Paid advertising

Paid advertising is a broad term for any ad campaigns in a marketing strategy that are promoted with paid auctions, bids, or placements. They can be displayed alongside linear or digital content, including videos, articles, or social media.

Paid advertising is an option in the landscape of brand marketing. It can include everything from the banner ads on websites to the “sponsored” posts you scroll by on Instagram to the video commercials interspersed in your must-watch sports games. With such a wide variety of options for paid advertising, it can be challenging for brands to choose where to start.

Different online advertising locations, such as websites or within video content, and different types of paid ads have unique determining factors for success. Initially, a higher bid on ad placements for cost-per-click (CPC) advertising can give it a boost. Beyond that, the creative of the ad can also make a huge difference, especially if it’s timely, engaging, or creative. There can also be different criteria for different ad types (such as video ads vs. display ads), as well as for ads that are personalized for a specific audience vs. ones with a broader reach.

The benefits of paid advertising are numerous, including improvements in performance, engagement, and optimization.

The benefit that’s the easiest to measure is the performance of your campaigns. Metrics such as sales or new-to-brand customers can offer a definitive quantity for how paid advertising can improve your campaigns.

Another equally important benefit is engagement. Paid advertising can help put your ads in front of the audiences who are most likely to respond to it, boosting engagement and your conversion rate.

Another benefit is optimization, both of your audience and your marketing budget. Done correctly, paid advertising can help you get the most value for your ad spend.

There are various types of paid advertising, based on whether you want your ads to show up on social media, in search results, within digital marketing, or elsewhere.

CPC advertising, also called pay-per-click advertising, is a model where advertisers pay for ads based on the number of clicks they receive. These ads can appear as banners on websites, or within the other types of paid advertising, such as search and social media.

Display advertising is the process of sharing campaigns online, including on websites or apps. These display ads reach customers where they’re consuming content, across a variety of devices.

Video marketing is the process of advertising with video campaigns. Video ads can appear before, during, or after the primary video content plays online.

Search ads show up in search engine results, usually in the “sponsored” section. Paid search advertising is typically assigned to specific keywords to help ensure your brand and products show up when they are used.

Remarketing is the process of engaging with customers who have already clicked your ads or have otherwise shown interest in your brand. Remarketing can be crucial to help move prospective customers down the funnel through the shopping journey.

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising, also called outdoor advertising, is the process of sharing ads in an external environment. These can include billboards, public signage, and on-box advertising.

Social media ads appear as posts tagged “sponsored” on certain social media sites, such as Instagram or TikTok. By paying for these ads, you can reach specific demographics on social media or give your posts a boost.

There are many ways to set up a paid advertising campaign, but the basic steps are the same ones you’d use for any standard marketing campaign.

First, determine what your goal is for the campaign. Is it raising brand awareness, or encouraging customers to return for repeat purchases? Once you know your objective, you can also determine the appropriate audience to focus on.

For a paid advertising campaign, budgeting is crucial. Not only do you want to use your funds wisely, but you want to make sure they’re making the biggest impact possible.

It’s time for the exciting part: launching your campaign into the world. It’s a good idea to get feedback from customers to help gauge the reception and success of your ads.

A crucial step in a paid marketing campaign is to measure and optimize your results. See what’s working and what’s not working, and adjust accordingly.