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Tips for Creating Successful Online Campaigns Opinions are like, well, let’s just say that everyone has one. It’s no different when it comes to opinions about creating successful online advertising campaigns. Every advertiser, consultant, network, agency and marketing expert has an opinion about what does and doesn’t work when it comes to attracting business from online consumers. Every study provides seemingly contradictory opinions, leaving you pulling your hair out and explaining to your friends why you already have male-pattern baldness at such a tender young age. Who has the right answer? I’d love to be able to tell you the perfect formula for attracting and converting an online consumer into an online buyer. But then I’d be abundantly wealthy, devoting the majority of my time to adding up green credits on my new Gulfstream. Answers are tough to come by because people are unpredictable. Still, after spending the past 11 years in the online world closely observing consumer behavior, I’ve gained some insights into how to get you a step closer to having your target audience click the "buy" button. Here are 10 simple steps: Why should I buy or click here? This is probably the single most important and overlooked question any organization can ask itself when creating an online marketing strategy. What message are you trying to convey? Is it your overall company brand or the product itself that will convince the user to click and buy? Your online advertising must be able to quickly encourage the user to buy whatever it is that you have to sell. Engage your audience and don’t be afraid to interact. Online consumers like to be engaged and have a sense of control. If your overall web site, banner advertising and verbiage are engaging in a search listing, you’ll move a step closer to converting users into customers. Just look at movie trail banners on the web. A simple move of the mouse makes the ad expand, allowing consumers to preview the film, click the link, check out the site and even share what they have found with friends, family and colleagues. A call to action. Okay, you showed your product, highlighted your logo and developed a clear message. Now what? A great banner or well-designed web site is not enough to take the consumer from window shopper to paid costumer. You need to close your initial online ad presentation with a call to action on everything from product recommendations to simple promotions. Unless the user sees CLICK HERE and BUY NOW, you’re missing a golden opportunity to make a conversion. Tears, cheers and fears. Don’t underestimate the power of emotional impulse. Drive your message toward emotion: "With Valentine’s Day on the way, don’t forget to get the one you love something special. Order by Feb 10 to make this day one he or she will never forget!" The spoils go to those who remind busy consumers about those fast-approaching special days and, more importantly, act before they forget.
SEEK COMPATIBILITY Be relevant. Ads are most effective when the product or service you’re advertising online has some correlation to the content of the site users are viewing. You don’t want to be the one with a monster truck ad display banner on a women’s shoe site. But that’s exactly what can happen if you don’t utilize some of the targeting options available to you to optimize your campaign performance.What you don’t say can say a lot. Lure your audience by following the lead of some of the most successful ad campaigns ever. When you see a commercial with no sound, you stop to make sure the TV is working. It moves from the realm of background noise to the center of attention, making a lasting impression. Breaking the mold isn’t easy, however. It takes a creative, smart and engaging approach to capture the interest of an audience, which is why there are so many creative ad executives with homes in the Hamptons. You can determine whether your campaign is among the greats by closely monitoring the buzz, then being prepared to quickly shift to another approach if the feedback is negative.
Break away from the pack. Stand out from your competitors by targeting your customer in an unconventional but effective way. Returning to the earlier example of the women’s shoe site, while foregoing monster trucks is a good idea, you might want to consider advertising kid-friendly items and apparel, perfect gifts for men, coupons and grocery deals. The women who visit those sites might not be your traditional targets but what if they’re looking to save some money to increase their shoe budgets? Keep up with the Jones. Just as technology constantly evolves, so must the way you present yourself to your target online audience. If potential customers perceive your company lacks a technological edge, you can scare them off from what you have to sell. Look at the evolution of banner ads as they’ve gone from static images to animated images to interactive flash. Now we have video and expandable banners. A study by ZD Net found animated ads generate click-through rates 15-40 percent higher than static ads. So be aware of what your competition is doing online. You don’t necessarily have to spend a huge amount of money but should know how your competitors are vying for business. Perception is reality in the online ad space.
LOOK AHEAD What works today might not work tomorrow. Newspaper, TV, radio, magazine and other traditional media ads constantly evolve to prevent viewer fatigue. The same commercial with the same message simply loses its effectiveness over time. Online advertising is no different; in fact, studies show burnout for online ads occurs at a faster rate than traditional media.So why is it that online advertisers opt not change their creative presentation over extended periods? Cost? Time? A standard banner with animation can be created for $500 to $1,000 by an experienced design house. You could even take a more economical route and have an intern studying graphic design do it for you. Whatever you choose, be sure to allocate a portion of your budget to ongoing creative development to keep your message fresh and exciting. It’s a rare business today that doesn’t have some kind of online presence, if not its own dedicated web site. E-commerce has gone mainstream in all manner of ways, from the ubiquitous nature of online to transactions to the importance of cyber-marketing. It makes sense for small businesses, especially, to insure they are putting their best foot forward on the Internet.
Doing so has the potential to return numerous benefits. You can raise your company’s profile in cyberspace, improve its image, recruit new customers, boost satisfaction levels of existing customers, generate incremental sales and, ultimately, make your business more profitable and rewarding. And in these challenging economic times, is there a business owner out there who wouldn’t be thrilled with those results?
Geoff Gieron is vice president of operations and advertiser services for AdOn Network (www.adonnetwork.com), a PV Media Group (www.pvmediagroup.com) company. |
