Ten Steps To successful online advertising.
Below are ten valuable steps to follow when building an online advertising campaign, along with some examples that illustrate how related tactics can help you increase the return on your advertising investment.
1. Define your Objectives
Creators of online advertising face a different set of issues than do our traditional counterparts. It would be foolish to measure success on the same metrics. Before we can begin to create a successful online advertising campaign, we must spell out our objects, determine the standards by which our success will be measured that is reliable, fair and accurate.
The beauty of Internet technology is that it allows precise measurement of click-throughs, page views, impressions, repeat-visits and other browsing habits. But many brand building objectives cannot be measured with this type of data. The success of a campaign whose objective is to increase mind-share can only be measured through tracking studies, not click-through rates. In order to accurately determine a campaign's total return on investment, success metrics weighted according to your objectives.
2. Identify your Audience
As in any media, we must always know exactly to whom we are speaking, and we must speak to them in a language that they can understand and relate to. Traditional demographics are critical, of course. But here again, the online environment introduces a whole new set of issues. For starters, the Web is global. Yet one-to-one dialog is increasingly common. Technology standards vary. So we must consider browser requirements, plug-ins, bandwidth, etc. And most importantly, the nature of electronic communications has introduced "psychographic" issues that are impossible to ignore. Simply put, people behave differently online than they do in person.
3. Know the Brand
Clearly, technology has changed the way we create advertising. But it has hot changed the fundamentals behind how we build a brand. In fact, technology actually demands an increased reverence and understanding of the brand, because it has introduced new ways of interacting with the consumer - many that are unique, personal, and transpire in real time. In this environment, for instance, we may find that a demonstration of a product's utility or value reinforces that brand print better than a voice identity alone. As brand stewards, we build brands by nuturing the relationship between consumer and brand at every point of contact. Thanks to technology, we now have many more opportunities to do so.
4. Capture Attention
For any advertiser, cutting through clutter is a venerable challenge. Print publishers often stack ads several pages deep. And TV spots vie for attention during commercial breaks of six, seven, eight or more ads. Online, the problem is worse. Banner click-through rates have dropped to a fraction of what they once were. As people become more acclimated to Web browsing, their attention becomes more difficult to divert from primary content. In order to stand out and get noticed, online advertisers must be bold, creative and resourceful.
Conceptual thinking and a sense of good design are essential. And moreover, inventive applications of new technologies and formats can entice your audience to not only notice your ads, but spend a surprising amount of time interacting with them.
5. Consider the Context
The Web is one big, searchable database. As its name suggests, it is non-linear. There is no sure way of knowing where your audience linked from or what they were looking at before your ad appears on their screen - even lower level pages of hierarchical sites can be linked from search engines or bookmarked. You usually know the content of the page, however. And since the Web is an active medium, you know your audience is there voluntarily. That's why online ads are relevant to their surrounding content can be powerful direct marketing vehicles. In order to take full advantage of this power, you should review the media buy before you create any online advertisement. Visit the sites and if possible, the actual pages where the ad will run. This allows you to develop your creative in context with surrounding content, maximizing its relevance and visibility.6. Determine the Format
In many ways, brand building is about setting standards. Creatives spend months developing traditional campaigns around font sizes, logo treatments, and color palettes. By establishing a consistent format, we create a recognizable brand image. In print and broadcast, many standards are dictated up front - full-page, quarter-page, 30 seconds, 15 seconds. On the Web, we write new rules every day. When we deliver a message through an animated banner or a button that links to a pop-up-window, we do so with the understanding that while the format is reflective of the brand, we may want or need to migrate in the near future. The format of any online campaign should be carefully chosen with respect for the brand, the audience, and the rapid evolution of technology. For in many instances, the medium really is the message.
Built with IBM's HotMedia tech-nology, these banners for IBM Software allow the user to explore a 3-dimensional environment by rolling their cursor over the image. Interactive "hot spots" provide different points of interaction, which point to Web pages specific to each ad.
7. Entice Interactivity
The Web is interactive and immediate. For some marketers, it may be the closet they'll ever get to face-to-face dialog. Online ads should tempt our audience to initiate a dialog through interaction - be it a click, rollover, or any number of rich media options.
Enticing our audience to interact is the most basic challenge that we as online advertisers face. And whether our banner is flat, animated, or rich, we always include a call-to-action. The more creative the better, as long as the message is clear, simple and conspicuous. It is a proven static that the words, "click here," or a variation therof, can boost response by 50%.
8. Trigger Emotional Bonds
Development and nurturing a customer's emotional bond with a brand is perhaps the most powerful sales tool a marketer can employ. For decades, direct marketers have used emotional triggers to build and reinforce loyalty.
Today, Web technologies allow extensive data capture and analysis, enabling applications that can help solidify customer relationships. And as interactive technologies evolve, new opportunities will emerge for Web advertisers to develop even stronger loyalties.
These opportunities come with a caveat, however, to respect the privacy of our audience. Even the appearance of intrusion or misuse can turn away a lifetime customer.
9. Leverage Technology
The Web is evolving at a dizzying pace. Every day, online audiences are exposed to new applications of technology. Many people have, in fact, come to expect it .If technology exists that can help you deliver your message in a more interesting and captivating way, you are doing your audience a disservice by not using it. This does not mean using technology, however. Its application should be carefully integrated with the creative strategy.
10. Promise and Deliver
Click-through statistics tell that, on average, one out of every 200 people exposed to a banner will click on it. That one click through is much more than a static. It represents a real individual who has given you their attention and time. Don't blow it by delivering content that doesn't relate to your banner. You could lose not only a potential sale today, but also a lifetime customer.
Credits: View Point
 |