The last twenty years has shown marketers the greatest change to their profession since television sales took off in the 1940s and 1950s! Digital has given advertisers more tools than they could have ever imagined just a few short years ago. By and large, this is a good thing, but for marketers used to the good, old-fashioned “spots and dots” approach to media buying for TV and radio, the sheer number of options can be overwhelming.

The obvious temptation for enthusiastic marketing directors is to try to use every tool in the toolbox. In other words, they want to take advantage of every platform, every channel, every new social media outlet that comes along. 

While that’s not technically impossible, it’s close to it. Major global brands may have the workforces to support that kind of online presence, but most companies need to master a few strategies and put them to work smartly. Here are five techniques worth exploring!

Video Pre-Roll

Video has always been arguably the most powerful advertising medium. That’s because video commercials can include strong visuals, audio, and text in the form of graphics. You can reinforce messaging three different ways at the same time. The best way to import this to digital marketing is video pre-roll. Let’s say you are advertising USANA Health Sciences. Placing a video pre-roll over relevant health-related content is a great match and will likely hit your target audience.

What far too many people get wrong about video pre-rolls is simply reformatting 30-second television commercials. While we’ve been trained for generations to accept minutes-long commercial breaks on network television and basic cable, 30 seconds is an eternity in the on-demand world of the internet. Produce a fifteen or (even better) six-second video to get to the point and not annoy your digital viewers.

Animated Banners

One of the earliest forms of online advertising was the static banner. It was essentially a print ad placed on a website, usually at the top or on the sides. Banners are certainly still effective, but an added twist that’s now available is the animated banner. Using a .gif format, a content producer can add a bit of motion to the static ad in the form of a light streak or text effect to draw the eye towards it.

It’s still a good idea to approach banner ads with the same philosophy as an outdoor billboard. Limit your copy to six or seven bold words and include a strong call to action afterwards. When in doubt “Click Here!” or “Learn More!” placed in a box or button that hyperlinks to your webpage will work nicely. Just be sure to adjust the .gif’s settings so the file size isn’t so big that it slows down the loading of the page.

Paid Social

There are some misconceptions about buying ads on social media channels, and some understandable reservations. Boosted posts may sound like a great idea, but they only amplify your organic reach a little, and often to your existing followers. For certain industries, this may be helpful, but for most, it’s not a good investment.

Buying a true advertising schedule on a social media channel, on the other hand, is a very effective way to reach an extremely targeted audience. Facebook is still the dominant leader in this avenue if you can afford it. The key is to be thoughtful with your strategy and placement. Part of the power of social media advertising is that you can reach multiple audiences at the same time. For example, you may have one set of creative that is served to women ages 35 and older, and another targeted at men 18 to 49. The ads will only be deployed to these audiences, so the messaging can be highly customized!

Geo Targeting and Geofencing

You’ve heard the phrase “location, location, location.” Some of the most powerful digital advertising tools available today use location in an innovative way to attract customers. Geotargeting is a method of serving ads in apps and mobile web pages based on the user’s proximity to the advertising business. Let’s say you pull up an app while walking near a neighborhood bakery. You may see a very precise ad saying something like “You’re less than a minute away from fresh Bread and Smith’s bakery! Click here to learn more!”

This method is highly effective for brick and mortar retailers and restaurants who rely on foot traffic. Geofencing is a similar technique that can be helpful for certain business categories. It works off the same concept of serving ads within a certain specified geographic area, but it builds a virtual perimeter that can be tightly specified.

Think of this example: everyone of a certain demographic attending a football game or concert at a stadium will receive an ad for a nearby neighborhood bar when they use their smartphone at the event. Geofencing can be highly effective for concentrated bursts centered around immediacy with a strong call to action.

Retargeting

Lastly, retargeting is another powerful digital ad-serving tool. Unlike geotargeting or geofencing, however, ads are triggered not by location, but by internet browsing and shopping habits. You’ve likely been retargeted many times. Let’s say you were looking at a clothing item on an online retailer’s website or app. A day or two later, you may be surprised to see that same item appear in an ad on a different app, hoping you will take another look at it.

Retargeting uses cookies from websites to “track” you across the sites and apps you frequently use. This can be a great way to keep your product top-of-mind but be aware that many hardware and software developers have started to give users more freedom to block this kind of tracking amid privacy concerns.

The digital marketing landscape is vast, but it’s best to start simple and build once you see what brings you a return on investment. Any boutique digital agency can help you explore these strategies and see what is the best fit for your business!