The answer might seem simple at first glance. Online ads, right? You’re probably thinking “digital advertising is that thing I use an ad-blocker to avoid.”
According to MarTech Advisor, “Digital advertising is the practice of delivering promotional content to users through various online and digital channels.”
Digital advertising is more than website banners or pop-up messages, those things that first come to mind when we think about digital ads.
If you take a step back to consider how much of our lives are spent online and how much advertising opportunity exists, you get a better picture of how big of an umbrella term digital advertising is.
Digital advertising encompasses pretty much any online channel you can think of. Amazon, Facebook, Google, Bing, and on and on. There are so many avenues to direct paid traffic that it can feel overwhelming.
You might be wondering-- if the umbrella of digital advertising includes such strategies as social media advertising, search engine advertising, native advertising, email marketing (to name just a few), does that mean that you need to use a deluge of these tactics to get traffic?
No! Digital advertising can be used strategically to get the results you want.
In this guide, you will learn about some of the most common types of digital advertising and how to use them to reach your audience.
We use our search engines for practically everything these days. Have you ever searched for a website, even though you already knew the full URL? (It’s okay, we’re all guilty of little laziness every now and then!)
SEA (search engine advertising) consists of using paid promotions on results pages to increase web traffic.
Examples of SEA:
SEO (search engine optimization) is a long-term strategy focused on using keywords to target audiences and improve your site’s web ranking through quality content.
Examples of SEO:
SEM (search engine marketing) encompasses all elements of SEA and SEO.
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By focusing on targeted search engine advertising campaigns and long-term SEO strategies, businesses can set themselves up for higher-ranked pages and increased traffic (that includes both organic and paid).
The two big search engines to consider are Google and Bing. Yahoo is another well-known player in the web explorer game, but the majority of Yahoo search traffic is powered by Bing.
Social media networks are a powerful tool for building a brand and sharing content. If your business hasn’t explored the many uses of social media platforms to reach audiences, you might be missing out on a lot of potential engagements.
Our World in Data reports that one in three people use social media platforms. And that’s a worldwide statistic, meaning that billions of people are active social media users.
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The graph above shows the upward growth of social media platforms internationally. It’s easy to see why social media advertising is a worthy investment for many businesses. The potential for reaching new customers is seemingly endless!
According to a Statista study, we should expect “further monetization of social networks and messenger apps.”
“The integration of shopping and payment solutions into social networks combined with exact localization will increase user engagement, conversions, and performance of advanced targeting.” (Statista)
Successful advertising on social media is an art and a science.
Advertisers spend a lot of time and energy on eye-catching creative and engaging copy--but what good is that when no one is actually seeing your work? This is where social media advertising requires a bit of a mad scientist.
Each platform comes with its own insights, audiences, and advertising capabilities.
Take Facebook ad targeting, for example. With Facebook, advertisers can adjust target audience rules by location, consumer behavior, demographics, connections, and interests. Those are a lot of variables to work with!
Take time to understand user experience.
User engagement varies by social media platform. This is important for advertisers to take into consideration before running paid ads.
A 2018 study in the Journal of Advertising identified the different engagement dimensions for some of the most popular platforms. If Youtube is associated with entertainment by its users, running an advertisement for funeral homes might not make the most sense. If you are trying to advertise something current and/or topical, Pinterest shouldn’t be your first choice.
Take time to select the right social media platforms for your brand. Assess what platforms align with your product type or service and can effectively carry out your advertising goals.
There are a lot of reasons to want your ads to stand out. Your business has spent a lot of time building a brand and a message to be seen, not ignored. This is what makes native advertising an interesting and unexpected type of advertising.
What is native advertising?
Web advertising platform Outbrain defines native advertising as “the use of paid ads that match the look, feel and function of the media format in which they appear.” In short: native ads are sponsored content in camouflage.
Why should I use native ads?
According to Marketing Land, native ads belong in your digital advertising strategy for these reasons:
Email is a popular marketing tool for a lot of reasons. After all, email is one of the most effective communication channels for companies. With an estimated 4.48 billion global email users by 2024, it certainly seems safe to say that email is here to stay.
Though email marketing and advertising is popular, email is not a perfect tool. Emails will come back as undeliverable or filter to spam folders. A company can send email after email, but that doesn’t mean that the subscriber will open the message and click through.
Is email a fail-safe marketing strategy?
In short, no. Some challenges email marketers frequently run into are:
Should I try email marketing?
Yes. There are amazing opportunities that come from effective email marketing. Here are just a few:
Your goal should be to approach email marketing strategically. Build your tactical email marketing strategy by:
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