In most respects, planning and executing a successful digital advertising campaign is the same as planning and executing a traditional advertising campaign. In either case, you need to develop functional marketing goals, identify a target buyer persona, research the market, select the most effective channels for the job, consider your target buyer's journey, track your results, and refine tactics as necessary to achieve the optimal outcome. There are, however, some specific things to keep in mind when utilizing digital ads. Let’s explore what goal setting, buyer persona creation, and budget planning look like for a successful digital advertising campaign.
In good times and bad, advertising is essential for business success. Effective ad campaigns help firms attract new customers and maintain existing ones by increasing online or in-person traffic, generating brand loyalty, sharing a positive company image, promoting repeat sales, and more. However, we suggest utilizing digital ads only if you have crystal-clear marketing goals and a properly designed marketing strategy.
+ See our proven three stage process for establishing marketing goals.
Well-defined marketing goals are crucial for effective advertising. Clear-cut objectives enable you to make the most efficient use of your time, energy, and budget. You can begin the process of uncovering your marketing goals by asking yourself questions about your company and how you would like your ideal customer to perceive your business.
Once that’s accomplished you need to create crystal-clear objectives that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound (also known as S.M.A.R.T. goals). An example of a S.M.A.R.T goal for a digital ad campaign might be, “we would like to achieve 200 clicks per month” or “within six months, we want 100 online information request forms completed.”
To determine the best way to reach your goals, you need to dig a little deeper:
Did you know that the best way to successfully engage with any audience is to understand who they are and what they want? In fact, getting this right is absolutely crucial for any modern marketing campaign. When you take the time to identify specific buyer personas for your intended audience, you’ll have a more complete picture of who they are and how to reach them efficiently and effectively.
“We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in and be what people are interested in.”
–CRAIG DAVIS
Buyer personas are semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers based on data and research. The deep understanding of your customer base that you gain in the development process drives everything from content creation and the advertising channels you use to sales follow up and company priorities. Because of this, developing comprehensive buyer personas not only will help you attract larger amounts of better qualified leads, it can also assist in retaining your existing customer base.
+ Learn how to create a buyer persona for your target audience.
The best and most effective buyer personas are based on both market research and insights gleaned from current customers and qualified leads. From personal background to shopping preferences, there are a number of factors to take into account as you identify your target buyer persona. We’ve developed a worksheet that will help guide you through this process.
Here is a real life example of how we utilized buyer persona creation to inform a digital ad campaign for the Air National Guard, with the goal of generating new leads for recruitment:
Target Audience Personal Background:
Target Audience Professional Background:
Target Audience Goals & Challenges:
How The Target Audience Learns/Sources Information:
With the above information in mind, we created a Facebook lead generation campaign (fine-tuning interests, locations, and special ad categories) to reach the Air National Guard’s target audience on social media.
When determining your budget for digital ads, it’s important to consider how much your desired outcome is worth. (For example, if your goal is to increase sales, you might note that each sale is equal to an average of $500 of revenue for your company.) This will help you determine how much you should invest to attain your goals.
There are a number of things that make digital pay per click (or PPC) advertising particularly valuable in the modern marketplace.
Evidence for the incredible value of digital advertising when marketing to millennials and Generation Z is strong.
With effective goals and a detailed buyer persona in place, you’re well on your way to establishing a successful digital campaign. To maximize your return on digital spending, it’s important that you understand a few additional points:
This is where working with an experienced digital marketing agency can really pay off. We help you cut through the digital media clutter, amplify your branding efforts, extend your marketing reach efficiently and effectively, and build deeper relationships with your target audience. Our mission is to propel your marketing message further to guarantee the best possible outcomes.
+ Learn more about our digital media management and optimization services.
Here at MSS Media, Inc., we’ve been providing Education, Government, Real Estate & Lifestyle clients with succinct, optimized, and successful marketing solutions for more than 15 years. Consider MSS Media, Inc. a full-service, one-stop shop for all your Media and Public Relations needs. Your goals are our motivation. And our mission is to propel your message, further and faster, to achieve the outcomes you’re looking for. If you found this blog post helpful, please share!