Want to stand out in the competitive digital world and grow your business faster? Paid media strategies help you reach your target audience faster and gain higher visibility, thus attracting more website visitors and boosting sales. However, crafting the right paid media marketing strategy that meets your business goals can be overwhelming. Whether you own a medium-sized business or want to be a marketing pro, this guide will help you dive deeper into the nuances of paid media, how it works, and the types of paid media channels.
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What is Paid Media?
Paid media refers to purchasing digital real estate for the placement of promotional content, such as social media ads, website ads, pop-ups, PPC, etc. It helps brands get more engagement, visibility, and, eventually, revenue.
You must leverage the correct marketing channels to make your digital paid media advertising effective. The primary purpose of integrating this method into your digital marketing strategies is to reach a larger target audience, improve conversion rates, and maximize your budget’s efficiency.
Types of Paid Media
1. Search Engine Advertising
Search engine ads are the ones that appear at the top of the search lists every time you search for certain keywords. They work on the basis of keywords and demographics. Some tools used to publish search engine ads are Google Ads and Bing Ads. Under these tools, you can select certain keywords that your target audience commonly searches for. Well, not only that, but you can also use a few demographics like age, gender, location, etc. When you select these demographics and launch the ad, the tools will ensure that your ads are shown only when specific keywords are searched for and only to the target audience you have selected.
Search engine ads are also called PPC ads. Let me tell you how PPC ads work. Pay-per-click ads are charged to the publisher every time a user clicks on the ad and lands on your website. While setting up the PPC ads one needs to keep in mind that the bid amount on the keywords is optimum. In the beginning, you can experiment with a few keywords and then slowly eliminate the keywords that have a lower conversion rate. With the appropriate use of PPC ads, you can truly increase your return on investment and get the best results.
2. Display Ads
Also called banner ads, display ads are highly visual and effective. A lot of thought goes into the creation of banner ads because they need to be very visually appealing to consumers. Display advertising is one of the most traditional forms of advertising that has now turned digital. Do you remember all those billboards and skyscrapers with huge ads on them? Yes, that’s exactly what display advertising is. Now that most consumers are found online, we have online display ads. These ads can be both PPC and CPM. Here when you bid on keywords. The tools you use to publish the ads will find the websites that include these keywords the most and show you post your ads on those websites. Another way of using banner ads would be buying ad spaces on the websites where you think your target audience spends most of their time.
Now there are 2 ways to publish display ads.
- You can just create your campaign on Google Display Network and rely on Google to post your ads on the relevant website through AI learning.
- You can buy ad spaces from media buying platforms on websites that do not fall under the radar of the Google Display Network.
Though banner ads can be both PPC and CPM ads, their main intentions are fulfilled by CPM ads. CPM ads are Cost-per-mile ads which means they cost the publishers per thousand impressions. Let me say that in simple words, every time 1000 people see the ad, the brand has to pay a certain predetermined amount. CPM ads are suitable to promote new products, video productions, and brand awareness where you just want the ad to be seen by more and more users.
3. Social Media Ads
Social Media Ads refer to advertising on social media platforms. These ads have gained popularity over the past few years. Facebook has played a great role in the growth of social media advertising. The company began placing ads on Facebook back in 2006. Ever since digital advertising has taken a new turn. This has caused social media ads to become one of the most cost-effective and efficient types of paid media. It is a great help to small businesses that can’t afford to spend a lot of money on large-scale advertising and want to reach the target audience efficiently.
4. Video Advertising
Video advertising is increasingly becoming popular among businesses since it is the most popular type of media that people love and look for. It is a very effective method to use as the preferred form of media in ads. Video advertising is best used to showcase your brand’s products and brand story, build an emotional connection with the target audience, and generate higher brand awareness.
5. Native Advertising
Native ads seamlessly integrate your content with the platform, matching its appearance and style. According to industry estimates, they attract 53% more attention than display Ads. These ads work well for B2C and B2B brands and provide a better way to reach the target audience without looking overly promotional.
Conclusion
Paid media is a significant method to complement your other digital marketing strategies and boost your business. You can also check into display advertising to gain deeper insights into leveraging paid media to grow your brand. Focus on creating user-centric content, understanding your target audience in depth, and continuously adapting to changing trends.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How many types of PPC are there?
There are 8 types of PPC ads, which are illustrated below:
- Search Ads
- Display Ads
- Remarketing Ads
- Video Ads
- Shopping Ads
- Paid Social Ads
- Gmail Sponsored Ads
- Amazon Advertising Ads
Q2. What are examples of paid media?
A few prominent examples of paid media marketing include Google Ads, Social media ads, Bing ads, and display ads.
Q3. What is the function of paid media?
The primary function of paid media is to strategically help brands promote their story, products, services, and other ideas to their target audience, thus increasing traffic, sales, and conversions.
Q4. What is the difference between paid media and influencers?
Paid media involves brands using various digital channels to purchase advertising space to increase brand visibility. However, influencer marketing involves brands paying influencers who have a dedicated audience base or a highly curated social media following to promote their products or services.
