If you have time but no resources, make content. If you have resources but no time, invest in paid ads.
Content and advertising tend to play complementary roles in online marketing. One can support the other.
The main difference is that advertising can lead to instant exposure on a mass scale, where content takes time. The more resources you’re willing to pump into your ads, the more traffic you can generate and sustain, so long as you keep spending.
But with the paid ads landscape quickly changing, is it still worth the investment?
The 3 Greatest Challenges Advertisers Are Facing
Whether it’s Google, Facebook, or Twitter, the largest platforms on the web serve ads to their users. There is more choice for advertisers than ever in reaching a large sum of prospects in a very short amount of time. The only thing required is a willingness to invest.
But there are some challenges to online advertising. Here’s what you need to know:
- The cost of advertising is quickly rising. Insider reports Facebook’s CPM increased by 61%, TikTok’s by 185%, and Google’s programmatic display CPMs by 75%.
- Paid ads are hard to do well. Your ad creative must be attention grabbing while adhering to the policies of the platform. You must monitor and optimize your ads ongoingly. No matter how “automated” Facebook or Google says the process is, you must be able to interpret the numbers and adjust accordingly. You will waste money nailing the formula, and the moment an ad stops working, you’ll need to do it all over again.
- Advertising platforms are growing in complexity, especially Facebook’s. It takes an engineer’s mind to understand what was fundamentally accessible to anyone in its earlier incarnations. It’s frustrating.
How to Overcome Modern Advertising Challenges
Despite ongoing challenges, advertising is still well worth the investment if you can get your ads dialed in. Secondarily, the data you amass can benefit your future marketing efforts too.
But to an extent, you may need to think outside the box to achieve meaningful results. Consider the following if you’re stuck:
- Hire an ads expert. You will still need to provide them with ad creative, but if you have nobody in-house who can “read the numbers” and help you course correct ongoingly, your best bet is to look for outside help.
- Try more combinations, variations, and iterations. One of the most prolific users of social media ads is author Dean Graziosi, and he tests an insane amount of creative with different “hooks.”
- Advertise on niche blogs and websites. Never forget – you’re not limited to Google and Facebook. You can advertise directly on industry blogs and websites where your prospects already gather. Advertising in the right places can lead to a higher conversion rate.
Conclusion
Must you advertise to be successful online? No. There are other ways of boosting your traffic, growing your lists, and converting leads into customers. But can it complement all the hard work you’re putting into other channels? Absolutely.
As with any “fence,” the worst and least comfortable position is to be sitting on it. Make up your mind about what’s right for you and stick to your philosophy. You will enjoy marketing more.