Useful paid advertising campaign strategies
If you’re wondering how COVID-19 is affecting paid advertising campaign strategies, you’re not alone! And the answer is: both negatively and positively.
On the one hand, people are more at home and doing practically everything online. But many people are cutting back on their spending because they’ve lost their job or are trying to save some money to help their family get through the pandemic.
And while some businesses are seeing increased traffic during this time, others with products or services that aren’t in demand are seeing an unfortunate trickle of traffic or have to pause or stop their campaigns altogether. Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 69% of the 237 brands they surveyed expect to reduce ad spend in 2020.
Earlier I talked about how pivoting to meet the needs and wants of your target audience is essential. This means taking a closer look at what you can offer people during the COVID-19 crisis, both as a small business owner and as a member of the community.
This time, I am sharing some tips on how to manage PPC during coronavirus. PPC stands for pay-per-click advertising, also known as non-organic traffic. (Organic traffic comes from unpaid SEO techniques.)
Depending on your small business, you may be able to post paid ads on:
- Google Ads/display ads on the Google Display Network
- YouTube (and video ad placements)
3 steps to get started with paid marketing during COVID-19
Even if you’re currently running an ad campaign, it’s important to take a look at your keywords and ad copy. Are they as effective as they can be?
Just because people are practicing social distancing doesn’t mean they aren’t actively searching and buying online. However, the ad copy you used before may not resonate with your target audience now, and could even offend them.
1. Research your keywords.
Researching your keywords is always essential, and especially now! You want to observe the buying behavior of your target audience related to COVID-19.
You might be surprised to learn that there’s a new niche keyword you could search for, or that your customers are using a different search term than you expected.
Also, look for keyword opportunities within your business around topics like:
- Work/study from home
- streaming services
- Health products/services
- Communication tools
There are several keyword research tools out there, or you can hire a professional SEO/SEM company to handle everything from keyword research to data reporting.
2. Review your value propositions.
Many entrepreneurs are updating their value propositions to better serve their customers.
You can increase the attractiveness of your ads and encourage more people to click with relevant value propositions, whether it’s free shipping, home delivery options, or a limited-time discount; just make sure you’re not using anxiety or fear around the pandemic to sell. .
3. Check your negative keywords.
You can use negative keywords when you want to make sure your ad doesn’t show for a certain keyword. This saves you money on wasted clicks and keeps your ads more relevant, which increases your Quality Score (which lowers your cost per click).
You may want to set certain keywords related to in-person services to negative now, so you’re not paying for clicks related to things you don’t offer your customers right now.
You can also limit where your ad appears. For example, you may not want your ad to appear next to content related to COVID-19 during this sensitive time.
However, because there is A LOT of COVID-19 going on, you can drastically limit your brand visibility by doing that. And according to a recent report from Integral Ad Science, 78% of people surveyed would not see general ads near coronavirus content as a bad thing.
So you’ll have to use your judgment for this, based on what you’re selling and how you position your ads.
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READ: “4 Marketing Strategies for the COVID-19 Crisis” on our website:
From connecting in our relationships to running our small businesses, COVID-19 has transformed the way we live, work and socialize. I feel lucky that my family and I are healthy and safe, and I’m trying to find positive opportunities in all of this.
As we continue to self-isolate to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, I wanted to share 4 marketing strategies to consider to help you keep your business running smoothly and successfully.
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Why you need short-term and long-term paid ad campaign strategies
Of course, you need to focus on the present and how you can best move your small business forward now. But as you navigate paid marketing during COVID-19, don’t forget about your future!
Use what you’re learning now to drive your decisions. Look at your keyword data – what is resonating with your customers? What is not getting traffic?
You may find that you can continue similar paid advertising campaign strategies after COVID-19 is over, and/or you may find that you need to drastically adjust your sails.
It’s a good idea to think about how your small business will come out of this pandemic, however far it may seem. Create an advertising plan now so you don’t stay struggling along the way.
Sure, it may change, and you may have to spin again, but at least you’ll have a marketing foundation to build on.
While advertising during the coronavirus can be anything but “business as usual,” it’s critical that you have the tools to meet this new challenge head-on. The entrepreneurs who are going to be successful when this is all over are the ones who embraced the unknown and moved on!
I hope all of my coronavirus resources, including these tips for advertising during COVID-19, have helped you. I will continue to post relevant content in the coming weeks. Take care of yourself!
