Types of Advertising: Strategies, Pros and Cons & How to Choose Your Channel

Key takeaways 

• Advertising is about connecting with an audience and persuading them to act. 
• Digital advertising, including paid social and search, provides precision and measurability, making it ideal for targeting specific demographics and tracking your results. 
• The most effective advertising strategy involves choosing a mix of traditional, digital, and other creative methods that align with your specific business goals, audience, and budget. 

Ads are everywhere. You see them on billboards while driving, you see them pop-up on Facebook when you scroll and even skip them when watching YouTube videos. But, at its heart, advertising is all about connecting with your audience.  

Whether you’re a small business owner who wants to start advertising on a budget, or a seasoned marketer looking to refresh your strategy, understanding the different types of advertising is the first step to success.  

This guide will walk you through the key categories, give you practical examples, and help you figure out which methods are the best fit for your brand. 

What is advertising? 

Advertising is the practice of promoting a product, service, or idea to a target audience to persuade them to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or building brand loyalty. It plays a role in business growth by creating brand awareness, driving sales, and helping a company stand out. While its purpose remains the same, advertising has evolved from traditional print and radio ads to sophisticated digital campaigns powered by data and AI. 

Main categories and types of advertising 

To make sense of the many advertising options available today, it helps to group them into a few key categories. We’ll dive into each of these in detail, but here’s a quick overview to get you started: 

• Traditional advertising 
• Digital advertising 
• Experiential and event-based advertising 
• Influencer and partnership advertising 
• Cause-based and sustainability advertising 

Let’s take a closer look at each type of advertising, including its pros and cons. 

Traditional advertising 

These methods have been a staple of marketing for decades, and they still work today—especially for local businesses looking to build a strong community presence. 

Type of advertising	Pros	Cons
Print	Can be highly targeted to specific demographics, and feels tangible.	Difficult to measure ROI, has limited reach, and can be expensive.
Radio	Cost-effective and builds brand recall through high frequency.	Limited audience targeting and short exposure time.
TV	Unparalleled reach and highly engaging with both visual and audio elements.	Very expensive to produce and air, and less hyper-targeted and segmented than digital ads.
Direct mail	Can be highly personal and effective with the right mailing list.	Often perceived as junk mail and has a high cost per piece.
Outdoor	Unavoidable and high-impact visual presence.	Very broad targeting and difficult to measure success.

Print advertising 

This includes ads found in newspapers, magazines, flyers, and brochures. It’s a great choice for reaching a specific, geographically defined audience, such as a local restaurant advertisement in a community magazine. This method can feel more trustworthy than digital ads, but it’s often expensive and has a more limited reach. Imagine a full-page ad in a regional newspaper’s weekend edition. 

Radio advertising 

Radio ads are those quick audio spots you hear while driving or working. They’re great for reaching local folks, especially during busy commute hours. For example, a coffee shop might run a 30-second ad on a local FM station to push a new breakfast menu. Play it often enough and people will start to remember. It’s cheaper than TV or print, so your money goes further. 

TV advertising  

This type of advertising uses commercials aired on television channels. TV advertising is best for building widespread brand recognition and reaching a massive audience, like running a commercial during a major sporting event. It offers unparalleled brand-building potential and is highly engaging with both visual and audio elements. 

Direct mail advertising 

Direct mail is when businesses send stuff like postcards or flyers right to your mailbox. They’re not just sending it to everyone, either—it’s targeted, like picking who gets an invite. You might have received one of these in form of mailed flyers from your local gym saying, “Here’s a free week at our gym.” It’s simple, personal, and sometimes, it just works better than email. No nonsense, just straight to the point. 

Outdoor (out-of-home) advertising 

This involves large-scale ads placed in public spaces, such as billboards, bus shelters, and public transit. Big ads in public spots get noticed. They’re great if you want locals to know your business or event is happening. Stick your ad on a busy highway, and people can’t miss it. It’s a fast way to get your name out there and make sure folks remember you.  

Digital advertising 

This category represents the present and future of advertising. It’s all about leveraging the internet to reach your audience with incredible precision. 

Many digital advertising platforms operate on the popular pay-per-click (PPC) advertising model, but some use pay-per-impressions (PPI) or cost-per-mille (CPM), referring to how many “thousand” times the digital ad was displayed/impressed (but not necessarily clicked). 

Type of advertising	Pros	Cons
Display	Visually engaging and highly measurable.	Many users have ad blockers or experience “banner blindness.”
Search engine (paid search)	Delivers immediate, high-intent traffic, and you only pay per click.	Can be expensive for competitive keywords and requires constant optimization.
Social media (paid social)	Unmatched targeting precision and strong engagement potential.	Requires creative content for each platform, and users may not be in a buying mindset.
Video	Highly engaging and can convey a lot of information quickly.	Can be expensive to produce, and many users skip them.
Native	Less disruptive to the user experience and higher engagement rates.	Must be clearly labeled as sponsored to maintain trust and can be mistaken for editorial content.
Retargeting and remarketing	Very high conversion rates by targeting people already interested in your brand.	Can be perceived as intrusive if not done correctly.

Display advertising 

Display advertising consists of visual ads, such as banners and images, that appear on websites. This type of advertising is best for building brand awareness across the web and is highly measurable. For example, banner ads on a weather website can build brand visibility. However, a high number of ad blockers are in use, and users can often ignore these ads. 

Search engine advertising (paid search)  

This involves placing paid ads across search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords. It is best for capturing customers who are actively searching for your product or service, such as a florist running Google ads for “flower delivery near me”. This type of advertising delivers immediate, high-intent traffic, and you only pay when someone clicks your ad. 

Social media advertising (paid social) 

Social media ads targeted campaigns on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. It is best for reaching a highly specific demographic based on interests, age, and location, such as running ads on Instagram to people who follow fitness influencers. Social media advertising has unmatched targeting precision and strong engagement potential. 

If you’re interested in social ads that are extremely “local” in nature, go read our article on hyperlocal social marketing. 

Video advertising 

Video ads run before, during, or after video marketing content on platforms like YouTube and other streaming services. It is an effective way to tell a compelling brand story and demonstrate a product in action, such as a short tutorial video ad that plays before a YouTube video. Video advertising is highly engaging and can convey a lot of information quickly. 

Native advertising 

These are ads that blend so seamlessly with the surrounding content on a webpage that it doesn’t even look out of place (hence the term “native”). It is a way to deliver a sponsored message that feels like a natural part of the user’s experience. An example is a sponsored article on a business news website. This approach is less disruptive and can lead to higher engagement rates than traditional display ads. 

Retargeting and remarketing 

A marketing strategy involves showing ads to people who have already visited your website or interacted with your brand. It’s best for re-engaging warm leads and encouraging them to make a purchase, for instance, when a person who viewed shoes on your website later sees an ad for those same shoes on Facebook. It has a very high conversion rate since it targets people already interested in your brand. 

Experiential and event-based advertising 

These types of advertising are about getting creative and bringing your brand into the real world to build a personal connection with customers. 

Type of advertising	Pros	Cons
Trade shows & expos	Face-to-face interaction with high-value leads.	Expensive and time-consuming, with results that can be hard to track.
Sponsorships & branded events	Builds goodwill and positive brand association.	High cost and results can be difficult to track.

Trade shows and expos 

You’ve probably seen this in industry-specific events to showcase products and network with potential clients. It’s best for generating B2B leads and building industry authority by, for example, setting up a booth at a major tech conference to demo new software. While it provides face-to-face interaction with high-value leads, it can be very expensive and time-consuming. 

Sponsorships and branded events 

This method involves supporting or creating events that align with your brand’s values to increase brand visibility and build a positive association with a particular community or cause. A sports drink company sponsoring a local marathon is a good example.

Influencer and partnership advertising 

Working with others who already have an audience you want to reach can be a powerful shortcut to building trust and driving sales. 

Type of advertising	Pros	Cons
Influencer Marketing	High level of trust from the influencer’s audience and great for authentic content.	Can be expensive, and finding the right influencer can be challenging.
Affiliate Marketing	Low-risk, pay-for-performance model.	You give up a portion of your revenue, and managing a large network can be difficult.

Influencer marketing 

Collaborating with individuals who have a dedicated following on social media to promote your products. This is one of the social media marketing trends that small and even large-scale businesses are using. 

It is a good way to reach a niche audience with an authentic and trusted message. For example, a beauty brand might partner with a popular makeup artist on YouTube for a product review. 

Affiliate marketing 

A performance-based model where you pay a commission to partners for each customer they bring you. You’ll find a lot of affiliate programs on small, medium, and large businesses. 

It is best for scaling your sales efforts by leveraging a network of partners. An example is an online store that pays a commission to a blogger for every sale made through a unique link on their website. 

Cause-based and sustainability advertising 

Modern consumers are often values-driven. These advertising types connect your brand to a bigger purpose, building a loyal customer base that believes in what you stand for. 

Type of advertising	Pros	Cons
Cause marketing	Builds brand loyalty and positive public perception.	Must be authentic and can be seen as a marketing gimmick if not done correctly.
Sustainability & eco-focused campaigns	Attracts a growing segment of environmentally conscious consumers and builds a positive brand image.	Can be perceived as “greenwashing” if not backed by genuine actions.

Cause marketing 

Cause marketing ties your brand to a social cause or charity, that is why it is excellent for building a strong emotional connection with consumers who care about the same issues, like donating a portion of profits to a charity for every product sold. This can build brand loyalty and a positive public perception, but it must be authentic. 

Sustainability and eco-focused campaigns 

This type of ad campaign highlights a brand’s commitment to environmental responsibility. It’s a way to attract environmentally conscious consumers, for instance, a clothing brand launching a new line of products made from recycled materials.

Emerging trends in advertising 

The world of advertising is always changing. Here are some of the exciting new trends to keep an eye on: 

• AI-driven ad targeting. Using artificial intelligence marketing to analyze vast amounts of data and serve hyper-personalized ads to the right people at the right time. 
• Shoppable video ads and livestream commerce. Allowing consumers to purchase products directly from within a video ad or during a live broadcast, eliminating friction in the buying process. 
• Voice search advertising. Creating audio-based ads and strategies for voice assistants and smart speakers is becoming increasingly important as more people use voice to search for products. 
• AR/VR advertising experiences. Attracting customers with innovative experiences is a central component of advertising. Immersive ads that use augmented and virtual reality to let users interact with a product in a virtual space. This has been used by some beauty products. 

Note: While emerging advertising technologies like AI-driven targeting, AR/VR experiences, and shoppable media are gaining traction, their adoption varies widely across industries, business sizes, and budgets. Not all trends may be practical or cost-effective for every brand. Always evaluate whether a new approach aligns with your audience, goals, and available resources before investing. 

How to choose the right type of advertising 

With so many options, how do you decide what’s best for your business? Here’s a simple framework to guide your decision-making: 

1. Define your goals. What do you want to achieve? Are you aiming for brand awareness, generating new leads, or driving immediate sales?
2. Know your audience. Where do your ideal customers spend their time? If they’re on Instagram, a paid social campaign is a great idea. Compare print versus digital ads. If they read local newspapers, print ads might work. 
3. Match your budget to your options. How much funds can you work with? Some advertising types like TV commercials have a high barrier to entry, while others — like social media ads — can start with a very small budget (like advertising in Facebook). 
4. Consider the buying stage. Are you trying to make people aware of your brand, or are you trying to convert people who are ready to buy? Where they are in your marketing funnel will influence your choice. 
5. Test and measure results before scaling. Are your advertising and marketing efforts working out? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Start small, track your results, and then scale the campaigns that are working best. 

Benefits and limitations of each advertising type 

Here’s a quick-glance table to help you compare the core features of different advertising types. 

Channel	Targeting	Cost	Reach	Speed
Traditional Advertising
Print advertising	Broad	High	Medium	Slow
Radio advertising	Broad	Medium	High	Slow
TV advertising	Broad	High	Very high	Slow
Direct mail advertising	Targeted	Low	Medium	Slow
Outdoor/billboard advertising	Broad/targeted	High	Very high	Slow
Digital Advertising
Display advertising	Global/targeted	Low-medium	Very high	Fast
Search engine advertising (paid social)	Targeted	Medium	Very high	Very fast
Social media advertising (paid social)	Global/targeted	Low-high	Very high	Fast
Video advertising	Global/targeted	Medium-high	High	Fast
Native advertising	Targeted	Low-medium	High	Fast
Retargeting and remarketing	Targeted	Low	High	Very fast
Experiential and Event-Based Advertising
Trade shows and expos	Niche	Very high	Very high	Slow
Sponsorships and branded events	Niche/targeted	Very high	Very high	Slow
Influencer and Partnership Advertising
Influencer marketing	Niche/targeted	Medium-high	High	Medium
Affiliate marketing	Niche/targeted	Low	High	Medium-slow
Cause-Based & Sustainability Advertising
Cause marketing	Broad/targeted	Low-medium	Very high	Medium-slow
Sustainability & eco-focused campaigns	Broad/targeted	Very low	High	Slow

Your advertising adventure awaits! 

An effective advertising strategy isn’t about doing everything—it’s about doing the right things for your business. Start by testing a few methods, listen to your audience, and adapt. The most powerful tool in your advertising arsenal is a strong online presence. 

Ready to build your brand’s digital home? Network Solutions has the website tools, domain services, and professional marketing solutions you need to create a rock-solid foundation for all your advertising campaigns. 

It’s time to stop just advertising and start building a brand. 

Not sure where to start in advertising? Our digital marketing experts are ready to help you. 

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