Facebook. Google. Instagram. TikTok. Roku. Netflix. The options are endless when it comes to digital advertising. Regardless of the products you sell, your audience is likely using at least one (if not all!) of the digital platforms. Mason’s Director of Media, Adrian Padron, shares his paid media tips for emerging D2C brands.
Define Your Superpower
“When running advertising campaigns, you need to consider the entire ecosystem, not just the advertising aspect of it”, Adrian said, “Advertising is one piece of the puzzle amongst UX, content, PR, goal tracking/measurement, partnerships, CRO, creative, and targeting strategies. When all the pieces work well, your advertising campaigns will be more successful.“
Let’s dive deeper into the puzzle theory. It all begins with your brand and the story you want to tell to your audience. Think of your brand voice, value proposition, positioning. Ask yourself: What is your superpower? What differentiates you from others? Essentially, advertising takes that message and connects it back to the right audience, at the right time, with the right intent.
Once your advertising campaigns have done their magic and brought new potential customers to your website, we start looking at UX, email flow, customer service, and so on. Is your website optimized for a seamless shopping experience? Have you set an email series to re-engage cart abandonments? Is your customer service ready to answer customers’ questions? All those pieces have to be figured out before your advertising can deliver desired results (= drive sales).
Know Your Advertising Goals
The next step towards successful advertising is knowing what you want to achieve. You may want to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or gain more subscribers. “You’d be surprised how many brands don’t have clear goals for their ad campaigns”, Adrian shares, “My recommendation for emerging D2C brands is to set holistic goals that are aligned with the verall business goals. Definite your goals before launching advertising campaigns so that your agency partner can track performance against those goals.”
Own Your Customer Data
Adrian brings up the recent changes to data privacy that impact all advertisers, emerging brands in particular. “Apple’s iOS 14.5 privacy policy changed the way we advertise. And things continue to evolve. Chrome’s cookie ban will be the next drastic change in the advertising industry. Because we have limited access to targeting and third party data, owning your customer data is critical.”
If you’re a startup or recently emerged, you may not have a lot of first party [customer] data yet. Start building your database by harvesting emails and numbers through giveaways, loyalty programs, and website pop up banners. Once in your ecosystem, nurture those leads and keep them engaged with your brand. You’ll need a solid content calendar for your D2C brand that includes email and social media, and is aligned with your promotional calendar. Regular communication builds loyalty.
Adrian’s last tip for emerging D2C brands is to take it easy with promotions. “Avoid being too promotionally driven at the beginning, always keep your brand integrity at heart. First time discounts are a great way to give new customers a reason to get in your ecosystem. But they can also attract low-quality users (not potential customers).”
Are you ready to make it big with your paid media campaigns? We’re experts in Facebook, Google, Instagram, Amazon, TikTok, Snapchat, and Pinterest advertising. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.