When it comes to digital advertising, it’s common to only think about the ad creative because that’s often the only visible part. This makes it easy to see a Facebook, Google search, or banner ad and think that an ad graphic is all there is to marketing. In actuality, the ad creative is one part of a nuanced process based on strategy.
Our digital marketing strategies include who should see the ad, what they should see, why they should care, how much you should spend, and what you should do when the results come in. When you hire Strategie, you’re not just getting an appealing ad graphic. You’re getting the entire system and processes we’ve built. That includes everything that comes before and after the ad is run.
Strategy comes first
A lot of planning and thought occurs before an ad is ever drafted. Before we draft, we outline a goal and a strategy. To identify the goal, we consider the following:
- What is the aim of the advertisement?
- What offer or action are we driving?
- What does success actually look like?
With the goal identified, we tailor our strategy to fit the goal by addressing a few key areas:
- Audience targeting
- Messaging
- Creative
- Budget recommendations
Audience Targeting
Each campaign targets a different group of people, which requires different messaging. Equipping a campaign to reach a target audience requires identifying who the product is for, where they are in the buying journey, and how to reach them. Determining audiences can be a nuanced and involved process that requires expertise, not guesswork. Depending on the campaign, we look at factors like:
- Demographics
- Geographic targeting
- Interests and behaviors
- Search intent
- Website visitors
- Customer lists
- Lookalike/similar audiences
- Retargeting
- Industry/job-title targeting
Messaging
We translate your company’s value proposition into messaging that works in an advertising environment, covering everything from headlines to calls to action. By including relevant information that is consistent with your company’s established voice, we can connect with the target audience more effectively. This involves producing different messages for different segments or for customers at different stages of the buying process. Here are a few things we consider when it comes to messaging:
- Offers
- Pain points
- Differentiators
- Benefits vs. features
Creative
Designing creative isn’t simply making something look good. Within the confines of a single ad, creative has to stop the scroll, communicate quickly, reinforce the message, work within the platform, represent the brand, and give people a reason to act. Optimizing creative to fulfill each of these jobs is a balancing act. Depending on the campaign, we may recommend:
- Static graphics
- Video
- Animation
- Display ads
- Social media ads
- Connected TV ads
- Landing pages
- Multiple versions for testing
Budget Recommendations
When it comes to advertising, it can be challenging to determine how best to spend your budget, especially when it is limited. However, a bigger budget doesn’t always mean better results. Depending on your goal, we can help you do more with less. Backed by an audience targeting strategy, we help determine:
- How much budget is needed for effective results
- Which channels deserve budget
- How budget should be distributed across channels
- How budget should be balanced between prospecting and retargeting
- Whether your current budget is realistic for the goal
- When additional investment could make sense
Optimizing Advertisements
Our work doesn’t stop once the ads go live. We check your ads on a regular basis to optimize performance and adjust to changes in the market. We monitor things like engagement metrics, conversions, search terms, and performance, then make the necessary adjustments. Our changes are informed by past performance data, not educated guesses.
Leveraging a completed campaign
At the end of a campaign period, we meet with you to break down the data. Our discussions cover what did and didn’t work, what we learned, and what should be changed in future iterations. We also recommend where the next dollar should go.
You’re buying expertise, not ad space
When you work with Strategie for digital marketing, you aren’t simply paying for ad space. You get every piece of the process: planning, strategy, design, and optimization. You’re paying for the expertise required to get the most out of your ads and the work it takes to maximize performance.
You can see what this process looks like when applied to a real campaign in our advertising case studies.
Interested in getting more out of your ads? Reach out today.