According to the Pew Research Center 69% of U.S. adults are now social media users.
Continuing the trend, eMarketer reports that…
Mobile will be the main driver of digital’s growth in 2017, accounting for over 70% of digital and more than one-quarter of total media outlays. Growth will remain in double digits through the end of the forecast, with mobile ad spending expected to surpass TV in 2019.
Its little wonder, Forbes predicts that digital marketing will pace to 46% of all advertising by 2021.
With so much happening in the online space, it’s important to maintain evidence and discipline in proof of concept and consistency of procedure when it comes to online advertising campaigns.
Our industry is often, and reasonably so, scrutinized. There are questions about impression shares, doubts regarding long-term effectiveness (remember, “social media is a fad?”), and those are legitimate points of concerns.
It’s important that we aren’t just riding the high of cultural change, but that we’re driving real business results (scalable, repeatable results) for partners spending real dollars to create and sustain business. It’s important that our efforts result in real-world results. So, how do we drive real results for businesses?
Proper targeting gets the right message to the right people
Proper targeting gets the right message to the right people at the right time. Skillful targeting our best companion in creating efficient and effective advertising spend. These days, effective targeting is a large part of what separates the digital marketing pro from the digital marketing dope.
While tools and resources have been made available to everyone, not everyone has the same level of experience, education, or talent to offer. I don’t say that to throw shade, I say it to potentially save you money.
It’s important when considering who manages your advertising budget that they have the proper support, experience, and skills for pulling the levers that put your product or offer in front of real world viewers.
Targeting the most lucrative, and the most receptive audiences has never been as readily available as it is today.
- Facebook provides an incredible amount of reach for the informed advertiser, through various audience types and targeting, to campaign types reflective of AIDA, time-tested consumer journey pathways.
- Google gives digital marketers deep insight and ability to reach consumers that are displaying search behavior that makes them more susceptible to your offer; along with techniques for maximizing resonance and engagement with your ads.
Of course, these platforms – though heavy-hitters – are only part of a strong targeted marketing mix that might further include segmented email marketing efforts, message-specific landing pages, and other touch-points in the customer journey.
Ultimately, understanding the targeting capabilities available with advertising platforms gets into practice, or technique.
Proven techniques provides real ROI
There’s a saying I often use which goes, “iron sharpens iron.” It’s important to have an environment where those skilled and practiced in an area of work are able to challenge each other in a respectful and edifying way.
Stress, judiciously applied, is how we grow stronger. The digital space is an ongoing experiment. It’s important that your digital marketing company has a culture which allows people to challenge one another and to grow.
As we know, consumer expectations regularly change, techniques in how to reach them constantly change too. One method we have to regularly gut-check our efforts is our newsletter, gavinsider.
It’s full of trends, new techniques, and thoughtful advice from real-world discoveries. If you haven’t joined, or if you know of someone else who might benefit from it, share or join.
Talent that comes with practice is key
Design is a discipline that drives so much of the consumer experience.
While insights like the psychology of colors can be taught (and can impact marketing customer experience and marketing effectiveness), it takes time to develop the type of keen insight needed to motivate consumers to push the purchase button.
The internet has been great at democratizing content.
It’s given just about everyone the ability to publish content online. That doesn’t mean everything that’s published online is able to execute with a high level of design sensibility or marketing effectiveness.
It takes a certain measure of raw talent, arguably, to reach audiences in an influential way.
For those aspiring to better understand techniques to motivating, engaging, and inspiring others to action, there are resources available.
For those in need of results-driven, digital marketing experience, give Gavin a call.
