Content is king
Except for the world’s largest brands such as Amazon, Facebook and Google (just to name a few), it seems that many small to medium sized companies have simply given up on the opportunities that brand advertising brings to the table. Many marketing teams which are the backbone to some great companies with lots of potential, shell out thosands of advertising dollars each month (and millions collectively over the course of a year) for boring ad displays and abandoned social media accounts and they feel content with mediocre audience engagement rates. Advertising teams keep using the same old formula over and over again, hoping for better click rates, and yet, nothing changes. If you continue to use the same advertising and marketing strategies (good or bad), you will continue to get the same results and your company will suffer or succeed as a result. With so much competition in today's fast paced world, it is imperative that you reach your audience and get the maximum results with as little advertising dollars as possible. In order for ads to succeed, they need to be engaging. Your company's products and services need to be in front of potential buyers at all times. Think of the advertisements you see during major sports events. These companies shell out millions of dollars to get the front row seats of advertising space. In a world where technology changes every minute of the day, marketers must strive to adapt ads for the consumer. Draw your audience in with more than just an offer, logo, and a link. While these strategies may be somewhat effective, as a business you must constantly expand your reach. Stay active on social media. If you don't have the time or know how, then outsource this job to an experienced marketer. You can find them on Fiverr.com or http://upwork.com If you have a rather large advertising budget, use pay per click search engines etc. Get the word out and stay fluid and consistent in the advertising arena. After all, people don’t share ads. They share content. (Think YouTube and facebook videos.) Don't be afraid to use a little humor in your advertising efforts. People love to laugh and they may even by your product or service based solely on that factor alone. Be creative! People don't want to be sold on products and services, they want positive experiences and trust me when I say, that word of mouth advertising or reviews spread as fast as wild fires. Either of these two factors can make or break a business. It takes years to build a solid reputation and rapport with consumers and one day to undo everything that you've works so hard to achieve. Practice good customer service. Train your employees on regular basis on how to treat your customers. The Goal of Brand Advertising The goal of any brand advertising campaign is to engage people with your brand and have them remember you, or better yet, share your brand with others. Making the effort to distribute content that is seen as being valuable by your audience isn’t easy, but one of the best ways to make it relevant is by incorporating ad units into your content. Google AdWords does a great job of this by using native ads that seamlessly blends in with your existing content as opposed to banner ads that stand out screaming 'buy me'. Consumers can sometimes become annoyed by these ads, as they see them as distraction. Especially when they're not looking to make a purchase. But, display ads are a necessary evil to put your business in the forefront and to achieve your advertising goal. Brand advertising works extremely well when it’s built on top of relevant content. Campaigns that focus on creating the best, most interesting content such as video advertising, are more successful than any other type of online advertising. Why you ask? The answer is simple. Because human beings are visual creatures by nature. Visualization has been a part of our history and culture since we were children, so its only natural that this form of advertising medium would follow us all into adulthood. The bottom line here is that videos get the highest rate of clicks to a product or service. I encourage everyone to use videos along with your text and banners ad campaigns. Simply put, it just works! So don't ignore this very important element of advertising. Seeing a company’s logo stand alone is a great reminder of that company’s name, image, and what it stands for, but it doesn’t really offer anything to the viewer. Note: Engaging content is the key to successful brand advertising campaigns. A brand ad along with the company logo and a piece of useful content is far more engaging on a much higher level. Imagine browsing online and seeing a Coca-Cola banner ad with the brand’s logo. Great. Now what? It should make you want a coke right? Not always the case. Best practices for creating great content marketing include the following: 1. Creating value 2. Tell a compelling story 3. Choose the right advertising channels (avenues) 4. Build your audience for repeat traffic But perhaps the key for generating great content is for brand marketers to put themselves in the customers shoes. Think like a consumer by asking yourself these questions. 1. Would I pin this on Pinterest? 2. Would I ‘like’ this on Facebook or some other site? 3. Would I comment on it? 4. Would I buy this or that? In order to become or stay successful, you must constantly keep reinventing yourself. Never get too comfortable. Always stay on top of your game and ahead of your competition. Take the Form of What People Care About As I mentioned earlier, native advertising is in the future of online marketing. Article readers, video viewers and social-media users are all more likely to respond positively to marketing tactics that blend in with your content because the ads don’t look like advertising and instead take on the form of the rest of the content on a website or platform. I like to call it 'stealth advertising'. The big key to creating content is to make sure that what you create is useful, interesting and actually helpful. Vagueness and over-generalizations are a waste. It's show bad taste and don’t help you relate to your audience. More than likely, you will drive potential users or buyers away. In today world of the internet, people have gotten smarter. They are no longer fooled by brazen advertising or someone typing all caps in an ad box as if they are selling the greatest product on earth. People rarely click on some random ad to make a purchase. If they do, consider yourself lucky. Nowadays, people do research and read reviews before making a purchase decision. It is a well know fact that 90% of today's shoppers (online or offline) are influenced by their peers. Meaning they are more likely to make a purchase that was recommended by a friend or family member over most forms of advertising, so you have to master your craft as a business owner to keep your audience engaged. In today's world, people are more busy now than ever. They simply want precise information, numbers that mean something, and real-life examples. (Things that are tangible.) So cut to the chase. Cut out the clichés and summary overviews, and instead focus your efforts on engaging your audience by providing interesting content and making sure that your ads blend well. If this is not possible, try not to put too many large banners ads on your website or blog. Here are 5 tips to add relevant content to your brand: 1.Give expert advice in the topic you’re covering. 2. Seek out a local expert in your area and discuss their successes and failures. (Write it down as you learn.) 3. Ask for tips and advice about how they were able to achieve such great results. 4. Offer people free information about how to better themselves or their work is a great way to drive meaningful engagement. 5. People never like to feel like you’re selling them, so if you can find a topic or need that your audience wants addressed, you can come in as a helpful voice and offer them information of value. In closing: Make sure you do your research (practice due diligence) when gathering information. When asking for advice, make sure it is clear and/or concise. Be specific and offer real-world examples. Be intentional about your motives, that way when you reach success, you'll know it wasn't by accident. “Reach for the stars" kind of advice is a dime a dozen these days. If you plan to produce a video or two, look for concrete ways to implement your product in real life scenarios. Use video to share your expert advice in an engaging format. Reading articles is great, and I enjoy reading up on topics I’m interested in, but engagement levels are usually much higher for people watching videos. (Again, we are all visual creatures by nature.) This is very important. The video doesn’t have to be professionally shot and edited, just interesting enough to hold the viewers attention for the length of the video. This varies depending on your skills, but it would be safe to say, a 2 to 3 video is sufficient enough to get your point across. You want to hold the viewers attention for at least 30 seconds or more the execute properly, so be funny and creative. A video recorded from an iPhone is high quality and perfect for capturing expert advice, funny moments, or quick commentaries. You might also consider recording people from different teams or departments in your company and get their opinions and expertise on current topics relating to your industry. Maybe have a client services representative answer a frequently asked question about your products or services. Another idea is to go out into the field and meet with your clients and customers. Talk with them about their experiences with your company and how things are going, or how things could be better. No matter how engaging you think your ads look, you always have to keep what your audience wants at the top of your strategy. No one is going to take a screen shot of your banner ad and email it to a friend. But people do share funny pictures, engaging stories, and entertaining videos. So try finding ways to incorporate this type of content into your online advertising and you’ll see a jump in engagement. If you like what you've read, feel free to share it with your audience using one of the buttons below. Good luck!
