We’ve written and read countless articles about using social media platforms, blogs, RSS feeds and the like to promote your content. We haven’t, however, read that much about online ads and how this seemingly annoying tool can help you, if combined with content, to promote your business.

Online ads are used to sell products and services, from insurance to cars. This is what online users don’t want to see. Another way to use this ad space is for promotion of your content. Instead of being intrusive, be informative. Recreate the platform by creating awareness around your brand by using the best in your arsenal of valuable content.

When we say “online ads” we mean everything from Facebook ads, Twitter promos, banner ads, YouTube ads and so on. You know, all the stuff we content marketers hate.

You’re probably asking yourself “Isn’t the whole point of content marketing…well, marketing? Shouldn’t it be promoting itself?” Nothing markets itself and no one will know to even look for your content, never mind where to find it, if you’re not visible.

First things first, think less about click-through rates and more about brand awareness. Promoting yourself should be a priority and sure, social media makes a big difference, but paid ads can give your visibility a major boost.

In general content marketers have a very low opinion of outbound advertising, and we agree, it interrupts, it’s annoying and it doesn’t really work. Online ads are (in most cases) an eye-sore and most people have a deep-rooted sense to ignore them. Which is sometimes impossible to do, i.e. when they pop up, fill your screen and counts down the seconds until you can click on that much appreciated ‘x’.
So why does anyone bother?

62% of marketers in the US, UK, and Canada are satisfied with the business value of their online display ad campaigns.
-    Forrester Research

Don’t Cast-Off Online Ads Just Yet

There is a positive side to online ads, we know – shock, horror…but, when promoting content they have a much higher click-through rate than when they’re promoting products. This means that, as content marketers, we have a new avenue to wander down when it comes to promoting our value-adding content.

Banner ads aren’t all that bad. The worst scenario for a banner ad might just be the fact that it might be viewed if not clicked on. This, according to Mike Volpe from HubSpot is better than barging into offices, spam or calling cold prospects. Besides, many large publishers rely solely on display advertising to survive and produce awesome content, which we consume and learn from.
-    Rohan Ayyar, socialmediatoday

If you have an amazing YouTube channel you should promote it – it shows that you’re professional if you’re willing to pay for advertising for your channel. No amateur videographer is going to film their cat and buy ad space to promote the video. It’s not just videos that should be promoted either; it’s anything from eBooks to podcasts.

No one ever clicked through a TV ad, but that’s not to say it didn’t do its job. Awareness and brand recall are driven by the frequency of impressions served across any channel, and online is critical to that mix.
-    Tim Dunn

In the end it all comes down to creating awareness about your brand and the content you offer. Online ads are cheap and they’re mobile as well. Mobile banner ads, in fact, enjoy a much larger click-through rate than when they’re online (between 2 and 10 times the online rate).

If online ads can be more attractive and include interesting content instead of “buy one get one free” clichés, they’re sure to attract online visitors.

Through combining online advertising and your content you become visible on high-traffic sites - which in turn lead to more traffic to your own site.

Carina Claassens is a Writer for Sound Idea Digital | carina@soundidea.co.za  | www.soundidea.co.za | @SoundIdea




 

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