Today's digital retail provides a multitude of easy, and cost-effective ways retailers advertise online. Online advertising is, in many cases, more cost-effective than traditional marketing and advertising methods. Retailers are in complete control of campaigns. Budgets can range from a few dollars all the way up to $150k per year.
With analytics readily available, retail marketers can quickly gauge what is working, what's not, where adjustments are needed, and even which platforms your audience prefers. As an added bonus, calculating your ROI is simple and driven by concrete data.
Online advertising also offers retailers the benefit of segmentation- which simply means you choose who sees what ads. Ads can be geo-targeted, industry targeted, interest targeted, and demographically targeted marketing to name a few. This granular control plays a significant role in driving value. Instead of creating a one-size-fits-all ad, retailer marketers can create ads that target specific groups. Digital marketing ensures proper marketing budget management and makes sure the right ads going to the right groups of people at the right time.
Some of our favorite cost-effective online advertising methods for retailers include:
Social Media
Social media advertising is extremely beneficial and has exploded in use by retailers. Advanced targeting and conversion tracking poise social media platforms to outperform forms of advertising traditionally used by retailers. Running ads on social media helps retailers find new potential customers by utilizing shared information to identify people who are most likely to convert and serve an them your ad. This advertising method proactively targets relevant users before they even begin their search and can fit within many budgets.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Search engine marketing is a form of digital marketing designed to connect your website with searchers actively seeking solutions or products. It places your website or landing pages in the sponsored links section within search engine listings. Google is the biggest player through its Google Adwords platform in paid search and has great information on how to get started on their website.
Display Ads
Display ads are not new to retail marketing. Online, they come in multiple forms including text, video, and interactive media. Display networks match your ads up to websites and apps based on keywords or your own targeting preferences. Display ads appear on sections of websites that are set aside for paid advertising.
Remarketing
Remarketing is among the most unique parts of digital marketing. While it can be used for any marketing effort, it is especially effective for retailers. This method targets prospects’ specific interests or needs that they have already demonstrated on your website. The target will be served your ads on his/her Facebook page and other sites they visit. Retargeting is made possible via web browser cookies that track a user as they browse the web. The information gathered from the cookies is then fed into an ad network used to effectively reconnect you with your target’s favorite websites while they are browsing.
A noteworthy fact applicable to many of these digital marketing options: Digital advertising is not a “pay more, get more” game. Google uses a semi-complex system to balance quality, trust, and budget to determine who’s at the top for ads and search results. Ultimately, if your site is trustworthy, relevant, and generally follows Google's best practices for websites, your website will rank higher than others regardless of who is paying more for digital marketing, essentially providing a level playing field for marketers.
Digital advertising is the most flexible and cost-effective way for retailers to advertise all over the world. There are numerous options out there to get the right message to the right audience at the right time. Be sure you know your audience and follow the analytics of your efforts closely. Change course if needed. Additionally, set goals for each campaign to get maximum use out of your analytics.
For extra help, check out our Smart Goal-Setting Template.
There you go. You are all set to begin creating cost-effective ads online.
