Digital advertising is an incredibly interesting field, rife with potential. When businesses figured out they could do their advertising and marketing online, a whole new world of commerce opened up. Testing, tracking and dispersing ads became exponentially easier and more intuitive.
However, after a while, the public responded to digital ads the same way they had responded to television and radio ads in the past. Nobody has ever liked being forced to digest a message they didn’t choose to digest, and the digital era didn’t change that fact. Soon enough, ad blockers were rampant through the digital sphere and click-through rates began to drop.
The simple fact of the matter is this: As time goes on, it becomes increasingly difficult to reach markets through digital advertising.
The mistake many businesses make
But that isn’t stopping businesses from trying. 80 billion has been spent so far globally on Google and Facebook advertising alone, despite average click-through rates of between 1-2% in the US and most other countries (1.57% in Australia).
Digital advertising can only thrive if everything is tracked comprehensively and optimised regularly. You should know exactly what each dollar of spend is going to do for you, both immediately and in the future.
But despite the discouraging statistics, you can exceed the average click-through rate if you target interested and motivated consumers. A great ad that grabs attention and leads to a sale is an ad that your target demographic is pleasantly surprised by. The ad must offer value in and of itself, and promise additional value for engagement.
How to get more bang for your buck when it comes to digital advertising
If marketers are able to present campaign assets to people who benefit immediately from the information, they tend to find much greater success. Consumers who see relevant and targeted ads understand the value of what’s being offered immediately, and tend to have a burning and immediate need for the thing being advertised. It sounds difficult to achieve, and to a degree it is, but with the right tracking and creative in place it’s absolutely achievable.
Test your messaging, your calls to action, your pricing models and the mediums through which you advertise. Test and challenge who your target market is, what they fear most and what they desire most. Often times, a business owner will create a product and then find that the public use it for something other than intended.
Keep an open mind and be willing to change your marketing and/or target audience to be effective, even if the public and the numbers take your business somewhere you never anticipated it going. If you have an attitude of collaboration and not resistance with your audience, you’ll find your marketing rhythm in no time.
