How to Get the Most Out of Digital Advertising

There’s a reason why companies allocate a high percentage of their marketing dollars to online efforts. Digital advertising allows businesses to reach a highly targeted audience. Thanks to a continually expanding platform, different types of digital advertising have become one of the most crucial ways of acquiring new customers. As a result, businesses should learn how to get the most out of digital advertising. 

According to Statista, companies spent $356 billion on different types of digital advertising in 2020. Experts predict the number will grow to $460 billion by 2024. Now is the time to make your plan for the rest of the year.

What are the different types of digital advertising? Most experts agree there are a handful of main kinds. Let’s start by looking at each and how your business can make the most of each one.

1. Display Ads

When you think of different types of digital advertising, you likely think of display ads as one of the most common ones. A display ad includes an image, text, and some type of call to action (CTA). 

Your display ads can be static or animated. The sizes sometimes vary. A display ad appears on websites. If you use Google to serve the ads, you can specify the type of sites you’d like them to appear. You can also buy banner space directly from each website where you’d like to place your ad.

Display Ad Hacks:

• Make sure images are relevant.
• Keep it short and to the point.
• Advertise on sites where your target audience is likely to visit. 
• Create a landing page to better track how well each buy does.

Display ads are still an effective way of reaching large groups of people online. 

2. Social Media

Hootsuite’s The Global State of Digital 2021 shows a massive increase in social media usage. About 1.3 million new users joined every day throughout 2020, for an average of 15 new users every second. 

Of the different types of digital advertising, social media allows you the most creativity. You can come up with an image, text, or video. You can do an entire campaign centered around a storyline, create unique characters, or run a survey. 

Social Media Ad Hacks:

• Decide if you want a paid ad or organic. Paid you set a dollar amount to reach a specified audience, while organic goes on your business page and generates organic interest.
• Be unique. Don’t try to repeat what competitors do.
• Know your audience, so you know which platforms to try.
• Engage with users. People like the back and forth of a conversation on social media.
• Seek out brand ambassadors.

Make sure you carefully track each paid ad or post’s effectiveness to see if your efforts are paying off. If not, you may need to rethink your audience or strategy. 

3. Search

When it comes to search advertising, there isn’t another name other than Google Ads. You can, of course, also have a presence on different search engines, but you’ll never see the traffic you’ll get from Google. That may change one day, but Google must be part of any PPC or SEO strategy for now. 

With search advertising, you’ll find keywords you wish to rank for. You can approach those words with a couple of strategies. You can attempt to rank high on search engine results pages (SERPs). Or, you can pay for placement, known as pay per click (PPC). 

Search Hacks:

• Use Google predictive text to find popular searches.
• Pay attention to “People Also Ask” and look for semantically related keywords.
• Use PPC for the top couple of choices that seem to have a high rate of return. 
• Keep track of what words your competitors rank for.

Although you’ll consider keywords for different types of digital advertising, it is perhaps most important to search ads.

Make sure you carefully track each paid ad or post’s effectiveness to see if your efforts are paying off. If not, you may need to rethink your audience or strategy. 

4. Native Ads

Native ads are similar to display features but are very highly targeted to your ideal audience. You might see a native ad as a recommendation based on past behavior online. They appear on different platforms, such as Google, Amazon, and email. 

Understand that some people find native ads intrusive. If you’ve ever had a conversation about starting your spring planting and then saw numerous seed ads on Facebook, this is due to native advertising.

You have to know your audience and whether they’ll respond to this type of ad. You may even want to survey them to ensure it doesn’t turn them off. There are also some ethical concerns with collecting private data.

Native Advertising Hacks:

• Word your native ads as suggestions. Because you like X, you might like Us. 
• A/B testing is vitally important to ensure you aren’t turning your target audience off. 
• Volume is everything, as you’re creating one of many touchpoints.

Once you decide to invest in native advertising, make sure you allocate enough money to reach your customers up to seven times to make an impression. 

5. Video

Video accomplishes more than images or text can. It is a moving emotional impact that drives home all the points you want to make. 

The State of Video Marketing 2021 survey gathered responses from 694 marketers and small business owners. Researchers found 60% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. 

You can reach a different audience on platforms such as YouTube or Facebook Watch than you can via other avenues. 

Video Hacks:

• Choose a narrow focus for each ad.
• Know your brand personality and embrace it.
• Invest in a good camera and microphone.
• Video editing is everything.
• Use keywords in your title and description.

After you shoot and edit the video, you have to get eyes on it. Know where to post to attract the right audience. Share the link with your customers and ask them to tell others. Make sure your video offers value to the viewer.

Different Types of Digital Advertising Not Mentioned

We’ve covered five main types of online marketing styles. There are several others you could also embrace, such as email ads and webinars. The rules are similar across different types of digital advertising. Know your customers’ pain points and offer a solution. With a little tracking and effort, you’ll grow your audience rapidly.