If you’re in any type of business you’ve heard of digital advertising. Digital advertising, sometimes also referred to as “pay-per-click” or PPC ads, is done through any and all online channels. This is the most effective way for businesses of all sizes to gain new customers, expand their reach, and diversify revenue streams. It’s not as easy as putting up a graphic that says “BUY STUFF HERE!” with a link to your website. Depending on the type of ad and the platform you’re using you’ll want to make sure your ads are optimized for the highest conversion based on your goals.
What are the different types of digital ads? There are four main channels of digital advertising: search, video, social, and display.
Search ads: These are for your customers that are furthest down the funnel. They are actively searching for your business, or what you offer. These are the text-based ads that show at the top of the search engine results page (SERP). Since Hexcode Marketing is a marketing agency, if someone searches for “marketing agencies” then our ad would show at the top of the page. For retail stores search ads also include shopping ads. If you do a search for women’s running shoes, you’ll see shopping tabs with different products available to purchase online. Google is the most popular search engine, but you can also run search ads on Bing.
Display ads: These ads, also called banner ads are what you see on websites and apps. These are image-based ads that are used to build brand awareness and put you in the front of customer’s minds. You will still have your display ads link back to your website or landing page, and they need to be eye-catching. Have you ever searched for something, then while in your favorite app or website, you see a graphic on the side talking about what you searched for? That’s a display ad. They’re the billboard of digital advertising.
Social media ads: There are a lot of platforms that refer to social media ads including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and more. Each platform will have different experiences for the ad creator, but it also lets you use the widest range of creative assets. You can create ads for each platform in the social channel. I.e. You can have an ad that is directed to Instagram Reels, or just the Facebook feed. These ads also give you an opportunity to engage with your audience. You can reply to their comments, get messages from your ads, and more.
Video ads: If you’re thinking of YouTube and video on social platforms, that isn’t the only form of video advertising. YouTube is king of video ads with ads playing before, during, and after the video you want to watch, as well as images that appear over videos and in search results. However, we are talking about OTT ads. OTT (Over The Top) ads use CTV (Connected TV) devices such as game consoles, firesticks, Chromecasts, and other devices that allow people to stream and ditch regular cable. With these ads, you can take a video between 15-30 seconds, and really narrow down your targeting. You have the targeting capabilities of a search or display ad where you can narrow down demographics, zip codes, and more, but the reach of a traditional commercial.
One of the biggest benefits of digital advertising is how cost-effective it is, and how you can really target your ideal audience. You can test your assets and see what drives traffic and conversions as well. If you buy a billboard you can’t change it overnight like you can a digital ad. Now, to make your digital ad strategy effective, you need to know what your goals are, who your audience is, what will make them convert, and where they need to see your ad. When it comes to an effective and optimized ad strategy, you don’t want to just throw things out and see what sticks. This can confuse your audience, and potentially turn customers away. If you’re interested in having a digital ad strategy that gets your brand seen, and helps you grow your customer base, call Hexcode Marketing today. With over 7 million ad impressions in a month, we work with you to understand exactly what your customers need to see so you reach your goals.