Online advertising can be a bit of a minefield for anyone just starting out. There are many reasons for this, although one of the main ones is that banner ads - for example - can be a huge waste of budget.
Although most advertising platforms offer excellent analytics tools, it can be difficult for you know know for sure if someone has actually understood the message you are trying to convey.
Google Adwords may tell you there were 1000 impressions of your ad today, but did anyone actually look at it properly?
Well, as I was reading through some reviews of an app I have been using for a while, I came across an ad that I think worked quite well.
Here's a bit more about it:
The Ad Itself
Here is a screen grab of the actual Advert.
The Placement Of The Advert
As you can work out from the image above, the advert is placed part way through an article, around a third of the way down. If you want to read the rest of the article - which I did - you have to answer the question correctly.
You can see the ad here for yourself.
How Does It Work?
By only allowing you to read the rest of the article if you answer the (obvious) question correctly, the advert achieves the following:
- It makes sure that you have seen the ad and that you have understood it
- It delivers a higher rate of engagement for the company placing the ad
Sounds pretty basic, but it does everything you want an advert to do in terms of being noticed so I don't think it has to do any more as far as that is concerned. As for the ads content and to how you could use it your campaigns, we'll discuss that shortly.
What Are The Drawbacks?
I'd say the main drawback of this type of ad is that it's pretty obtrusive. No-one likes being interrupted whilst they are reading an article and, while this isn't a popup, it could still be pretty annoying for some readers. I didn't think it was too bad though, quite liked the idea actually.
Also, I guess it's not 100% foolproof - someone could not bother reading the short message and just take a guess, they've a 50/50 chance of getting it right. I don't think many people would be put off answering the question accurately though - it's super easy and doesn't take any time at all.
How Could You Use It In Your Small Business?
It would be easy for you to put a campaign like this into practice. There are probably limitless ways in how you could go about it, although here's one idea I think would work quite well:
- Think of your USP
- Write a message explaining what your USP is
- Ask readers to confirm what your USP is
So, let's say you're a Fitness instructor and you've figured out that your USP is that you are the only instructor in your catchment area to be qualified in XYZ. Your advert would say 'Fitness company ABC is the only company in the West Midlands to be qualified in fitness product XYZ'. You then ask readers of your ad to confirm the USP before they can read the rest of the Article.
This type of campaign would fall under the ATL bracket - it's essentially building brand awareness (Don't know what this is? Here's a guide)..
By doing it this way though, you know for sure that your target market is seeing your message and is fully understanding it - what's not to like?
Thanks for reading,
By Alan MacDougall
Got a nagging marketing question? Ask me here.
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Revenue Builder is a small business marketing strategy advice blog, written to help small business owners and startups maximise sales revenue.
