Digital advertising has transformed the way brands connect with their target audience and consumers in general.
A few years ago, companies were limited to offline media, such as brochures, business cards, billboards and – for those with capital – TV, radio and print ads.
However, today the Internet opens the doors to advertising so that any business can find its audience, spread its brand and make sales online. Banners, sponsored links, social networks, Email Marketing ... there are countless channels and formats that you can take advantage of!
Now, you are about to understand everything about digital advertising, for example: what it is, why it is worth investing in it, what the types are and, especially, how to obtain results in this way.
Keep reading!
What is digital advertising?
Digital advertising is all the ways of promoting a brand and its products or services through digital devices or channels.
In addition, beyond promoting, it allows you to connect with the target audience and create a relationship with consumers.
The change in consumer behavior and the evolution of technology were the drivers of digital advertising. People began to use the Internet for everything from solving a simple question on Google to buying a refrigerator in an electronic store.
For this reason, in recent years the Internet has become a place where companies have to be yes or yes. If the public is in Google, social networks and blogs, the brands must mark their presence in these spaces.
Likewise, different ways in which brands connect with consumers through the Internet have emerged. Consequently, in recent years digital advertising has become increasingly complex and powerful.
The diversification of formats, payment methods and audience segmentation options have made the platforms more robust and full of possibilities for companies.
A few years ago, companies were limited to offline media, such as brochures, business cards, billboards and – for those with capital – TV, radio and print ads.
However, today the Internet opens the doors to advertising so that any business can find its audience, spread its brand and make sales online. Banners, sponsored links, social networks, Email Marketing ... there are countless channels and formats that you can take advantage of!
Now, you are about to understand everything about digital advertising, for example: what it is, why it is worth investing in it, what the types are and, especially, how to obtain results in this way.
Keep reading!
What is digital advertising?
Digital advertising is all the ways of promoting a brand and its products or services through digital devices or channels.
In addition, beyond promoting, it allows you to connect with the target audience and create a relationship with consumers.
The change in consumer behavior and the evolution of technology were the drivers of digital advertising. People began to use the Internet for everything from solving a simple question on Google to buying a refrigerator in an electronic store.
For this reason, in recent years the Internet has become a place where companies have to be yes or yes. If the public is in Google, social networks and blogs, the brands must mark their presence in these spaces.
Likewise, different ways in which brands connect with consumers through the Internet have emerged. Consequently, in recent years digital advertising has become increasingly complex and powerful.
The diversification of formats, payment methods and audience segmentation options have made the platforms more robust and full of possibilities for companies.
Difference between digital advertising and Digital Marketing
Do you still think that digital advertising and Digital Marketing is the same thing?
Nothing happens, most people and professionals in the area treat them the same. But, there is a subtle difference between the two and we want you to know it.
Marketing, in a simple way, deals with the 4 P's of marketing : Price, Product, Place and Promotion.
This concept made up of 4 pillars determines how a brand is presented in the market. Logically, when it comes to Digital Marketing, these factors are thought of in the online environment.
Advertising , then, is a marketing tool because it falls under the P's: Promotion. It is one of the ways that companies promote their brands and products to the public, and digital advertising is the tool to do it in online media.
You can already understand that digital advertising is a Digital Marketing tool. Therefore, in practice, many people see them as synonyms.
What are the benefits of digital advertising?
It's no accident that so many brands embraced digital advertising. And there are multiple benefits to doing so, especially for small businesses.
Here we present the most relevant advantages:
Scope
The Internet has no borders. You can chat by instant messaging with your friends in the neighborhood or with one who has moved to the other side of the planet. It is also important to note that: the whole world is on the Internet!
This means that digital advertising is capable of increasing the reach of a company, not only to publicize its brand, but also to sell its products in an e-commerce.
Segmentation capacity
Have you heard of Big Data ? This refers to an enormous amount of data that is stored on the Internet and one of its advantages is to analyze and provide an infinity of information about consumers.
They can then be used to segment your audience and design your promotions for a specific audience.
Payment for results
Paid media on the Internet have a great advantage over offline channels: you don't have to pay up front.
On the Internet, you only charge when the desired result is obtained (clicks, visits to a website, conversion, etc.). Then the following forms of collection arise:
- cost per click (CPC);
- cost per thousand impressions (CPM);
- cost per acquisition (CPA).
Measurement
Another great advantage, thanks to Big Data, is the ability to quantify and qualify the results of digital advertising.
You can know exactly how many people viewed an ad, how many clicked and how many sales were made in this way.
In this way, it is possible to more accurately measure the ROI (Return on Investment) or return on investment, one of the main strategic indicators.
multiple formats
Forget limiting yourself to 30-second images, audio, and video. Digital advertising allows you to use anything from simple text in sponsored links to a multi-part web series on YouTube.
Creativity is who limits the possibilities of formats to spread a brand.
Give small businesses competitiveness
The great advantage it contains is the democratization of advertising. Because astronomical figures of capital are not needed to spread your brand on online channels.
There are organic ways, which do not require monetary investment, such as blogs and social networks. But, when you start putting money, you can start with what you have and gradually increase it.
What types of digital advertising can be used?
Now, we are going to talk about the main types of digital advertising and divide them into paid and organic.
However, it is not a definitive list: there are many formats, and new options may emerge at any time. In digital advertising, it is important to be up to date with the news that may appear.
Paid Media
They are those made through platforms that require a charge for their services. The main channels are:
- Sponsored Links – Text ads that appear at the top of search engine SERPs (Google, for example).
- Media display : visual advertisements (images, animations) that appear in content for web pages.
- Social Ads : ads for social networks, with various formats. Facebook Ads , Instagram Ads , LinkedIn Ads , Twitter Sponsored Tweets and YouTube Ads are the most used.
- Mobile Ads : all forms of targeted advertising for web pages and applications for mobile devices (phones, tablets).
- Google Shopping : Ads for products that appear in the results of a search with information about the price, brand and place to buy.
organic media
They are those in which the brand is disclosed without the need to pay to register or link it.
This is not to say that there are no indirect costs, such as hiring, training, or third-party service tools. So, now we show you the main organic advertising strategies:
- SEO (Seach Engine Optimization) : optimization of the pages on a website so that they appear well positioned in the organic results of search engines.
- Social Networks : advertising through post and interaction with the audience through social platforms.
- Email Marketing : sending emails (generally automated) to advertise offers and strengthen the relationship with the target audience.
- Blog : publication of articles on the area that the company is dedicated to with the intention of attracting users and improving search engine positioning.
- Guest Post – Guest posts on a brand partner's blog to attract a new target audience and generate more visitor traffic.
5 tips to boost the results of digital advertising
Digital advertising became popular. Today, any business can use digital channels and, therefore, digital competitiveness has also increased.
Whoever wants to capture the attention of consumers needs to differentiate themselves by adopting good practices in digital advertising. Here are 5 tips so you can get positive results.
1. Keep the focus on the brand experience
The consumer no longer searches for companies or products. This needs good experiences with brands, which convey trust, offer solutions and provide positive emotions.
Digital advertising, then, is within this context. Among the tasks to be done in the digital environment, the customer experience must take first place.
How does this publication create value for the consumer? This is the first thing to think about!
One of the digital advertising resources that have prioritized the user experience the most is that of interactive ads .
By allowing the active participation of the consumer in the advertising content, this type of promotional piece generates much more engagement and tends to be shared by the user, also increasing its reach.
A very interesting example of interactive advertising is the one brought by Gatorade in a campaign that had the symbolic presence of Serena Williams , the world tennis star.
Gatorade created an interactive ad on Snapchat that consisted of a game of tennis, in which the user could control the character of Serena while interacting with the brand's logo and communication.
If you want to know more about the power of interactive content to strengthen your brand , be sure to download our complete ebook on the subject!
2. Focus on a segment of the public
This is one of the highest value spreads, so don't waste it!
First, it is necessary to know the buyer person well and define the objectives of the strategy. With this information, the ads are made based on the ideal audience, to make it more precise.
3. Trial and error
Will the ad drive conversions? Is the title of the email good? Don't stop just in case: test and adjust if necessary.
In digital advertising, evaluations can be carried out with a small test of the audience with a version of the page, email, post or ad. So before you get frustrated with negative results, first understand what works and what doesn't.
4. Invest in Remarketing
Remarketing is the action of impacting a user again who has made an interaction with a site, to read a blog post or make a purchase. It can be through email, sponsored links, media display or Social Ads.
It is one of the most effective strategies of digital advertising, since consumers have shown interest in a brand and they just need to be won back!
5. See the practical results for your company
Did your post get a lot of likes? Was your article read by several users? Cool!
What matters most is whether this has served the business and the goals of your marketing strategy.
Don't waste time with vanity metrics. The focus should be on key performance indicators, which show the real results of digital advertising for your business.
In short, digital advertising is an excellent way to connect with your audience. In addition, it takes advantage of marketing strategies and research to attract the attention of the consumer in the channels that they use the most in their day to day.
Do not forget that due to the great diversity of platforms, formats, channels and segmentation possibilities, you currently have an arsenal of resources to enhance your marketing strategy and, also, one of its fundamental aspects: digital advertising.
Now, in our Definitive Guide to Digital Marketing you can guide yourself on how to develop a strategy with powerful tools. Good reading!