember to put some “character” behind the posts. Don’t just think of your business’s social media as another place to display your advertisements. Think of it as a place to engage with your customers and a way to build a positive reputation for your company! In order to do that, make sure to sound enthusiastic and sincere when making your posts. Additionally, admins should try to make posts sound interesting in a way that audiences will engage with. For example, give your audience questions and prompts, like “share your favourite memory of using our products!”
Keeping Up with the Trends
If you’re running a social media account for your business, be sure to engage with trending news topics when relevant. For example, this Valentine’s day, many businesses were sharing the love with valentines day themed posts relating to their products. McDonald’s made a tweet that garnered 2.4 thousands likes! And depending on your brand, don’t be afraid to have a sense of humour with your social media approach. If a funny response from your business goes viral, that will generate plenty of traffic to your business! Building your brand’s social media presence will help you stay relevant in your audience’s daily routine, as they scroll through their timelines and see what your business has posted!
Google Ads
Another one of the major innovations of the digital age is the development of search engines, which have become an integral part of daily life. Whether people are finding directions to a new restaurant or searching for answers to settle an argument, anyone with a smartphone wind up “Googling” something several times a day. As so many people use Google multiple times daily, it only makes sense to use it for advertising. It’s much like how commercials found their way onto televisions and radios as more people began using them. And Google itself has been extremely helpful to businesses looking to advertise on their search engine. Google Ads is the search engine’s go-to method for displaying advertisements.
Formerly known as “Google Adwords,” Google Ads is a method of advertising based around search results that helps business connect with their targeted audience. Using their search engine technology, Google Ads helps businesses find customers as much as it helps customers find them. When users search for products and services, Google Ads will display advertisements for the most relevant businesses at the top of the search results.
Thanks to Google Ads, businesses can target their advertisements to people who are the most likely to need their services. Google Ads operate by pay-per-click, meaning you pay for the ad based on how many people are interacting with your advertisement. In other words, if nobody sees the ad or clicks on the link, then you won’t actually lose money on the venture! What’s more, you can increase the likelihood of your ad being seen by effectively using Search Engine Optimization methods. With well-placed SEO and the boost from Google Ads, your business could be the first result on a relevant search. With millions of people accessing Google on a daily basis, your business could be missing out if you don’t have advertising online set up with Google Ads!
Influencers and sponsorships
Finally, one of the most widespread new forms of advertising has been the rise in sponsorships with content creators. There are now more content creators online than ever before, covering everything from cooking tutorials to movie reviews. Using online platforms like Instagram and Youtube, there are thousands of talented people out there eager to show off their skills and materials. And many of these online creators have thousands or even millions of loyal followers looking at their content every week.
At times, content creators with a large number of followers have been called influencers. Businesses who sponsor these influencers can reach huge amounts of people. And unlike t.v. commercials, which have a limited run, advertisements included in posts or videos will be apart of that piece forever. So even if new followers find the post years later they will still see the sponsorship ad.
A potential sponsored influencer could range from an online celebrity to just a talented creator with a large following. Some influencers will actually become a spokesperson for a particular type of product or service. For example, there are makeup artists that audiences trust to endorse the best quality items. Alternatively, there are some influencers that are advocates for a certain brand. These types of influencers are called brand ambassadors. These people will work specifically for a brand to advertise and personally endorse their product. Influencers have become a new form of celebrity endorsement, with different scales of revenue depending on their platform and the revenue that they generate.
Since the internet has begun to grow and the amount of people on the net has increased, advertising has adapted dramatically. So, of course, advertising online the best strategy for businesses to build a reputation. By taking advantage of everyday programs like Google, campaigning on multiple social media sites, and recruiting popular content creators, businesses are keeping up with internet trends and staying ahead of their offline competitors.