5 steps to online advertising success

Our recent posts have commented on the importance of engagement when communicating with a B2B audience while not forgetting the basics.
But what are the basics of a successful advertising campaign and do they still hold true as the digital world continues to evolve?
We think so.  Each of the following steps warrants a great deal more consideration than a short paragraph in a blog, but here’s our brief take on things...

1) Targeting the most appropriate audience...
There’s no denying that cost is a significant factor, but value and likely return on investment is key – why spend the minimum possible and get nothing in return?  Far more important is making sure that the audience you reach is targeted and relevant to your business, properly engaged (meaning data is active and up-to-date) and appropriate to your objectives. Approach media owners for a breakdown of audience profile and ask to view case studies of previous campaigns.

2) Getting the right message across...
To some extent this may be influenced by step 3 below (i.e., you may need to tailor the message so that it is appropriate to the channel used), but this is where engagement as a metric is extremely powerful.  Getting the right message across in the right way is perhaps the most effective way of maximising response rate. Remember to keep it relevant to the audience, consider whether it needs to be concise (such as for banner or email advertising), whether it needs to offer added value to the reader (in the case of whitepapers, etc) and also what the call to action should be.

3) Using the most effective channel...
With the first two stages considered you may have already decided on which media channel to use, but it may be that you can boost the results of your campaign by integrating more than one route. Would your objectives be met by a lead generation or brand building campaign, or perhaps both?  Would email advertising be most appropriate or maybe on-site branding would work best? Perhaps event sponsorship will provide the exposure you need? Maybe an integrated approach using multiple routes will be most effective?  Each solution is very different and any good media owner will listen to your needs and use a consultative approach to help create the most effective campaign.

4) Following up...
Plan in advance how you intend dealing with leads. Who will follow them up? How will this be done? Will additional follow-up campaigns help capitalise on this activity?  We’ve seen some big companies’ waste budget on campaigns that have delivered a good volume of sales leads that have got no further than existing as data on an Excel spreadsheet! It may be obvious, but worth including in your plan.

5) Measuring success...
If you don’t measure each campaign how do you know what works and how will you know where to spend your advertising budget in the future? This is often overlooked, but it’s vital when it comes to future planning.

As mentioned at the begining of the blog these steps are deliberately ‘basic’, but they remain important for any campaign and hopefully they offer some food for thought?

To find out more download our Top Tips to Online Campaign Optimisation as published last year.

Posted by Jenny Ogden
Campaign Manager - Sift Media

Other useful references:
* Show me the money: Measuring advertising and marketing ROI (2008) BusinessZone.co.uk
* How to create a hard-hitting B2B campaign (2004) Brand republic
* 10 minute guide to marketing communications (2007) Chartered Institute of Marketing
* IDM Direct Mail Campaign Planning Guide (2004) The Institute of Direct Marketing
* B2B lead generation: Marketing ROI & Performance Evaluation Study. (2008) MarketingProfs Research Insights