Photo Credit: iStock.com/Artist's cnythzl
Small business is coming into its own, with many using all tools at their disposal to flaunt their marketing muscle and show the customers that they care about their word. Said tools include social media, video marketing, content marketing and more. But when it comes to really making customers feel that a brand cares for them, fewer come close than personalized ads.
So what are personalized ads and why are they such a potent marketing tool and sales booster for companies? To put it simply, personalized ads are the digital era equivalent of a personalized sales pitch. Normally people complain that with the advent of technological progress, the old-fashioned way of nurturing potential customers face-to-face has become a dying art.
Technology has been a great enabler. But its usage has also brought with it new challenges for brand managers, sales staff, and almost everyone involved in a business role today. There used to be a time when email marketing netted $40 ROI, but thanks to the hate that email gets today, its no longer that lucrative. Instead of just sending out generic emails and manning phone lines, organizations need to be proactive in their social media presence as well. They need to attend to their social media fans’ feedback, taking their likes and dislikes into account. Engaging customers 24/7 is a must.
Social Media and Personalized Ads – The New Digital Frontier
Social media marketing also affords businesses the means to collect data about their customers both existing, new and potential. Using demographical and behavioral factors, from data compiled from online survey tools, brand managers can predict consumer up to a reasonable extent, and thus roll out personalized ads for the same for a huge untapped demographic out there. Many ads can be developed, each tuned to the most appropriate demographic out there. This isn’t Star Trek but very much possible in the Facebook and Twitter dashboards of today. And for added effect, these ads can be served up in a localized fashion as well, meaning that only residents of a locality get to see it.
As for the costs, you only need to pay by Impressions per second or with click-through rates for these ads, offering small businesses a bevy of affordable advertising options to fit their budgets.
We saw how Mark Zuckerberg disclosed that Facebook is hitting daily users now. With the value of social networks like Snapchat and Pinterest skyrocketing, commercial considerations such as personalized ads are being woven in the social networks we employ everyday. Even though getting the balance between business and convenience is still being thrashed out in our favorite social media apps, the truth of the matter is that it’s a marketing goldmine that’s only just being looked upon. The fading of traditional advertising media such as TV and print has only hastened the emergence of new technologies and consumer targeting options for business. Social media and personalized ads for small business work because it serves as the great equalizer between big brands and fledging startups. Its only going to get interesting from here on since small businesses and startups represent the future.
Kelvin Stiles is a tech enthusiast and works as a marketing consultant at SurveyCrest – FREE online survey software and publishing tools for academic and business use. He is also an avid blogger and a comic book fanatic.