Marketing is essential to any business as it expands the consumer base and keeps businesses running day to day, without it staying afloat would be extremely difficult. Although there are many options for marketing, many companies and brands now look to digital marketing for guidance as traditional marketing mediums such as television, print and radio slow down. Even though the mentioned mediums are not obsolete the type of marketing chosen for your company truly depends on two things: the product/service and the target audience.
As companies struggle with keep up with the latest trends in digital marketing they now heavily rely on online pay-per-click marketing to get their brands and products noticed. The pay-per-click (or PPC) marketing method is fairly straight forward as it is exactly what it says it is. For example, when you go to a search engine and type in an inquiry such as “Ottawa contractors” you will see several ads pop up at the top of the page and the side of the page.
If you were to click on one of these ads the company in question would be charged a certain amount of money. Pay-per-click advertising is not just restricted to search engines, but is also available on other forms of online media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. Each of these online medias have their advantages and disadvantages to pay-per-click advertising. Read below to see a comparison between them.
Facebook Advertising
Although Facebook is now being deemed an older social media it still has its many perks. With its slightly older demographic of men and women ages 35-54 its pay-per-click advertising is mainly consumer based. For example, when you are on your Facebook homepage you may notice advertisements in your newsfeed geared towards you (the consumer) and your interests.
Running a Facebook PPC campaign is much less expensive than running a search engine PPC campaign, and can also help with your followers. So, if you’re a business looking to sell products or services to the consumer, but don’t have the budget for a big PPC campaign perhaps Facebook pay-per-click advertising is for you.
Twitter Ads
Many people feel that there is very little difference between Facebook and Twitter already, and their pay-per-click marketing concept is no exception. Twitter accounts and tweets can be “promoted” meaning they’re PPC advertisements.
Just recently, Twitter introduced its remarketing tool which allows people to place a piece of code on their website which can then target visitors on Twitter. Again, you can notice these ads in your Twitter newsfeed and in the right hand column of your homepage.
Twitter is most popular with users aged 18-29 as they are able to document important thoughts, events and photos within 140 characters. Their PPC marketing is mainly consumer based as many companies have Twitter accounts to interact with their loyal consumers. If your company has a younger target audience and is already on social media then Twitter PPC marketing is recommended.
LinkedIn Ads
For those of you who are unaware of what LinkedIn is, it is a social media website much like Facebook that is meant for businesses and business professionals. Instead of posting long statuses or short tweets, LinkedIn is basically your online resume. For companies it sums up the overall business in one page, and allows employees to keep up with the current company news.
Due to the fact it is more professional LinkedIn PPC advertising is geared towards business to business (B2B) marketing. For example, if you’re an Ontario dairy farmer perhaps you would like to offer your products to cheese factories.
One of the best things about LinkedIn’s PPC advertising is that you two different options, you can promote ads, sponsored updates or a combination of the two. By promoting sponsored updates you’re letting other businesses and professionals know what’s new with your company, whereas promoting an ad is simply promoting your company.
Overall B2B marketing helps business in a great way, as not all products and services are meant to go directly to the consumer. LinkedIn’s PPC marketing helps businesses showcase their products and services to other companies that may be interested.
Google AdWords
Google AdWords are the PPC advertisements you see every time you enter a search query in Google both at the top of your page and in the right hand column; you may also notice other PPC ads on Google+, YouTube and across the Google Display Network. Google AdWords are a great way to get your business noticed, as people searching for a similar product or service will be shown you ad.
Not only will many people see your ads, but you can directly target them to potential consumers. For example, if you run a day spa within Ottawa your Google AdWords ad might show up when they’re on a spa review page, or when reading Ottawa news online. Unlike Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn you can completely select your audience ultimately resulting in more conversions.
Each online media has their advantages and disadvantages to their PPC method, and it is important you choose the right one for your business. Let us help you do that!