By now, you’ve probably accepted the fact that digital advertising has pretty much taken over the world. From phones, to tablets, to desktops, digital ads are just about everywhere we look. Online marketers are continually increasing budgets and incorporating new strategies to win customers and make their offerings stand out amidst the digital marketing mayhem.

Digital advertising is growing each and every day, as more and more audiences spend countless hours on their beloved devices and social channels. And guess what, it’s not slowing down any time soon.

In 2015 alone, total revenues from digital advertising were around $55 billion, with social media accounted for some $10 billion. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands especially benefiting from digital advertising efficiency, continuing to push these numbers higher in 2019, with brands like Nike expecting returns from DTC sales to hit $16 billion by 2020.

Clearly, digital advertising is a highly-effective investment every brand should make - especially if you’re a DTC brand.

But jumping on the wagon can be intimidating, especially with an endless assortment of media outlets, social channels, and countless targeting strategies. With a little guidance, however, you’ll quickly find yourself creating customer connection and boosting your bottom line. Best of all, you don’t need to break the bank to run a great digital campaign.

Whether you’re an advertising beginner or just trying to improve your marketing game, these tips will help lay a strong foundation for your next campaign and make sure you’re always lined up for digital success.

1.     Know Your Goal

It’s important that you understand the purpose of your campaign. Set measurable goals and figure out what KPIs matter most. Once you have an idea of your desired customer journey, you can efficiently and effectively place ads in front of customers most interested in your product.

When you define your key metrics, you’ll have a much easier time moving your customer through the ever-important sales funnel – from awareness, to consideration, to actual sales conversions.

2.     Find You Target

Step back and think about your audience for a second.

When you create a buyer persona, you can easily sum up the characteristics of your typical customer, which makes your ad targeting that much more effective. More importantly, once you know their challenges, questions, and habits, you’ll have better insight into where, what, and how to place your ads.

3.     Create an Effective Landing Page

Now that you’ve got a better idea of your target audience, you’ll need a quality landing page for them to learn about your products and offerings.

The landing page is extra important as it will entice visitors and eventually drive them further down the sales funnel. The content on your landing page should be simple and to the point with clear CTAs that encourage seamless purchases, sign-ups, and leads.

Along with straight-forward language, the layout and design should be minimalist and attractive with beautiful imagery. Keeping your landing page light on unnecessary design will allow users to focus more on your services – and it will look way better on mobile, which accounts for over 40% of all digital revenue.

In the end, the better you make your landing page, the better the chance it will convert site visitors into committed customers. Do the little things right and you’ll see big results.

4.     Figure Out Your Media Content

If you’re a digital marketer, you’ve probably heard these media buzzwords floating around: earned media, owned media, and paid media.

It’s important you understand what each means, as they’ll dictate the type of content you want to build and promote for your campaign strategy. Here’s a quick summary:

Earned Media

Also known as “free media” or publicity, this is essentially media exposure through word of mouth. It usually includes mentions, shares, or content picked up from third-party websites.

Basically, earned media refers to the credit you receive for creating unique content that’s insightful and shareable, which gets you recognition, builds trust, and fuels the top of your funnel (hello, awareness stage!).

Owned Media

You have total control over owned media. This is the content you’ll create for your website, blog, and social media accounts. The more owned media you have, the better you’ll be able to expand your brand presence in the digital sphere.

Owned media is also an excellent way to warm up those leads you scored with earned media, which will eventually provide more value to customers and drive them further down the sales funnel.

Paid Media

It’s tough getting organic media in front of the right faces. That’s where paid media comes into play, as it helps amplify your content and drive exposure. It’s also a great way to drive traffic to your owned media, amplify your earned media, and eventually lead customers deeper into the sales funnel.

When you figure out where your target audience spends the most time, you can effectively use paid media to reach them where they’re most active.

The Media Takeaway

Owned, earned and paid media are all important to your digital campaign strategy. Once you understand the importance of each element for your campaign, you’ll be able to allocate resources that make the most sense for your brand.

5.     How Will Your Customers Move Through the Funnel

Digital advertising is more than just spinning up some interesting media and hoping your ads will do the rest of the work. In order to turn a prospect into a customer you’ve got to create a specific piece of content for every stage of your sales funnel.

When you’re creating a digital ad campaign, you can’t just tell people where to go. You’ve got to lead them to the pot of gold with meaningful content that strikes all the right chords, every step of the way. While there are many approaches to the sales funnel, we recommend basing your creative around a simple three-step approach:

Top of Funnel Content (Awareness)

This is where you gain exposure for your brand and offerings, raising awareness for the problems you can solve with your product. Most people may not know who you are at this point, so it’s critical you use content (like earned media) that’s insightful, useful, and establishes you as a leader in your field.

Middle of Funnel Content (Consideration)

This is the stage your creative gets down to brass tacks. Think about using content that celebrates product specifics and all the reasons your brand can be trusted. Some content examples might include informational videos, fun quizzes, and thoughtful educational resources. Whatever you create, just remember to speak to your unique selling point and how your product can solve a particular challenge.

Bottom of Funnel Content (Conversion)

At this stage they’re on the brink of making a purchase decision, but they need that final nudge to get them over the edge. That’s where your content comes in, as it proves you are trustworthy while showcasing the amazing benefits of your brand. Most users have already visited your page or are familiar with your offerings, so quality landing pages and direct clicks to products can be great strategies to make visitors turn the corner. With the right bottom of funnel content plan, you’ll have customers scrambling for their credit cards.

6.     Test, Test, Test

As we mentioned above, there’s countless strategies for a successful digital ad campaign. There isn’t one set approach that works across the board, and that’s why it’s important to test different media formats, platforms, and promoting techniques.

What works on Linkedin may not necessarily find success on Instagram.

That “amazing” video ad may not be performing “amazing” on certain sites.

Your middle-of-the-funnel content may need a stronger CTA that what you thought.

Don’t be afraid to diversify your content and see how your customers react, as this data can provide helpful insights for your campaign optimization.