IAB GCC Report: Ramadan Budgets Shift Towards Performance based Ad Spends
Advertisers are changing their digital ad spend due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis affecting the businesses and the economy. The Dubai based Interactive Agency Bureau(IAB) that empowers GCC based media and marketing industries surveyed the marketing teams of nearly 30 Agencies and Clients between April 6 to April 12, 2020, for the impact of COVID-19 on Advertising.
Here are some main points from the report:
The findings suggest a huge downturn with 48% of respondents expect less than 30% of budget cuts in April and 41% of respondents see a decline in ad-spending or paused post-June.
With the Holy month of Ramadan expected to begin within weeks, there are still 34% of respondents who are yet to take decisions on Ramadan budgets while 51% are unsure about the directions of second-half budgets in this unprecedented period. This suggests that the majority of marketers are in ‘wait-and-see’ mode.
The report also states that 59% of respondents are suggesting that they will significantly increase the ‘Performance-based’ ad spend. This indicates marketers are in favour of Performance media in the second half.
Even though advertisers might be working on leaner budgets but are opportunistic to see 17% growth in Digital display in the second half. They also expect a rise in the audience and programmatic buying.
Lastly, 77% of respondents see COVID-19 will have a significant impact on the MENA advertising market than the 08/09 financial crisis.
Take a look at the pictorial images of findings and methodology from the report.
Image Credit:CampaignMe
Image Credit: CampaignMe
Image Credit: CampaignMe
Image Credit: CampaignMe
Image Credit: CampaignMe
Image Credit: CampaignMe
Image Credit: CampaignMe
Image Credit: CampaignMe
Image Credit: CampaignMe
Image Credit: CampaignMe
Image Credit: CampaignMe
There is a wave of optimism about the second half right now and are looking ahead of a post-pandemic world whenever it is possible. Definitely, there is a pendulum swing in the minds of advertisers whether to decrease ad spend or pause it entirely to what we hope for a clear picture very soon.
Wait, You Don’t Have A Sales Funnel? Are You Even Serious About Marketing In 2020?
The marketing sales funnel describes how a prospective buyer will move from the awareness stage to the purchase stage and further to become a repeat loyal customer of a particular product/service. The sales funnel is also known as a revenue funnel or sales process. It is a buying process or consumer-focused marketing model that is typically divided into multiple steps, which can differ depending on the company sales model/ product/service.
Why do we need a sales funnel?
A goal without a proper plan is but only a wish. So, it is imperative that your online business has a plan outlined termed ‘sales funnel’ to be able to convert your website visitors, to your final customers. Th
The sales funnel is a step-by-step marketing plan that aims to take a prospective customer from one stage to another until the purchase is made and further for repeat business.
Wait, you don’t have a sales funnel? Then this is what may happen,
– No consistent, long-term success
– Even if a product sells itself, you cannot be assured the same quantum will continue.
– If you let potential customers at the top of the funnel slide away, you will miss opportunities that take a bit more nurturing.
– Without sales funnel how will you analyze the performance? How will you build a sales team? How will you ascertain the length of a sales cycle? How will you continue to successfully sell in adverse market conditions? Are you selling with integrity?
– 80% of sales are made on the follow-up, and not the first time someone sees your offer or visits your website. How will you track them?
YES, every business can benefit from a well-thought sales funnel that is structured and strategized. So, if you are serious about marketing in 2020, you will need on!
Identifying the stages in the Sales Funnel
Image Credits: Sam Oh
Our outlined four basic steps provide an understanding of what happens in a sales funnel and serves as a framework for the customer’s journey. It is important that you analyze your business, identify the areas for improvement at every stage, and chalk out a sales funnel to best suit the product/service.
Step 1: Awareness
In the very first stage, marketing and branding are aimed at generating interest and building an audience through targeted marketing campaigns. This is done by creating content (video, blogging, podcasts) that addresses a customer’s pain point, or a need or a search. Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram ads are the fastest way to create awareness and reach your target audience to market your product/service. 78% of salespeople who use social media selling as a tool outsell their peers. Don’t just be seen, be visible, be heard on a mix of social media platforms!
Step 2: Lead Generation
Firstly, create a powerful landing page called the ‘squeeze page’ to solicit opt-in email addresses from prospective subscribers. Once the traffic (potential customer) begins to flow to your website, it is time to turn it into a lead magnet. A lead magnet is any type of incentive that a company offers to the potential buyer in exchange for his/her email address or any other contact information. At this stage, you want to be sure you have captured the details of the visitor who has come to your website in order to be able to communicate with him/her further. Lead magnets constitute digital, downloadable content, such as free reports, eBooks, whitepapers, how-to videos, and video courses. Giving away interesting valuable content free of cost attracts prospective customers and helps the company to build a larger customer base.
The lead magnet needs to be powerful since it is the first and lasting impression, that will influence and determine whether the lead will convert during the later stages of the funnel. Also, at this stage, the company can increase the generation of leads through blog posts, chatbots, and social media.
Generating organic SEO traffic is neither easy nor fast. If done correctly, in the long run, it will yield high quality and most targeted traffic. After all, people have come to your website for a reason. Target the reason, target the customer. Once you have tested this funnel, you can also use Google paid ads.
Step 3: Prospects
Once you are able to generate a significant number of leads, it’s time to work on converting them into customers. Studies suggest that only 2% of sales are actually closed after the first interaction, whether that is an advertisement, phone call, or webinar. Also, 20% who those who click the ‘Buy Now’ button do not complete the purchase. This means those leads are interested in your product but not totally convinced as yet to spend their money. It is the decision stage where customers may be ready to buy but considering two-three options. The key is to have active follow with such leads. Whether enticing them with a first-time offer or discount code or free shipping, special price incentive, there needs to be active and not obtrusive communication beginning with your customer at this stage. A follow-up email with a CTA (Call-To-Action) button is the most logical progression and an unobtrusive form of communication here. Testimonials, customer reviews, live demos, webinars, product comparisons, pricing pages, all add to convincing the customer who is already interested in what you are selling.
Step 4: Sales
Once you have qualified your lead, now it is time to take action and seal the deal. At this stage in the sales funnel, the customer acts. He/she purchases your product/service and becomes your final consumer and an esteemed client. The few kinds of content to include at the action stage of the sales funnel include – Insider or customer success tips, training webinars, and follow-up email campaigns. Retargeting can also be used at this stage.
Once we have the above stages completed and a sale done, it is not the end. Loyal customer building is a continuous process. The art of upselling with a subscription service that provides clients with an improved product or service, follow up email campaigns, customer success tips, will help you to generate continual income. Additionally, after the customer has had a positive experience with your brand, they become a brand advocate by sharing those experiences through word-of-mouth marketing. Customer advocacy is your company’s customer service at its best.
Conclusion
Creating and optimizing a sales funnel is the work of digital marketing experts. Every little detail at every step in the funnel can impact conversions. So, start building on a sales funnel today. In a competitive marketplace, if you are serious about marketing, you need to start building on a Sales Funnel now!
Rookie Mistakes To Avoid On Your First Attempt At Influencer Marketing
Who is an influencer?
An influencer is a person who holds the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her online audience. These people whether celebrities or millionaires, politicians or industrialists, tech experts or bloggers, have an active following on social media platforms with whom they regularly interact.
What is Influencer marketing? Influencer marketing is when a company partners with an influencer/celebrity to increase its brand awareness or conversions among a specific target audience.
Why influencer marketing is gaining importance?
(Image Credits: Stevan McGrath)
In addition,
– In 2020, 7% of companies plan to invest a million dollars in influencer marketing.
– 89% of marketers believe ROI from influencer marketing is comparable or better than other marketing channels
What does Influencer marketing target?
– Lead generation
– Brand awareness
– Generate sales
Now that you are fully convinced to want to use influencer marketing; these are the important
rookie mistakes to avoid on your first attempt at Influencer marketing:-
1. Not having a proper goal
An influencer marketing strategy needs to be well formulated. Before you conduct social media, outreach and start working with an influencer, have a clear vision of the campaign in question.
Start out with setting a scalable goal for the influencer campaign – is it to generate leads, is it to increase brand awareness or is it to improve sales. Then put in metrics to evaluate engagement, website visits, sales numbers or whatever is the goal. Without a proper goal, you will never know what the real ROI of the influencer campaign is.
2. Selecting a quality and right-fit influencer
Different influencers attract different people. If you are a sports brand or selling health supplements, you may need an influencer who is an athlete. So, depending on your product and the audience that you want to tap in to, you will need to select the right-fit influencer.
Remember, the influencer is your company/brand face, so before you can start running your influencer marketing campaign, you need to have the right influencers. The influencer should believe in your brand/product and be able to engage his/her audience in the best way to convince them in the most effective and winning way.
3. Not wanting influencers to say it is a paid collaboration
Influencers can talk about your product or service but it is important that you check they are giving out the correct information about your product. As a company, you will prefer if an influencer sounds genuine while he is endorsing the product as if he/she is using your product /service. Of course, this may not be as easy. Most influencers are paid for their services and require to specify endorsements and sponsored content. There are legalities and rules for endorsements, to differentiate which posts are sponsored or act as an endorsement. Hiding your influencer relationship and not wanting to say it is a paid collaboration could your reputation in the long run. Today influencers are using #sponsoredpost, to show a paid collaboration.
4. Selecting influencers basis number of followers
A million followers were becoming a trend on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter. But how authentic are these numbers, how were they reached and how they will affect your target audience needs to be seen? It is important to see beyond just the number of followers and instead see how many are really active followers and how involved is your influencer in conversations with his active audience.
5. Quality over quantity
(Image Credits: Andrew Hutchinson)
Often companies select an influencer based on his/her follower count. But let that not be the only criteria. It is important that the influencer is able to engage with the audience, answer doubts or queries, and comment where necessary on behalf of the company. The success of your influencer campaign depends entirely on choosing a person who has a positive relationship with the audience, and who has higher engagement rates. The influencer should be able to engage with the audience and motivate them in the direction of attaining your company/brand goal. Choosing a micro-influencer or macro influencer entirely depends on the product/service and the influencer marketing goal. Therefore, it is recommended to choose a specialist over a generalist influencer.
6. Approaching influencers in the wrong way
The one thing to remember when you get an influencer is that you don’t own him/her. As a company, it is extremely important that you and the influencer understand and acknowledge each other’s roles and work towards the same goal. The influencer has his/her own style creativity so don’t impose upon them. Collaborate and coordinate, try and trust, remind and remember. A successful influencer marketing strategy is a long-term relationship. Sometimes it is even suggested that once you have an influencer who promotes your business and gives the best result, use the approach the same influencer for your next campaign as they already understand your brand, and score high on reliability amongst their audience. Approach an influencer in the right manner giving them full power and authority to represent your product.
7. Sticking to just one platform
Companies often make a mistake going with an influencer marketing campaign on their most preferred platform. Haven’t you heard, never put your eggs in one basket? Yes, influencer marketing draws from it. To achieve success run the influencer campaign, on different platforms to reach out to new and different groups of people. Also, maybe your company presence is stronger on one platform while the influencers’ strength lies in another. It’s best to try out combinations to maximize traffic through different social media accounts.
With Instagram becoming synonymous with influencer marketing, with over 1 billion users, a fast-growing network of influencers, and millions of sponsored posts each year, it does not mean you stop here.
(Image Credits: Mediakix)
Conclusion
Like every marketing strategy, influencer marketing is also based on trial and error. It is thereby important that you research the influencer background and tone of voice, what kind of products he/she endorses, is he/she promoting competitors’ products, ascertain the kind of engagement they get on their posts, check how quickly and efficiently the influencer posts responses. Ensure your influencer is not just a number game with a million followers, but can sufficiently and positively take action to reach the goals. Use actionable metrics and not just vanity metrics to continually measure the results whether they are the number of hits or page views or time spent on your website, or a number of downloads, etc resulting in leads, referrals, conversions, sales, and higher revenue. Actual sales and the average time on a page are paradigms of metrics that are truly valuable.
Advanced Lead Generation Strategies for the Real Estate Market
Launching a real estate project is only the first step. But how do you get buyers? Whether new construction or a resale, selling a unit in real estate is not the easiest task. But here we will take you through the steps which will help you decide what Advanced Lead Generation Strategies for the Real Estate Market to incorporate into the marketing strategy begin finding a potential customer.
So, what is lead generation in real estate?
Real estate lead generation is the very first step in the marketing process to stimulate interest in a real estate unit in order to find a prospective buyer and close the deal. The lead generation technique is an on-going systemized process on a continual basis that essentially creates a buzz.
The thumb rule for lead generation in real estate is, spend 20 percent of your time to generate a lead, and 80 percent of your time to convert the lead into a sale.
So, as a B2C marketer what are the best and most proven channels to drive leads to boost conversion rates in real estate? What are the advanced strategies for lead generation in real estate?
With HubSpot’s statistics saying that 54% more leads are generated by inbound tactics than by traditional paid marketing we begin by listing those first:
1. Lead generation by website homepage
(Image Credits: Margot Whitney)
The landing of your website should have one primary purpose – get the email address of a potential buyer. Since this page is so specific it is also called a squeeze page. Keep the landing page simple and straight forward. This illustration clearly establishes firstly getting the email address and secondly directing the potential customer to the page on the website with the promised content.
2. An attractive website with inbuilt lead generation tools
Once you have a potential customer on your landing page, wouldn’t you want him/her to browse through your website? Real estate websites have to be visually appealing since customers are looking to fulfill their basic need for shelter – for a home. The real estate website must have actual site pictures, construction-in-progress images, finished products, and latest listings. The website can also include a blog page, testimonial page, social media links, etc.
– Also, the website can offer to sign up for a free ride to the construction site or free ride to an open house, etc and use that ‘Request Form’ as a tool to capture additional leads.
– Download a corporate brochure.
– Another way to generate leads is by providing free subscriptions. Free subscriptions to a community newsletter, webinar, etc.
– Webinars and seminars are used as a means to generate targeted leads by 52% of marketers. A real estate company can host a webinar and link it with their content.
– As per ReadyTalk, 30%–40% of webinar attendees become leads.
3. Video marketing for lead generation
– 73% of homeowners say they are more likely to list with a real estate agent who offers to create a video
– 0nly 4% of agents put their listings on YouTube.
– Videos not only attract 2-3 times as many visitors but also double the amount of time visitors spend on the website.
In addition,
– Videos are 236% more engaging than an image or written form of content.
– Facebook gets 8 billion video views on average per day.
Real estate videos may include
– A walkthrough
– Information on the amenities in the property
– Local Events where the developer/agent has participated
– Client interviews/Interviews with international architects and designers
4. SEO to increase visibility and website visits
SEO plays a significant role in lead generation for real estate. Large real estate companies like Thapar Builder, Delhi and Panchshil Realty, Pune, have strong SEO to appear on Google’s first pages during a local search. SEO is again an ongoing process that includes elements like build links, Create Google My Business Profile, set up on-page SEO signals for near me search, manage online reviews, interact with social media users. More the traffic to your website more the lead generation.
5. Social Media
Social media may not be used directly to sell a property but it surely helps to build a relationship through involving opt-in pages, follow up emails, and retargeting
6. Retargeting the Audience
Beyond targeting your website visitor, there is an additional tool called Retargeting. Retargeting is used when a prospective buyer shows up on your landing page but acts no further. It may be a good idea to use retargeting ads for such visitors. Select a custom audience and design the ad with a specific purpose when using retargeting ads on Facebook or Google. Retargeting ads have a higher conversion rate than new customers.
7. Email Marketing
This is yet another tool for a lead generation used in the real estate industry. An informative email is valuable. Today an effective email may include
– Video in email: Research by Forrester has found that including videos in emails can boost click-through rates by 200–300%.
– CTA: An email with a CTA (i.e., call now, book your viewing today, etc.) helps to generate and nurture the lead.
8. Other traditional lead generation methods still prevalent in real estate
– Participating in community events helps to draw attention to your business, offers value to the neighborhood, and also a direct deal with a potential customer. At many community events, you can give away free gifts while requesting a potential customer while collecting his/her contact details.
– Customer Service: If a potential customer has come to your office or construction site it is absolutely necessary that he/she is promptly provided with every detail on the project. Giving them a personalized tour of the office or site helps to build a rapport with the client.
Conclusion
Most people buy a home once in a lifetime. This means repeat sales are far in between. Thereby, each and every real estate lead is precious. These advanced lead generation strategies for the Real Estate Market will help you generate the lead, but remember to follow-up is the next step.
Digital Advertising v/s Digital Marketing: Know the Difference.
In this digital age, marketing is no more a choice but a prerequisite for businesses who are leaving no stone unturned to get their message across to the customers effectively and powerfully.
Then the question arises, in order to put forward the message in the right way to the right people, which one to go for?
Marketing or Advertising?
Well, aren’t they both the same? The answer is ‘No’.
There is a thin line of difference between them. This article will help you to understand it and justify the answer to the above question.
Know the basics-
Digital Advertising:
It is also called online advertising, web advertising or internet advertising
Digital advertising is defined as a form of marketing or advertising where businesses leverage internet technologies to deliver their promotional advertisements to customers.
In simple words, if you see an ad on the internet, it is called digital advertising.
There are three types of digital advertising:
1. Pay-per-click (PPC) ads: (Adwords search ads, bing ads, etc)
For example, the ads you see in search results.
Image Credit: Wordstream
2. Display ads : (Banners, video, mobile, pop-ups, etc)
For example, this ad by eBay is promoting its products. eBay is the biggest player in banner advertising and invests a lot of money in display advertising.
Image Credit: Bannernack
3. Social ads: (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc)
For example, A ‘suggested post’ on Facebook is a social ad.
Image Credit: Social Media Examiner
Digital Marketing:
Digital Marketing includes all the marketing efforts using the internet or digital technologies. Businesses leverage digital channels like emails, search engines, websites, social media, blog posts, logos, and everything else that is helpful in online promotion and connect with current and prospective customers.
There are six types of digital marketing:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Social Media Marketing (SMM)
- Content Marketing
- Email and Mobile Marketing
- Affiliate Marketing
- Online advertising
The following infographic explains digital marketing in detail:
Image Credit: Smart insights
Now that we know the key processes in each segment, let’s look at the major differences –
-
Digital Advertising is a part of Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing is a broader term whereas digital advertising is a part of it. This raises a question,
Is digital advertising necessary for your business?
Not really. Your business can survive without digital advertising.
Why and How?
The definitions make it clear that digital advertising is a subset of digital marketing. When you start with a business idea, from that very moment you are involved in marketing and not advertising.
Product creation, Product Pricing, Packaging, Promotion, market segmentation, target audience are all a part of your business strategy and marketing mix.
Image Credit: BBC UK
Digital advertising is part of the marketing mix. It comes into play when you use the internet to promote your product or service or to generate traffic. However, you can also choose from other tactics – a search engine, content management, social media, email marketing, etc to generate traffic.
It is not necessary to use digital advertising at the promotion stage to reach your target audience.
For instance, DemandBase in one of the campaigns used white papers, infographics, Slideshare, and webinars to generate new leads. This helped the company to generate over $1 million in new revenue through content marketing resulting in 1700 new leads and connect with 125 webinar viewers.
You can run your business without digital advertising but not digital marketing. The purpose of all marketing techniques is to generate leads and generate traffic and so you can choose any tactic – SEO or PPC or both whichever helps to grow your business.
-
Digital Advertising is an activity while digital marketing is a process:
Digital marketing helps to build a strategy to market your business in the following way:
- Define your target audience,
- Ways to attract, engage, convert and retain the customers,
- Evaluate existing and new digital channels like SEO, PPC, content marketing, etc
- Analysis and monitoring
In broader terms, digital marketing is a process that runs your entire business on the internet and it begins from the moment you start with the business idea.
Image Credit: Abhiseo
The digital marketing process is continuous. It begins with the research phase and continues until the refining stage and the data from the refining stage is used again for the research to develop a new marketing strategy. It is a perpetual and never-ending process.
Digital advertising is an activity in the digital marketing process. It fits at Step 6: Promote- the purpose is to promote your primary digital identities (blog, website, app, product or anything else) via ads to relevant people in order to generate traffic. To do this, a digital advertiser will need inputs from a digital marketer on what to promote, who to promote, advertising budget, etc. An advertiser will accordingly create an ad to generate traffic.
-
Digital advertising is tactics while digital marketing is strategic
A strategy is a long term and complex plan which involves decision-making at various levels while a tactic is a short-term plan or means to achieve the desired result.
Digital advertising is tactical in nature as the promotion of a particular product or an offer to the target audience is momentary and short term. Subsequently, it can be easily replicated by competitors.
For instance, Facebook ads are short-lived. You might run an ad on Facebook to promote your product or an offer during Easter. Once you achieve the goal from the campaign, you will discontinue it and move on with another ad campaign or platform.
Whereas, digital marketing is strategic in nature that involves long term planning, projections, defined goals and objectives, budgets and resources to achieve the objectives.
For instance, Slack is a collaboration tool that allows teams to share files and communicate easily. They had an amazing rise at the launch with 15000 users in 2014 to over 500,000 in less than a year, and currently holds nearly one and a half millions of which are paid accounts.
Their strategy was clear from day one – focusing on the customer experience. They believe in selling solutions and not products. The company acknowledges to 8000 help desk tickets and up to 10,000 tweets every month.
This is what digital marketing plan does versus a digital advertising campaign that shows results instantly.
A digital ad campaign if fails will not impact the business overall but if digital marketing campaign fails it will affect the running of the business immensely.
-
Digital advertising promotes the brand while digital marketing develops the brand image.
Digital Advertising promotes a brand, product or services. A compelling ad engages the customers, generates leads and creates brand awareness.
For instance, Typeform, a survey software company offers a freemium option with a condition that customers should include a thank-you page that includes its logo and message. It is a win-win situation that helps customers get to know the product for free and the brand gets free advertising.
Image Credit: ThinkIt Training Institute
Digital marketing builds a brand and brand image with a strategy in place. You plan the logo, design, taglines for your brand. You will develop a strategy on how your brand will be perceived by the target audience and what message your brand will convey to the target audience. It is a long term planning to build a robust brand image based on values and ethics that remain etched in the minds of the consumers.
-
Digital Advertising is sales centred while digital marketing is audience psychology centred.
Digital marketing is not always sales-driven. The ultimate goal is to increase your ROI and sales but along with building a relationship with the target audience.
Let’s say you write a blog and publish it not only to increase traffic and revenue but build a relationship with your readers. This is what digital marketing does, it is based on audience psychology. To understand your target audience, their needs, and wants, it is essential to know audience psychology.
On the contrary, digital advertising focuses on a specific segment of the target audience that can be reached via ads. For instance, if you pay $50 for a $5 CPM slot, you are content as long as you get your 5000 impressions. In digital advertising, you are not much concerned about who sees it as long as the ad is performing and reaches out to the people.
Conclusion-
After reading this article, you may now have a clear idea about digital marketing and digital advertising. They are not the same and has an individual role to play. Let’s have a short recap to have no doubts in mind.
| Digital Marketing | Digital Advertising | |
| If you see any form of marketing online, it is digital marketing. | If you see an ad on the internet, it is called digital advertising. | |
| There are six types of digital marketing:
i) Search engine optimization (SEO) ii)) Social Media Marketing (SMM) iii) Content Marketing iv) Email and Mobile Marketing v) Affiliate Marketing vi) Online advertising |
There are three types of digital advertising:
i) Pay-per-click (PPC) ads ii) Display ads iii) Social ads |
|
| Digital Marketing is a broader term and it starts from the moment you share a business idea. The marketing mix comes into place. | Digital Advertising is a subset of Digital Marketing. It is one part of the marketing mix. | |
| Digital marketing is a process. | Digital Advertising is an activity in the process. | |
| Digital marketing is strategic in nature.it involves long term plans and decision-making. | Digital Advertising is tactical in nature. Tactics involve a short-term plan and means to achieve the desired goals. | |
| Digital Marketing builds brand and brand image. A well-defined plan and strategy help to build a brand from a long term point of view. | Digital Advertising creates brand awareness. It generates traffic and promotes a brand or a little push to sales. | |
| Digital Marketing has a large number of tools and techniques to get their business to customers like blogs, videos, whitepaper, infographic, content management, website and more | Digital Advertising is a tool in the Digital marketing toolbox. | |
| Digital Marketing is based on audience psychology. It understands the target audience and creates a buyer persona. | Digital Advertising is more sales-driven and focuses on a particular segment of the target audience that can be reached through ads. |
15 Facebook Ad Copies For Your Next Ad Campaign! (Every Industry Could Take Some Inspiration)
As of October 2019 Survey by Hootsuite, Facebook’s potential advertising reach globally is 1.93 billion. 32% represent people over the age of 13.
Image Credit: Hootsuite
Statistics also reveal that the average user clicks 12 ads in 30 days, which shows people interaction with Facebook ads.
Image Credit: Hootsuite
Facebook ads are piquing user’s interest. You will not only see visually appealing ads but also close to your interest. You will see ads of the brands or products which you might be thinking to buy or most interested in. This makes them compelling and engaging.
There is a lot of competition and only THE BEST Facebook ad examples get the 12 coveted clicks. In today’s article, we will take a look at some best Facebook ads I could find and list and examine what makes them effective. You can use them as a guide to comprehend what types of creative, copy and offers work the best to model the success of these campaigns and help to expand your customer base and generate desired returns.
15 Winning Facebook Ad examples
1. Allbirds
Image Credit: Disruptive Advertising
- The animated character on the static shoe image grabs your attention.
- The testimonial in the form of a quote builds trust as people believe more in real testimonials or reviews than ad copies.
- It is eligible for returns if the gift isn’t comfortable or fit well.
2. Coschedule
Image Credit: Social Media Examiner
- The colorful design of the ad captures the attention right from the start.
- Provides facts and data in the intro of the ad which establishes trust, targets the specific audience and provides the benefits of the product.
- The ad begins with a question, “ Ready to get organized?”- implies that they are promising a benefit to their target audience which might interest them to know more about your offer. The image of the editorial calendar explains how the product helps to achieve the promised benefits.
3. Best Buy
Image Credit -Digital Marketer
- The best part of the ad is that it tells how you can use the product and not what product offers you.
- The video is attractive and compelling showing the unique quality of the product as well.
4. James Allen Jewelry
Image Credit: Disruptive Advertising
- An emotional and heart touching ad, connecting to the audience instantly.
- This video shows a man proposing to his girlfriend and imagining her showing off her ring to whoever she meets for the rest of her life.
- The joy and relief of having the ring on her hand outweigh the joy of saying yes.
- Well, in reality too an engagement ring is a very special piece of jewelry for a woman and this ad captures the emotion and moment very well.
5. FreshBooks
Image Credit: KlientBoost
- Straight and simple ad but with a powerful message. The start of the ad says ” FreshBooks makes online accounting easy so you can stay focused on running your business.” which defines their target audience clearly – people who spend more time on accounting than their business ie. small business owners.
- Well defined target audience, strong content, bright colors and relatable design are the USP of the ad. Research states people make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with products or people.
6. Shopify
Image Credit: Karola Karlson
- Shopify announces new product Shopify pay in this ad for its new and existing prospects.
- The image shows the product and the headline explains the benefit of the product – accelerated payment option.
7. Purple Carrot
Image Credit: Disruptive Advertising
- Purple Carrot is a boxed meal-kit and with the holiday season approaching they are making a broad emotional appeal which is effective in this case.
- The carousel ads of multiple meals help in conversions as it shows the various options provided by Purple Carrot. For example, if someone doesn’t like any dish, there are other options for them. Carousel ads help in building potential customers.
8. Ocean Basket Mediterrasian
- Facebook Canvas Ads recently renamed as Instant Experiences is used in this example extensively. It offers a unique visual experience to the audience.
- The upbeat music to each slide, engaging and high-quality video, and intriguing content to explain what the brand has to offer. As you keep progressing in the video, you can see more information on the final product and just in time you see a CTA in the end.
- The ad includes carousel advertising and a full spectrum of social media interface. The idea of the ad is to give the audience a glimpse of Ocean’s Basket Sushi as a feast of flavors and enticing the heart and mouth with the delicacies.
9. The New York Times
Image Credit: Hubspot
- This ad by the New York Times is a classic example of photo ads. The ad with an intriguing illustration depicts the audience – millennials. The drawing is visually compelling and non-traditional that immediately draws attention.
- If the main product to advertise is a reading article then the publisher needs to be creative with images and they should complement the written content.
- The goal of the ad is increasing the page’s likes and the call-to-action compels to read more about the article.
10. Boston Sports Club
Image Credit: Hubspot
- Bustle boosted a post that promotes one of its articles on Facebook. It is already posted organically on the page and paying to boost it can highly benefit the content that has mass appeal.
- Bustle’s boosted ad attracts many Bustle and Amazon followers. We are familiar with the Amazon Prime logo and color, but it’s a neon sign in the image and a high number of examples pique viewers’ interest.
- It is a brilliant ad that creates curiosity in the minds of the audience and compels them to click and learn more about the article.
11. Bustle
Image Credit: Hubspot
- Bustle boosted a post that promotes one of its articles on Facebook. It is already posted organically on the page and paying to boost it can highly benefit the content that has mass appeal.
- Bustle’s boosted ad attracts many Bustle and Amazon followers. We are familiar with the Amazon Prime logo and color, but it’s a neon sign in the image and a high number of examples pique viewers’ interest.
- It is a brilliant ad that creates curiosity in the minds of the audience and compels them to click and learn more about the article.
12. GlobeIn
Image Credit: Design Pickle
- GlobeIn handmade crafts sourced from different regions and delivered at the doorstep. The highlighting point of the ad is the message on how the product will benefit consumers and the community.
- People support and invest in socially conscious businesses that contribute to the betterment of society. The ad capitalizes on the idea that when a customer purchases the product, it supports fair trade, ethical wages, and hardworking, labor class people.
- The ad shows the unique work of artisans and makes an emotional appeal that helps to engage the audience.
13. Hygge Bands
Image Credit: ROI Overload
- This slideshow ad show multiple images of people wearing different Hygge bands on their runs. Slideshow ads can be a substitute for video ads if you are short on budget.
- The ad makes good use of emoji and shows the product in use making it relevant and relatable to the audience.
- The ad has a good deal to offer ‘Buy 1, Get 3 free’ which is tempting and encourages buying behavior.
- Another highlighting factor is the lifetime warranty, PayPal payment, and quick shipping. This gives potential customers the confidence to try the product if they are not aware of the brand.
14. Grammarly
https://www.facebook.com/grammarly/videos/295947004582379/?t=0
- Simple, Subtle, heart-touching and engaging- these adjectives define the ad. Grammarly has used a fascinating story of a user and elegantly woven into the product. The story complements the product naturally.
- The goal of Grammarly is branding and they have used a storytelling approach that has reached around 5 million people.
- Always end your ad with a CTA and here it is “Write the future”. The engagement rate of this ad was very good and as reported by AdEspress, the video-view rate increased by 33% and cost-wise they landed $0.02 video-views and a CPC of $1.87.
15. Project Repat
Image Credit: Sprout Social
- It is not necessary to have a massive budget for your ad creative. Project Repat goal is the find interested buyers who are unaware of personalized T-shirt quilts.
- Initially, for the holiday campaign, they used lead ads to target specific groups and built a 1% lookalike audience based on emails collected from the response from lead ads. Later, they tried different formats and styles but what clicked is the ad creative featuring user-generated content that entices viewer attention and converts.
- They retargeted the ad across social media platforms to a Custom audience from the website and another Custom audience who had engaged with its ads by viewing, clicking or liking them.
- The result was phenomenal with 3.2x quilts sold during the holiday season.
The Essentials of a Great Facebook Ad
Although the essence behind each ad is different, the elements more or less the same. Some of the key elements are:
- Headline: Title of the Ad
- Text: It appears directly above or below the image and a viewer notices the first thing. Keep it short and concise.
- Description: Only if needed, you should use more text in your ad to describe the product in depth.
- Media: Image or Video used in an ad which engages more audience.
- Call-to-action: An excellent way to ensure the audience takes action after viewing the ad.
- Ready for Your Next Facebook Ad Campaign?
With various Facebook Ads examples, I hope it sheds some light and helps you determine your strategy to create an engaging Facebook campaign and connect with your audience. Hopefully, these ads gave you an idea or inspiration that you can implement in your next Ad campaign because when it comes to creativity sky is the limit.
Do You Really Need To Blog To Get Rank #1 On Search Engines?
Image Credit: Pixabay
Many business owners quiver at the idea of blogging. “Do we really need to have a blog?” is the most obvious question. The answer is “YES”. It is the most efficient way to boost your SEO rankings. In this article, I aim to explain to you in detail the importance of blogging for SEO and how it makes your site favorable for Google to rank and increase your organic traffic.
You may have a million reasons to blog, some of them include building trust among the followers, positioning yourself as an experienced expert, and sharing news or know-how with your company’s followers.
Six Reasons Blogging is important for SEO
1. Provides fresh content:
Google tends to favor websites with a lot of ‘high-quality content’. You don’t change the pages on your websites often, hence writing a blog comes in the picture. Google loves fresh content whether you update your blog every day or every week. The highlighting point is the quality of the content which is the most important factor. Quantity of articles with low quality will not help or contribute to rankings. Focus on creating high-quality articles regularly and ensure you are optimizing each article for different keywords. Avoid writing articles with the same keyword as it competes with each other and limits your keyword ranking opportunities. Google doesn’t deliver outdated information to the searchers but regularly updated and fresh content sends signals to them that the site is working. It also gives search engine algorithms reasons to index your website more often. A Hubspot study reveals more often a company writes articles, more organic search traffic it receives.
Image Credit: eWebscapes
2. Helps to implement long-tail keywords:
Keywords don’t hold the same weightage that they once did. Many people start SEO wanting to aim for the most relevant keywords for their business. For example, if you are selling ‘camping gadgets’ and show up on page one for the search ‘camping gadgets’.Unless you are the biggest brand for camping gadgets, you will find it difficult landing a top spot for the search. SEO is competitive and the best bet for the brands is to look for longer, specific keywords related to the business and try to rank those. These are called long-tail keywords. Blog posts on the website are an excellent way to use long-tail keywords.
For instance, a local store might be trying to rank the keyword ‘camping gadgets’ but also aiming to rank long-tail keyword ‘Gadgets for car camping’. This gives them a chance to write a blog post on ‘ Types of gadgets needed for car camping’ and link it to their product using the long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are extremely important for SEO strategy and studies suggest that 50 per cent of the searches are four words or longer. From the above example, we understand creating blog articles allows the site to rank many keywords. The traffic opportunity is more from these topics than on page three or four for using more popular terms.
3. Google is a ‘Topical Match Engine’
Google is no longer looking for a large number of pages but for sites who are a book of knowledge on their topics. They have changed their algorithms and now understand the context of the whole topic, being a topical match engine versus a simple keyword match engine. This shows that having a single page or article with a single keyword around the topic is not sufficient for your site. You need to represent the topic more comprehensively to appear in Google search results.
Blogging provides an outstanding opportunity to demonstrate your thoughts and in-depth knowledge about a topic to your readers. Writing multiple articles covering different aspects of a subject and giving detailed insights about that topic shows Google that your site is worthy to come up in the search results for that topic. This gives a boost to the rankings of competitive content on your site.
4. Opportunities for backlinks:
A link for a link. A prominent way to get those links and increase the authority of your domain is by blogging. Look out for relevant blogs to link to your blog posts and they may provide a link to your website on theirs. These links have a direct effect on your rankings and help generate traffic to your website as well as other company’s site.
However, it is important to note that the process of gaining inbound links should be done naturally. If the website linked to your blogs or site has no relevance with your industry then it will violate Google’s terms of services and can lead to a high penalty situation.
Therefore, produce high-quality content often to earn inbound links organically and build a strong following on social media to share articles each time. Blogging increase chances to earn inbound links from other websites that is highly impactful for SEO.
Research shows that companies who blog get 97 per cent more links to their websites.
5. Increases interlinks:
SEO is so much about links and internal links and easiest to get as you create them for yourself. So, including internal link points users from one page of the site to another. As you add more pages to various but related topics, you can naturally link them to each other.
Every time you use anchor text to tell Google what page you are linking while building up its connection to your target keyword in how the algorithm sees it.
6. Shareable Posts:
When your target audience likes the blog post, they share it on social media. The more social media shares it gets, the more people will click, like and reshare, and explore other pages on your website. When you get a lot of traffic and get repeat visitors that tell Google – people like your website and raise your rankings and authority level in their algorithm.
Wrapping up
Blogging and SEO go hand-in-hand. Blogging consistently helps increase counts of keywords and pages, inbound links, and create comprehensive articles. Target audience loves to hear from you and Google loves your updated and relevant website. Search engines look for blogs that explain the premise of the subject that interest bloggers and you can take advantage of it to up your rankings. So get cranking on the blog posts
7 Ways to Generate B2B Leads. P.S. LinkedIn Dips In Priority
Image Credits- Molly Clarke
Business to Business, known as B2B business is an online business between two companies and not between a company and an individual customer. The target audience is more concentrated and defined and needs to be reached out on a strategic basis.
So, to reach the B2B audience the company needs to establish continuous efforts towards quality lead generation online.
Your B2B strategy for lead generation should be arrived at after ascertaining which combination works the best for your company/product.
How to target B2B lead generation?
Here are 7 ways under three main categories Email, Social and Blog along with a powerful Landing Page that will help you generate effective B2B leads: –
- Emails
The number of e-mail users worldwide is 3.8 billion and is projected to reach 4.3 billion by the year 2022. 45% of B2B marketers credit email marketing as the most effective digital marketing channel.
Here are a few things to keep in mind to generate B2B leads with email marketing:
- Optimize email campaign for mobile devices
- Since CTA increases click by 371% and sales by 1617% (according to Wordstream) include Call-To-Action
- A well-curated industry-specific email with a powerful subject line scores a 39% higher chance of being opened
- Authenticity and reliability are higher when the sender includes complete address and contact details in the email. Also linking the logo in the contact details to the company website helps provides an extra link.
- Provide product lists and other useful information to create an interest in the buyer.
- At least send one or two follow-up emails to increase the chances of your email being read.
- Include the unsubscribe link to help improve your mailing list.
Facebook a social media platform with 1.5 billion users has been growing in importance, becoming an effective lead generation tool for B2B companies. Aim not for a direct sale but to connect with the audience through Lead Ads, by answering their queries and building your brand. Interesting 17% of Facebook users follow brands /companies. Facebooks Customized Audience targeting (people who are similar to your existing customers) further helps to increase the quality of the leads by 40%.
With 126 million users Twitter helps you to engage with the right people by using relevant hashtags or keywords. B2B business can also utilize Twitter Lead Gen Cards, to generate leads directly within a tweet. It provides the Twitter Name, his/her User name and his/her email address the card which can become a useful lead.
(Interestingly:
– It is said, in as little as six hours a week, 66% of marketers see lead generation benefits with social media.
– New platforms like Twitch are also garnering a place in the crowded B2B lead generation space. Twitch, (acquired by Amazon in 2014) is growing in brand advertising numbers on the streaming platform. It might be the right time to try their new in-game action ad formats.
- You Tube
Videos have become a much sought after tool whether for relaxation, information, entertainment, business or just about anything. Today 1.5 billion views per day on YouTube come from ‘Generation X’. YouTube is the world’s 2nd largest search engine and ranks 4th for the most valued social media platform (after Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) by B2B marketers. Almost 50% of B2B technology buyers are influenced to purchase a product or service after viewing the video. Is that not enough to get on the YouTube platform?
- Blogs
Blogs with actionable tips, problem-solving, improved ideas, technological improvements, and proven tips act most effectively as B2B lead generators. A high quality, well-researched blog with SEO keywords is a sure way to increasing page views and potential leads. As per statistics, today 81% of businesses believe blogs are crucial in generating leads
- White Papers
1 out of 2 B2B marketers has now started to use white papers to generate leads. Another form of Content, a white paper is a technical paper written by experts in their subject. Industry persons have begun to trust these White Papers since they are authoritative, help answer the reader’s query, make it easier to solve a problem, or simply nudge towards a decision. The trick lies in hiding the content behind a web form, so you’re able to capture contact information before the user accesses it.
- Landing Page
A B2B landing page is essentially known as a ‘Lead Capture Page’ is a digital handshake. The importance of a strategic landing page has risen with 68% of B2B businesses using this method to acquire leads. It is much more than the About Us/The Company Page. In fact, a well-designed landing page enjoys between a 5-15% conversion rate.
So for B2B Lead Generation, your landing page must,
- Block the exit
- Have a Form to fill with very basic information – Example ‘Fill your email for a free trial’.
- Provide what the visitor is searching for
Conclusion
As a Company, it is necessary to be present on different platforms and experiment to arrive at the best mix/ ways to acquire maximum B2B leads. A lead generation strategy is a continuous effort. ‘Lead generation’ further needs ‘Lead nurturing’ to transform the lead into a sale. Without lead generation, to begin with, there will be lesser customers and even fewer sales eventually. 85% of B2B marketers consider lead generation their #1 challenge, don’t be one of them.
12 Digital Marketing Trends Shaping Business In 2020 (with case studies)
The year 2020 is full of technological advancements – Artificial Intelligence, data-driven marketing, and much more. With new tools and technologies emerging every year, marketers can choose from a plethora of options across digital marketing to connect to a new audience and promote their products.
According to Emarketer’s survey, by 2020 digital ad spending will be 50% of total advertising. The statistics prove that there is a shift from the traditional medium of marketing to digital platforms.
Image Credit: eMarketer
In this digital era, it is easier to share information and connect than before with new tools and technologies every year. The digital transformation is affecting every business and marketers and to keep up with the competition, you have to keep up with the trends.
In this article, we have compiled the 12 most important digital marketing trends in 2020. Most companies are capitalizing on the trends and reaping the benefits with the right strategy and planning.
- Chatbots: Hiring an individual to communicate with your visitors can be expensive but chatbots save costs by answering questions quickly in real-time day or night. Here are some key findings:
- By 2022, chatbots will help businesses save $8 billion annually.
- By 2020, 85% of customer interactions will be managed by chatbots.
- Top benefits of chatbots are 24-hour service (64%), instant responses(55%) and answers to simple questions(55%).
Many renowned brands like Whole Foods Market, Staples, Mastercard, Pizza Hut and more are using chatbot technology successfully.
For example, you will get many makeup tutorials, product reviews on Kik if you chat with Sephora.
Image Credit: Social Media Today
- Use of Private Messaging Apps: Companies are now shifting their focus on the integration of private messaging apps to improve overall customer experience. In 2018, we saw the launch of Apple Business Chat and WhatsApp Business API which provided businesses with tools to deliver customer support. Many companies are planning to monetize messaging apps. For example, Facebook will soon monetize WhatsApp with ads in the ‘Status’ tab followed by Messenger Ads.
- Content Marketing rules SEO: Google rolled out some major updates to its search algorithm. Google’s BERT update is designed to understand the natural language people use in their queries. What does BERT mean for you? If your website is poorly written or is unclear, your rankings may decrease. Therefore your content should be well-researched, clear and organized in a logical manner. In fact, statistics prove Content Marketing rakes in conversion rates 6x higher than other methods – Content Marketing Institute. This proves ‘Content is King’.
- Personalization: Say Good-Bye to generic ads. If you want to stand out amidst the competition, you need to personalize your marketing – personalized email, content, products and more. It is the future of digital marketing. Here are a few facts:
- 90 % of online advertisers will start using personalization by 2020 – Gartner
- 80 % are more likely to do business with a company if they offer personalized experiences
- Personalized, triggered emails based on behavior are 3x better than batch-and-blast emails.- Email Monks
Image Credit: Exit Bee
It is an ultimate tool for increasing conversions and so marketers are leveraging it to improve their marketing efforts. The primary reason for personalized marketing is to reach out to your target audience by collecting their user data from surveys or studies and create more relevant campaigns based on their buying habits and behavior. Let us study the example of Cadbury who created a personalized video campaign based that matches Dairy Milk flavor based on their Facebook profile data. The campaign generated 65% click-through rates and a 33.6% conversion rate.
- Voice Search: ‘Hey Alexa, where is the Thai restaurant around me?” Siri and Alexa are now household names and positively responded by consumers. Over time, you will see more people using smartphones with voice assistants. Here’s why:
Image Credit: Wordstream
- The goal of Voice engine optimization (VEO) is to optimize your content to be on the top results in the user’s query. Therefore, use longer keywords and complete sentences, set a conversational tone and provide structured content. VEO is quickly advancing, so now the choice is up to you whether to join early adopters or be left behind.
- Artificial Intelligence in Marketing: By 2020, many are going to adapt to AI. It is the future of the digital industry. As the name suggests, it refers to robots or machines who can work like humans. Chatbots and Voice assistants are examples of AI. For example, Microsoft and Uber use Knightscope K5 robots to ‘patrol parking’, and prevent crime. The robots can read license plates, report activities and collect data to report to their owners.
- Social eCommerce: Social media is not only to chat, browse, and share but a complete marketplace with native shoppable features. Instagram takes lead-charge. 80% of young shoppers make impulsive buying decisions online which is why social eCommerce has vast potential. 70% of enthusiasts explore Instagram for trendy items. Brands have experienced success with Instagram’s shopping features and an increase in revenue. Instagram stories are equally popular with consumers with a high level of engagement. Even Pinterest allows a variety of shopping features and Snapchat enables select accounts to open a store within the app. Tik-Tok has added a new feature where it permits its users to add links to e-commerce sites to their profile biography. If you haven’t started then now it is a good time to start and make a mark for yourself.
- Video Content: A high resolution and quality video can catch eyeballs quickly. Here the numbers are speaking:
- 87% use video as their marketing tool.
- 83% of corporations claim that video content has increased their conversions.
- 65% of users visit the site and 39% call the seller after viewing.
Video content is the most effective tool to engage directly with the customers and attracts attention, increase web traffic, convert into leads and improve customer experience.
Some video marketing trends are:
- Live Video: Popular with a large number of businesses who use it for interviews, personalized stories, product demo or behind the scene glimpses.
- 1:1 Videos: Marketers create more personalized video messages rather than phone calls or emails.
- Video SEO: Youtube videos and other videos appear in the SERPS and so video optimization is becoming important.
- 360-degree video: This interactive marketing trend is on the rise. Take a look at the HongKong Airlines video
- Transparency: Research indicates that consumers demand easy to understand and transparent information from brands. 94% of consumers are likely to be loyal to the brand if they offer transparency. The enforcement of GDPR policy in 2018 ensured companies handle data privacy and transparency and if not complied can have a negative impact on the business.
- Augmented Reality v/s Virtual Reality: By 2022, 70% will be experimenting with immersive technologies – Gartner. VR gets everyone excited with its sci-fi ideas and noises, AR is much applicable from a marketing point of view. AR outperforms VR in market share. More companies are adopting technology to increase sales and customer experience.
Let’s understand the example of IKEA. It has its AR app ‘IKEA Place’ which allows you to test IKEA’s furniture virtually by taking a picture of your room on the phone.
Image Credit: Mashable
- Headless Commerce: A new term coined in 2019 and Heads-on Shopping is the face of Headless Commerce. This empowers differently-abled people to make their purchases by simply nodding their heads. Using the latest iPhone X’s neural engine and AR kit, it converts the signals received from the front camera into 3D facing. Select, Add to the cart and Pay. Simple! Technically it involves the separation of front-end and backend of your site for uninterrupted content delivery, personalization, and modifications.
- Influencer Marketing: The most popular word of mouth marketing that focuses on influencers like celebrities, Instagram or YouTube personalities. Influencer Marketing is more relatable than corporate advertising.
- 63 % of consumers trust influencers’ opinions more than the brand than what the brand says about themselves.
- 58 % of consumers have bought a product in the past six months on influencer’s recommendations.
AI is affecting Influencer marketing as it is in the process to identify with the right influencer who has better engagement, few fake followers and can give good ROI. it is influencing influencers marketing in the following ways:
Image Credit: Single Grain
Wrapping up
2020, year of technological advancements -AI-powered devices, content revolution, audio, and visual forms. If you are operating a business, you should know the digital marketing trends and embrace the new tools and technologies to get an edge over competitors. Start personalizing your products, use social media to answer questions, implement voice and video search and maintain transparency. Change is an integral part of digital marketing and the only constant.
