One of the most proven ways to raise your company's profile online is with effective advertising, and one of the most effective advertising techniques is display advertising. Display advertising is a major category that encompasses advertising on websites, apps, and social media platforms and takes the form of banners, images, videos, and clickable buttons.

Running the advertising network for a major brand is a large job, which is why many brands contract with a brand manager who specializes in advertising and can tailor an ad campaign to their needs. At DeSoto Consulting LLC, we are a content and credibility-building full-service digital marketing firm that helps clients improve their online presence through display advertising and more. Read on to learn everything you need to know about display marketing before launching a campaign.

What is display advertising.

Display advertising refers to any paid online advertising that appears on websites and apps, consisting of text and images getting the point of the brand across to visitors. There are five major types of display advertising: static ads that deliver a single image; animated ads that catch the viewer's eyes; interactive ads that pull the viewer to the website; video ads that play a testimonial for the product; and expanding ads that grow from a small window to a large one when clicked on.

Most display advertising is organized through three networks tied to the most powerful sites on the internet. The Google Display Network gives the user access to ads on the Google search network and all associated websites. The Facebook Audience Network is their biggest competitor, and they offer the user more customizability options than Google. The Twitter Audience Platform tackles advertising on the most active social media platform and gives the user access to both the desktop and mobile sites.
‍

The Keys to Effective Display Advertising

Effective online advertising follows many of the same rules as traditional advertising, but there are several specific keys to strong marketing of a brand through the internet. Following these four guidelines is the easiest way to grow your brand.

Landing Page Best Practices

The first thing potential customers see when they click on an ad is your home page, or "landing page", and the first few seconds after they arrive is when they decide whether to purchase your product. Your ad should deliver a "call to action" that tells the viewer what they're buying and why they should buy it, and your landing page should immediately point the customer in that direction.

The best way to make a sale is to make sure your landing page is fast, functional, and easy to use for information and purchase. Your landing page should be responsive and easy to use on mobile, as a larger percentage of customers per year are using mobile devices to make their purchases.

A simple design that focuses on the most important factors and emphasizes your company's branding is ideal because you don't want your customers to get distracted. Symbols of credibility like awards, testimonials, and certifications should be emphasized to boost your credibility, and your call to action should be reinforced to follow up on your ad.

Eye-Catching Design

A display advertisement only has seconds to catch the attention of the potential customer, as they are likely to see it in the middle of scrolling through search results or social media posts.

It's important to have a simple and compelling design for your advertisement that emphasizes what your company sells and what makes your product stand out. An unconventional advertisement can get people talking, but it's safer to build a brand by focusing on your company's strengths rather than risking overwhelming your viewers.

Make an Attractive Offer

You only have seconds to get a customer to click through on your ad, so the first priority should be to tell the audience what you're offering and why it's better than the competitors' offerings. That's why companies often advertise free trials and sales in their ads before talking about the product itself. When people think they're getting a deal, they're interested before they even know if they need the product.

If your company already has results, incorporating your most favorable data into the advertisement makes your company look like a winner. By the time your audience has spent a few seconds looking at your ad, they should know the general idea of your product and what you're offering them to beat the competition.

Programmatic Advertising

The advantage of partnering with Google, Facebook, and Twitter for your advertising is that they have access to the demographics of their users and use that data to tailor ads to viewers. A middle-aged man will see ads for different products than a teenage girl, and part of setting up your advertising strategy is determining who you most want seeing your product.

If your product is aimed towards a specific time of year or climate, you can tailor your ad to only run when customers are likely to be interested. This is a common strategy for businesses specializing in rain gear or beach vacations. Programmatic advertisement is the key to getting the most out of your ad spending by ensuring the ads are only seen at the times and by the people most conducive to getting sales.

How to Tell If Your Advertising Is Hitting Its Target

To make sure your ad campaign is getting the results you want, you'll need analytical software to track your campaign's performance. A display advertising campaign run by a top digital marketing firm will give you access to state of the art analytical tools that will track the following metrics:

Impressions

This is the most basic advertising metric, showing how many people have seen your ad. This lets you know if your programmatic advertising is finding its audience on your chosen platform. If your target demographic isn't on your platform, this early metric will let you change strategy before too much time and money is invested.

Click-Through Rate

This is the most important advertising metric because it shows the percentage of impressions that are converted to action. When an audience member clicks on your ad and heads to your landing page, that's evidence that your ad campaign is hitting its target. While most advertisers aim for a click-through rate of five percent, every industry's target is different.

Conversions

The final stage of a successful advertising campaign is conversions, or when the person viewing your ad takes the step you're asking them to make. This can include signing up for an e-mail list, making a purchase of a product, or downloading an app. When setting up your ad campaign, you determine what your conversion benchmarks are and the analytical software tracks your progress against them.

Having a clear goal in mind is essential for any digital marketing campaign, and your effort should be aimed at transforming viewers into click-throughs and ultimately conversions.

Set Up Your Display Advertising Campaign Today

If you're ready to deploy a digital marketing campaign to raise awareness of your product and convert viewers to customers, a full-service digital marketing firm can make it easy. Contact DeSoto Consulting LLC for more information on our services or to set up a consultation today.