As more organizations are using digital marketing, more are wondering how effective the ads are, and if the typical measure of impressions is leading to the ultimate success of awareness.
Counting Impressions
All digital platforms will sell digital media space based on impressions. For this cost, you get 1000 impressions, or times that your ad will be shown. The target audience is defined based on the parameters set; their age range, interests, geographic location. And then because those digital platforms want to avoid leaving any money on the table, they serve up your ads to use up the full budget.
From their perspective, the campaign has been successful. The number of impressions promised have been delivered.
However, organizations shouldn’t consider impressions as the ultimate goal. Awareness is what you’re aiming for. That when a problem arises, people remember your ad as the best option to help them.
Growing Awareness
So, how do you best leverage the impressions you’re paying for to gain awareness? There are a few key tactics we recommend:
Keep it to a single message As smart as we all think we are, when there is more than one message we retain less. What’s the one thing you want people to remember, and focus on that.
Be memorable Your ad needs to pause the scroll, and then stand out from others to recall later.
Appear trustworthy Remember hearing about how first impressions matter? This may be the first time a potential client is meeting you – it’s important to present well.
Be respectful of their attention Your ad is disrupting them. Make it a worthwhile disruption.
Repeat, repeat, repeat Rolling the campaign out across different channels is the most effective way to build awareness. People need to see something 5-10 times before it really sinks in. Using different platforms helps cement it more.
