Get the Most out of your Digital Ad Dollars with These Pro Tips

Digital marketing continues to be one of the essential tools for gathering sales leads and building brand awareness. At Relish Marketing, we create digital campaigns for our clients that consistently perform above industry standards – thanks to partnerships we have with a variety of excellent digital media professionals.

Nancy Gunter of Mirj Media has placed digital ads for many of our most successful digital campaigns, and provides strategic guidance. I sat down with her to discuss the leading digital ad strategies of the day and how companies can get the most out of their digital ad budgets.

Question: What digital platforms have you found to be the most effective, and why?

Nancy: I have found that integrated digital ad strategies prove to be the most effective approach. It allows us to engage with your target audience across various touchpoints while maintaining a consistent brand message. The choice of the most effective platform depends on your specific audience and campaign goals.

For instance, email campaigns are invaluable for staying top-of-mind with your existing audience, while social media marketing is great at generating interest and can be used effectively to generate leads and drive traffic to your website, particularly in the awareness and consideration phases of a digital campaign. Paid search advertising is particularly beneficial in the consideration and conversion phases, capturing potential customers who actively searching for a specific product or service. Finally, organic social media posts on digital platforms are essential for building long-term brand authority by engaging with your followers and reaching wider audiences.

Question: Are there emerging platforms or trends worth exploring for digital advertising?

Nancy: There are several, but for now I’ll highlight AI. The usage of AI is predicted to rise significantly in 2024. This could impact consumer’s level of trust in digital marketing. Brands will need to focus more on authenticity and customer’s full experience.

Question: How does the target audience affect your choice of tools, strategies, and platforms?

Nancy: Knowing your target audience helps you choose the right platform and reduce waste on platforms where your audience doesn’t engage. Reaching your audience where they are with messages they care about, you’re more likely to outperform competitors who spread their efforts too thin or overlook what the audience is really interested in.

Question: What types of digital ad creative or content have resonated the most with audiences?

Nancy: The choice between video, banner, and search ads depends on the specific campaign goals – for example, building brand awareness versus driving immediate conversions.

Video ads typically generate higher engagement than image ads. According to HubSpot, video ads have a 56% higher click-through rate . Google search ads reach audiences who are actively looking for a particular product or service and therefore deliver a higher conversion rate than display ads. However, display ads, which include banner ads on websites and social media, offer a broader reach but tend to have a lower conversion rate.

Question: How should one determine the budget allocation across different digital platforms?

Nancy: Begin by clearly defining your goals and objectives, such as who you want to reach within a specific timeframe. Before deciding on select channels, review previous campaign performance to understand which strategies delivered the best results. After running a campaign and collecting enough data, the digital ad strategies can be adjusted as needed to optimize results.

Question: How often do you analyze performance data, and what tools do you use for analytics?

Nancy: We analyze performance data at different intervals to ensure we’re capturing the most relevant insights for each aspect of our marketing efforts. For example, we look at data daily for immediate short-term metrics/goals when needed including website traffic, engagement, and conversions related to a specific campaign. Every month, we would look at search engine rankings, website traffic (total users, new users, traffic source, sessions, and popular pages), review Google Ad and social media performance KPIs, and compare month-over-month differences such as impressions, reach, and cost per click, to name a few.

The tools used depend on the campaign. For instance, I would use Google Analytics for comprehensive web analytics, tracking traffic, behavior, and conversions. For social media campaigns, there are platform-specific tools like Facebook Insights and LinkedIn Campaign Manager to track engagement and campaign performance. There are also SEO tools like SEMrush to monitor search rankings, and email marketing platforms like Mailchimp which provide open rates and unsubscribe metrics.

As Nancy says, understanding your target audience is key to selecting the most effective platforms and crafting content that resonates. Video ads, search ads, and display ads each play unique roles in achieving specific campaign goals, and careful budget allocation is important. Are you getting the best possible results from your digital campaigns? If not, reaching out to an agency with a proven track record of generating results might be a profitable next step. We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us anytime – we’re always happy to chat.

Nancy can be reached by calling 770.757.6982, or by emailing nancy@mirjmedia.com.