Top 10 paid media strategies

AGS takes a look at the importance of paid media and the top 10 strategies for implementing a paid media campaign

Paid media, by definition, refers to external marketing efforts that involve a paid placement. Paid media includes PPC advertising, branded content and display ads. It is essential for any company or affiliate to utilise paid media if they wish to grow their revenue and brand awareness online.

Different types of media

There are three types of media that we must define before diving into the paid media world. These are:

• Owned media – this comes in the form of a blog, website or other web resources that are in your full control.
• Organic media – this type of content is the free content that travels across the web. Implement a good SEO strategy and there is a good chance that Google will rank your content on its first page. Furthermore, the more popular your page is the better it will rank.
• Paid media – This involves paying a third party to display your message to a wider audience.

A good combination of the three will help increase brand awareness and reputation. Using platforms such as social media could be beneficial as you will be able to build a strategy that blends the three all together.

Importance of Paid Media

Some brands might be wary of paying that bit extra for exposure, especially if they are ranking high on Google and their organic content is generating satisfying traffic numbers. However, paid media remains the best way to generate traffic to your website. Organic and paid media can work in tandem with each other. Paid media also serves as the perfect way to crack open certain doors which can propel your brand to new levels. Moreover, paid media is very easy to track so marketers will be able to evaluate the ROI on specific posts and whether the paid posts were worth it.

Paid media will act as a pivotal feature to increase brand awareness and it is especially important for startups who are trying to get their name out there and build brand recognition.

Paid media strategies

The following are what to include in your paid media strategy to make sure that the campaign will be as effective as possible.

Influencer marketing

One of the most effective forms of paid media is by using an influencer marketing strategy. Consumers may get frustrated by being interrupted by ads and spam messages, so much so that a high number of consumers use an ad blocking software. Influencer marketing helps you avoid this barrier. Find content creators who love your brand and are able to produce amazing content. Building partnerships in this sector is vital as influencers are a one-person team that can produce – photos and videos while also being incredible storytellers. Moreover, their followers will look to them for advice and new products so it increase brand awareness considerably.

Test, Test, Test

Continuously test your campaigns, never take them for granted. Trends are constantly changing especially in this day and age so it is important never to get too comfortable with your methods or you may get left behind. Evaluate and measure every single variable and apply changes were it is necessary – this will definitely keep you ahead of the competition as you will develop new ways on how to target your audience.

Video content

Video content is important as ever nowadays. Consumers want to be captivated in the shortest time possible and it is more likely that people will enjoy a video rather than written text.

According to a number of studies:

• 64% of consumers will make a purchase after watching a branded video
• 93% of brands achieved new customers through video advertising
• Videos are by far the consumers’ favourite type of content

Videos may be that bit more expensive but the return on investment is definitely worth it.

Testimonials

What better way to showcase the benefits of your brand than through customer success stories. Testimonials are the best way to describe the advantages of your product and service – so use them! Even if it means boosting them through paid media. Consumers will be able to provide unique feedback from their personal experience and could push more consumers towards choosing your brand over your competitor. The authentic love will give you brand credibility.

Instagram stories

As previously stated, video content is important and Instagram is a great platform for this. Smartphones have taken over our daily life and, therefore, brands are constantly adopting new ways to engage customers through social media. With over 500 million daily active users, Instagram stories are the perfect solution for that return you’ll crave from your paid media campaign. Brands will be able to use Instagram stories to build interactive features on their ads which will enable participation and help develop a connection with your consumers.

Diversify channels

Facebook and Instagram are the go to social media platforms as they both offer a number of tools that benefit the marketer. Keep in mind that different consumers use different platforms, according to their preference so always think about who you are trying to reach.

For example, many brands are leveraging TikTok for brand exposure especially if your audience is the younger generation. TikTok has taken over and running an ad on this short-video platform could increase impressions drastically. To leverage TikTok, you will need to collaborate with an influencer as paid options like Facebook and Instagram are not available.

Unique landing pages

People have finally clicked on your paid ad, but now what? The information they find after clicking the paid ad is vital. Make sure it will be worth their while and, on the other hand, you are paying for that click so make sure that every click counts. To do this, create unique landing pages for each ad that shows you are fulfilling the adverts promise. Make sure the landing page is relevant to the keywords used and audience being targeted. Landing pages should include:

• 500-600 words
• Keywords in header, title and inside the content
• Paragraph description of your company and policies such as warranties
• Trust texts – why should the user trust you?

Attractive Offers

Identify and implement attractive offers that will make people want to click on your ad. Keywords play a big part over here as these would likely determine whether a consumer would click on your ad over a competitors. Use incentives to attract consumers such as free trials or consultations – giving that extra incentive to your audience.

Identify negative keywords

Primary and secondary keywords are extremely important when implementing a sound SEO strategy. These keywords also play an important role in paid media campaigns but so are negative keywords. Marketers must identify those keywords to avoid in their ads so that there won’t be any useless clicks that are not relevant to the brand’s end goals. For example, words that give the impression that what you are advertising is “free” or “discounted” could have a negative impact as ultimately, you are looking for paying customers.

Go were your audience is

Although paid media allows you to reach a wide audience with your ads, you still won’t manage to reach everyone. Moreover, if you are implementing a pay-per-click campaign, then truth be told, you wouldn’t want to reach everyone. Your main aim will be to target a specific audience that will benefit your brand. Figure out who your audience are and analyse where they frequent online – evaluate what they search and use Google ads since the majority of your audience would probably be using the search engine.

The beauty of paid media is that you can limit the types of sites you show up on in the display network according to what your audience fancies, while you are also given the option to prioritise certain social media platforms depending on your audience’s preference.

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