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Posts Tagged ‘online advertising’


Your Guide to LinkedIn Advertising

January 24th, 2013 ::

LinkedIn people puzzleIf you’re a B2B company, attracting new customers with pay-per-click (PPC) ads on LinkedIn rather than Google or Facebook may be the way to go.  That’s because you can target your ad to specific job titles, job functions, industries, company size, seniority, by LinkedIn Groups, etc. to ensure you are reaching either the end user or the person who makes the purchase decision.

Who you can reach on LinkedIn:

  • 175 million professionals worldwide, 40 million of whom are US-based
  • 7.9 million business decision makers
  • 1.3 million small business owners
  • 4.2 million corporate executives

How it works:

  • Choose your target demographic and location
  • Set a budget for clicks ($2 minimum) and the total you want to pay overall ($10 minimum)
  • Pay $5 activation fee

Types of ads:

  • Poll ads: Conduct market research and build brand awareness at the same time
  • Join group ads: If you have a LinkedIn Group, you can advertise it and increase your reputation as a thought leader
  • Social ads: These ads integrate member activities and information about advertising to target buyers based on what LinkedIn knows about your social network.
  • Video ads: This is the newest ad type, which lets you add your YouTube video or a 30 second video to ads.

Tips:

  • Make sure you measure your click-through-rate (CTR) on a regular basis to ensure your ad is working; you want a CTR of 0.025% or better.
  • Ads with images get 20% more clicks.
  • Turn your headline into a question to garner more attention.
  • You can create up to 15 ad variations to figure out which image and text work best.
  • Target ads to one specific group instead of everyone; the CTO has different priorities and needs than the CIO.

Have you advertised on LinkedIn yet? What about Google or Facebook? What strategies have you used to increase your CTR?

Image courtesy of blog.hubspot.com

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Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

7 Easy Ways to Improve Your Ad Copy

August 13th, 2012 ::

Writing

With so many advertising opportunities online – from Facebook to Google and beyond – writing ad copy that gets noticed, read and acted upon is becoming harder and harder. Don’t forget old-school print ads, which, depending on your industry, are still used here and there.

As a copywriter and editor, I write a variety of content for clients that has to cut through all the noise and clutter.  Here are 7 valuable tips I’ve learned along the way that are easy to implement as you write your own ad copy:

1. Know your target market

Unless you thoroughly understand your target market’s demographic makeup, needs and wants, you cannot write copy – ad or otherwise – that will catch their attention.  Do your research so you know your audience inside and out.

2. Be careful with questions

If you ask a question as your ad’s headline, be sure to ask only yes/no questions that will be answered the way you want them answered – or you’ll lose potential customers. Asking “Want to go to a free concert?” will leave your readers asking, “What kind of music?  Who is playing?”  Instead, ask “Want to see Jane’s Addiction for free?”

3. Keep it to the basics

From your headline to your body copy, keep your language basic and to the point.  That doesn’t mean boring, though! Use vivid action words, adjectives and adverbs to evoke emotion and elicit excitement.

4. Be persuasive

Tell your potential customers exactly why they need your product or service in your ad.  What problems do you solve?  How do you make their lives easier?

5. Be convincing

Instead of using wishy-washy-maybe language like “could,” say “will.” Instead of “we think,” say “we know.”

6. Stick to one message per ad

For your ad to be most effective, stay focused on one message targeted to one of your customer segments.  If you have more than one message and more than one segment you want to reach, create multiple ads.

7. Add a call to action

Always use a strong call to action that tells your audience what to do – and if it’s online, make sure the call to action is linked to a landing page so your potential customers can take that action, whether it’s downloading a free demo or accessing a special discount.

What ads have grabbed your attention recently?  What have you done in writing your own ads that has been super effective?  Leave a comment below!

Image courtesy of serc.carleton.edu

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Posted in Marketing | 2 Comments »

What Makes Users Click (or Not Click) on Your Online Ads?

October 13th, 2011 ::

By Karen Axelton

Your small business’s online advertising may be getting more results than you think—even if users are not directly clicking on your ads. New research from CrowdScience showed more than half of Internet users worldwide had clicked on an online advertisement in the past six months. And even if they didn’t click, more than three-fourths of users in the 25-54 age group had taken other actions, such as visiting the business’s website or doing online research about the company or product.

CrowdScience found some interesting results as to what age groups were most likely to click on ads. Surprisingly, older Internet users (age 55 and up) were the most likely to click on an ad; by comparison, just 58 percent of Internet users in the youngest age group surveyed (15 to 24) had clicked on an ad. College graduates (71 percent) are more likely than those with a high school education or less (59 percent) to have clicked on an ad in the past six months.

What made customers click on ads? Most often, it was because the ad either showed a product they were already interested in (39 percent) or sparked their interest in a product they hadn’t previously considered (39 percent).

What kept customers from clicking on ads? The reasons varied depending on age and gender, but in general, the top two reasons were that the ad wasn’t relevant or that they didn’t trust it.

Surprisingly, users aged 25 to 44 were the least trusting age group. Nearly one-fifth (18 percent) didn’t trust online ads in general; nearly one-quarter (24 percent) were worried about getting a computer virus from clicking on ads. Another reason younger users and men gave for not clicking on ads was that they didn’t want to navigate away from their current page.

Both users ages 25 to 44 and users ages 44 to 54 were significantly more likely to mistrust ads than those ages 55 and up. Most consumers 55 years and older did not click on ads predominantly for fear of viruses, spam or for lack of desire to navigate off their current page.

Both the oldest and youngest user groups were significantly more likely to say that they didn’t notice online ads. In particular, a whopping 28 percent of consumers ages 15 to 24 said they didn’t notice the ads, suggesting this age group is desensitized to online advertising.

If you think online advertising makes sense primarily for younger age groups, this study should give you something to think about. And even if your ads don’t make users click, they could have other influences that move customers along the buying cycle.

Image Courtesy: Karen Axelton

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Posted in Branding, Marketing, sales process, Small Business, small business, Technology | 3 Comments »

Where Do Consumers Learn About Local Businesses?

October 10th, 2011 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Online or off, it seems users still get most of their information about their local communities via newspapers, according to a study from the Pew Research Center, the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. That means, for small business owners seeking to attract members of the local community, newspapers—both print and online—are still a smart place to advertise.

Most Americans (69 percent) said that if their local newspaper went out of business, it wouldn’t have a major impact on their ability to keep up with information and news about their community. Younger adults, age 18-29, were especially unconcerned. A full 75 percent said the disappearance of the local newspaper wouldn’t greatly affect their ability to get local information. And among home broadband users, 74 percent said that losing their paper would have no impact or only a minor impact on their ability to get local information.

Despite that statement, the survey found show that newspapers are actually much more important to respondents than they indicated. Newspapers (both print and online versions, though primarily print) either ranked first or tied for first as the source that survey respondents relied on most for 11 of the 16 different kinds of local information covered in the survey.

But the importance of print newspapers is likely to decline rapidly in the coming years. The Internet (defined in this study as Web-only outlets) was the number-one source of information about restaurants and local businesses. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said the Internet is their preferred source for this information; between 17 and 18 percent named newspapers as their second most preferred source.

For the 79 percent of Americans who are online, and for Americans ages 18-39 in particular, the Internet ranks as either the first or second most commonly used source of information for 15 out of the 16 local topics the survey asked about.

What does this mean for your business? While newspapers are still important, their influence seems to be lessening and will likely continue to dwindle as broadband becomes more widespread and younger users grow up. Advertising in print newspapers may be crucial depending on the demographics of your audience, but hedge your bets by advertising in online newspapers and other online venues, too.

Image Courtesy: Karen Axelton

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Posted in Marketing, sales process, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business | No Comments »

Small Biz Resource Tip: iPromote

April 8th, 2011 ::

iPromote

If you’re ready to start advertising your business on the Web but just aren’t sure how to create online display ads, iPromote could be the solution to your problem. iPromote creates display ads by using content that already exists on your website. By simply providing your business’s URL, you could have an entire ad campaign in under 10 minutes. iPromote then determines the best placement for your ads based on your description of your target audience. Prices are based on either CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) or CPC (cost per click). iPromote also gets your display ad on customers’ mobile phones.

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Posted in Marketing, Resources, Technology | No Comments »

Ads on Niche Sites Get Better Results

April 1st, 2011 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Do you advertise your products and services online, and wish you could afford ads on huge, well-known sites with tons of traffic? Well, be careful what you wish for, because you might be better off not getting it.

In the world of print advertising, small businesses usually get better results by advertising in niche publications than in general-interest ones with mass audiences of widely divergent people. Now, new research shows that the same may hold true in the online world.

A report recently released by ContextWeb studied more than 1,000 ad campaigns and found that ads placed on long-tail sites — those with an overall reach less than 1.5 percent of the Internet population — got significantly higher click-through rates than ads on larger websites. Specifically, ads on long-tail sites received 24 percent more clicks.

All 20 of the advertiser industries in the study saw click-through gains, with the top category seeing a 50 percent increase in click-throughs.

Confused by the long-tail and short-tail concept? A short-tail site is one that has tons of users in all kinds of demographics—say, MSNBC.com or Yahoo!. A long-tail site has far fewer users, but they’re more passionate and engaged, looking for one specific product or topic. In magazine terms, Time would be a short-tail publication while Model Train Monthly would be a long-tail one. It costs a lot to advertise in Time, but if you wanted to advertise your model trains, where do you think you would be more likely to find interested readers?

The study could have major effects on how advertisers choose where to place their ads. Currently, advertisers often seek to place their ads on short-tail sites (in fact, the study reported that 70 percent of display ad spending goes to such sites). In reality, however, Internet users age 18 and up actually spend just 14 percent of their time online at short-tail sites. This makes long-tail advertising a cost-effective way to reach the same audience and potentially boost your business’s sales while saving substantially on ad costs. Talk about a win-win situation.

Image by Flickr user Ben Heine (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Marketing, Technology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

How Would a Do-Not-Track Bill Affect Small Business?

December 14th, 2010 ::

By Karen Axelton

Lawmakers are pondering legislation that would require a “do-not-track” function in Web browsers that would let consumers opt out of having their data collected by Internet companies. The idea is based on the success of the do-not-call registry, which enables consumers to block unwanted calls from telemarketers. Demand for the do-not-block option has been growing, The Los Angeles Times reports. What would such a move mean for small businesses?

Online advertisers and other Internet businesses use data collected online to serve targeted ads to consumers and otherwise market to them. But the idea that data about their every move is being collected makes many consumers uneasy.

In late November, the Federal Trade Commission endorsed the concept of a do-not-track function; however, the organization is calling for it to be voluntary. The Obama administration has supported stronger protection for consumer privacy online, but only on a voluntary basis, and hasn’t come out in favor of a do-not-track function.

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, will introduce online privacy legislation next year that may include a do-not-track requirement. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) next year will introduce legislation regarding children’s online privacy that will include a do-not-track requirement.

To forestall the introduction of a mandatory do-not-track function, Internet companies are launching an industry-wide initiative that would enable people to opt out of targeted ads, giving them more privacy protection.

One major concern that legislators are taking into account is the harmful effect a do-not-track regulation would have on Internet advertising at a time when the economy is still in a fragile state. Joan Gillman, president of media sales for Time Warner Cable, told legislators in a hearing that advertisements are one reason most Internet content is free.

So far, the Internet has largely escaped attempts to regulate and tax it. Will it continue to do so? Only time will tell. In the meantime, you need to be aware that collecting private data is a sensitive issue. Make sure you’re using your customer data in ways that they’re comfortable with.

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Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

12 Easy Ways to Use Social Media for Inbound Marketing

April 14th, 2010 ::

I have blogged before about how much I love Inc. Magazine.  Not only is their magazine packed with valuable and useful information for entrepreneurs and small business owners, their website is, too.  Best of all: everything is well-written in an accessible, friendly, and encouraging tone of voice. 

Gifts

.tomate d'epingles.'s/Flickr

On my birthday in January, they published 30 Tips for Using Social Media in Your Business on their website.  It was a great, totally unintentional gift on their part, and it has been a wonderful source of inspiration for me.  Sometimes I open up Twitter and Facebook and just sit there, trying to think of something useful or witty or funny to post.  Being able to refer to the things other business owners have done to drive business and market themselves through social media is much easier! 

I am not going to regurgitate what the author, April Joyner, wrote.  Some of it didn’t strike me as easy to do, and some of it was “don’t do this!” What follows are my favorite ideas.

  1. Sneak peeks.  Whether you provide a service or product—or both—offer a behind the scenes look at, or preview of, whatever it is you’re working on.
  2. Post videos.  Use videos to quickly demonstrate what your company does.  People like to watch well-made, funny videos, and they love to share them (just look at the success of YouTube!).
  3. Interact.  This really goes without saying, but it is worth repeating.  Always respond to comments on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, LinkedIn page, etc. 
  4. Promotions.  Offer coupons and other special promotions through social media only.  Just make sure they are easily redeemed!  You can also offer coupons through Groupon or, in certain cities, Living Social.
  5. Read what they’re saying.  Search your company’s name on Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp to see what people are saying about you—and join the conversation.
  6. Broadcast your location.  If your business is mobile (dog groomer, street performer, food truck), use Twitter, Facebook, and/or Foursquare to update your location so customers can find you.  
  7. Search for customers.  By conducting keyword searches on Twitter that are related to your business, you can reply to people who have posted them—and hopefully snag some new customers.
  8. Target your online ads.  Facebook lets you to target your ads based on specific information in users’ profiles.
  9. Customer forums.  Add a customer forum to your website or social network so customers can interact with each other.  Great way to build a community for both your business and industry!
  10. Tap evangelists.  Ask your top customers to spread the word about your company as guest bloggers, or ask them to make a short (2-3 minutes, tops) video of why they like your company’s product or service so much, which both of you can share. 
  11. Follow your industry.  Read blogs related to your industry and join industry groups on Facebook and LinkedIn—and post comments!
  12. Help others.  Scan LinkedIn’s Answers for questions relating to your industry.  Spend an hour or so a week answering them, and you may very well find new customers. 

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Posted in small business | No Comments »