Learning how to advertise online is a lot like learning a new language. There’s so much to do, so much to make, and so little time to do it all. We hear you, that’s why we wanted to break down how to get started with online advertising.
First, you’ll need to get these three crucial data trackers:
1. Google Adwords
Google Adwords is the king of data trackers for Google ads. It is a free conversion tracking tool that shows you everything that goes on with your paid search (Google) ads. Conversations (Sales), bounce rate, cost per click, quality score — everything. Simply put, it lets you track how people are interacting with your ads and your website. This is critical information if you want to improve your ad campaigns to get more sales.
It’s pretty easy to use once you learn how to navigate it.
2. Facebook Analytics
If you’re advertising on Facebook, you’ll have direct access to Facebook’s data tracker. Facebook Analytics is one of the most in-depth trackers out there for social media. Like Google Ads, it is built to help you improve your campaigns so you can get more customers.
In it, you’ll see graphs with top-level metrics that provide an overview of your campaign(s). You’ll be able to see:
- Actions on page
- Page views/previews
- Likes and engagements
- Reach
- Recommendation
- Videos views
- Page followers
- Orders
In other words — everything you need to improve your campaign, you’ll have at your fingertips.
All of these will show you how many people clicked, viewed, or interacted with your posts. You can also see what type of media you posted (text, photo, pr video), who it targeted, it’s reach, and engagement.
3. Google Tag Manager
If you’re not code-savvy, then Google Tag Manager is a must-have. It is a free tool that allows you to manage and deploy marketing tags on your website without having to modify the code.
What’s a tag? It’s a snippet of code or a tracking pixel. Common tags are:
- Adwords Conversion Tracking code
- Adwords Remarketing code
- Google Analytics Universal tracking code
- Heatmap tracking code such as Hotjar
- Facebook pixels
Unfortunately, Google Tag Manager isn’t the easiest to use if you don’t have some technical knowledge of how tags work. You’ll need an expert to help walk you through it. We recommend doing this through Business Warrior — they’re a free software (with paid upgrades) that empowers business owners to take control of their back-end management. Their paid option, Scout, teaches you how to install Google Tag Manager with easy-to-follow step-by-step tutorials and access to experts at any time.
On top of that Business Warrior also lets you know if you set up Google Tag Manager and the other two crucial tools correctly. They’re not a program to overlook if you want to track everything accurately.
Second, Know Your Audience
Online advertising is only successful when you’re advertising to the right people. With advertising, the more is not the merrier. In fact, the more people you try to reach, the more money you’re potentially wasting.
Instead of blasting your ads to everyone, create a targeted campaign. By that, we mean know who your audience is and show your ads only to them. Why? Because this shows your business to the people who are most likely to buy from you.
To find your audience, ask yourself the following:
- How old are my customers?
- What income level does my product/service appeal to?
- Does my product/service appeal to a specific gender?
- Does my product/service cater to everyone, or specific occupations (such as plumbers, business owners, athletes, etc).
Answering those questions is vital for advertising! Different platforms, such as Facebook and Google, allow you to target specific ages, income levels, genders, hobbies, etc. It’s key to getting your business in front of people who are looking for what you’re selling!
Third, Find Your Platform
Now that you know your audience, it’s time to learn what platform they’re on. Almost everyone is on Google, so paid search is usually a safe bet. For social media, however, you’re going to need to do some research.
Look at the age of customers you’re bringing in. The older demographics are usually more on Facebook than Twitter or Instagram. If you’re appealing to millennials and younger, then Twitter and Instagram might get you more results than Facebook. You’ll need to find out which is better before you spend money on any platform.
Finally, Create Your Ads
No matter where you advertise, the basics for ad creation will always be the same. That’s because every ad is built off an idea, which is then designed to match your audience.
Here are the four steps:
- Have an idea
- Know your audience
- Attach a value proposition
- Make sure your audience knows what you’re selling
Let’s look at an example. Say you’re the owner of a locally-owned gym and you want to advertise your new membership plan. That’s your idea: your new membership plan. Your audience? People who work out or want to work out, probably in the top 50% income tier (depending on your prices), and to all genders.
So you’ll want an ad that’s approachable, not too manly or judgemental, and that appeals to almost everyone. Then make it worth their while — your value proposition is offering the new membership at a discount for the first month.
Finally, just make it clear what you’re selling! Add an image, add the text (with the restrictions of your chosen platform in mind), and post the ad. You’re done!
That’s pretty much the surface level of how to get started with online advertising. We hope this blog helps you!
Interesting Related Article: “Opportunities of Google Ads for business“