Deep Impact with A Small Business. Possible?
Yes! With Programmatic Advertising, you can create a significant impact with even a small business and a small advertising budget. Find out how!
Growing a small business can be difficult, especially in today’s highly competitive economy. In marketing, there are an overwhelming number of jobs to complete and many components to manage, ranging from websites and blogs to advertising campaigns. The struggle is real! Small business owners must consider a wide spectrum of prospects while ensuring brand awareness and continuous consumer engagement. It’s a challenging juggling act. However, deploying programmatic advertising can be a game-changer that sets your small business on a path to sustained growth.
So, what is programmatic advertising, and why should you care? We’ve gathered insights from programmatic experts to compile an essential guide for anyone seeking effective marketing strategies to boost their small business.
Exploring the World of Programmatic Advertising
Imagine shopping online and being guided by a digital assistant throughout the journey. If you’ve experienced this, you understand how a digital assistant simplifies the process by understanding your needs, suggesting the most suitable items, and helping you make informed choices. Programmatic advertising is akin to this digital assistant but in the realm of digital marketing. It comprehends your brand’s objectives, persona, and goals to identify precise audiences to target, thus aiding your brand in reaching more potential customers.
In marketing terms, programmatic advertising automates the process of buying and selling digital ad space. This innovative approach employs algorithmic technology to purchase and sell advertising space. However, the term “programmatic” doesn’t imply complete automation. As an advertiser, you still need to provide essential details like targeting, budgets, and your desired outcomes to ensure the software aligns with your business objectives.
Programmatic advertising opens doors to a vast array of inventory across the internet. It offers an extensive range of ad formats, including audio ads, connected TV, and video, which may not be available through other platforms like Google’s Display Network (GDN). So, why should you consider this alternative?
Embracing Programmatic Advertising: The Bright Side
Diverse Ad Formats
Unlike more generic advertising methods that focus on immediate sales activation tactics, programmatic advertising adopts a more organic route. It excels in brand-building among the target audience. With a plethora of ad formats, including native advertising, display, video, and audio, it’s an ideal choice for reaching a broader audience and building your brand’s presence. The cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) model ensures you pay for impressions, making it perfect for brand-focused campaigns.
Premium Inventory
Programmatic advertising offers access to premium publishers that may not be available through GDN. You can set up direct offers with pinnacle publications in your industry, visibly improving your reach for a wider target audience. While programmatic and Google share some stock, you gain access to high-quality publications that GDN may not provide.
Efficiency in Targeting
When your small business is still growing, it’s crucial to streamline processes to avoid wasting resources. Programmatic advertising executes this vision beautifully. Even though you’ll still need to define your target audience, campaign objectives, and desired CPM targets, the platform handles the heavy lifting in terms of focusing management into a single platform, making it easier to oversee your advertising activities.
Unparalleled Reach and Scale
Programmatic platforms harness algorithmic ad-buying technology to reach a wider audience across different advertising exchanges. This transition from one-on-one ad buying to a one-to-many model is transforming the digital advertising landscape. In 2021, programmatic spending reached $105 billion and is predicted to grow continuously through the upcoming years. Depending on your business goals, algorithms will guide your spending to maximize results.
If you’re still unsure about programmatic advertising, here’s an interesting story to illustrate its potential.
Missing People: A British Charity Case Study in Programmatic Advertising
Missing People is a small British Charity dedicated to the mission of rescuing missing children across the UK. Around 2013, Missing People were faced with a gaping hole in their path to fulfill their mission. They realized their resources were limited, and their marketing budget was abysmal. The higher authorities of Missing People sought an innovative solution in the programmatic out-of-home (OOH) advertising industry.
But what is programmatic OOH?
By using data and automation, programmatic digital out-of-home (OOH) turns digital billboards, signs, and displays into ads that can be bought, activated, and even tailored to be displayed as and when they’ll best connect with the right audience. Programmatic OOH makes ads nimble and location-specific, ensuring messages are relevant.
The Strategy
The charity started small, using a few sites alongside print for OOH appeals. With support from media owners, they transitioned to programmatic OOH, launching multiple location-specific appeals daily. Today, Missing People is the official charity of the OOH industry, receiving £10 million in advertising inventory.
Results
Programmatic OOH improved response rates, jumping from 50% to 70%, allowing them to reach those who missed print appeals.
The charity introduced the Child Rescue Alert system, similar to the US Amber Alert. They used real-time data to target commuters at Waterloo, resulting in 44,000 responses in one month, compared to 10,000 from a print campaign.
In summary, this case study shows how a small charity like Missing People turned the tide on limited resources and marketing budgets by embracing programmatic OOH. Their journey has not only significantly increased response rates but, more importantly, allowed them to continue their mission of reuniting families and finding missing children. It’s a testament to the power of innovative thinking and technology in the world of charitable endeavors.
The Key to Successful Programmatic Campaigns to Boost Your Small Business
Unleash the Power of Customer Data
Customer data, or first-party data, is your goldmine to exploit for a supercharged digital marketing adventure. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of understanding your customers to make your marketing efforts more effective and impactful. Imagine reaching your audience with pinpoint precision and engaging them at just the right moment — that’s the magic of customer data in programmatic advertising.
Even with a limited marketing budget, you can achieve precision targeting with the help of data gathered from different online and offline sources, including post-purchase emails, phone bookings, or your loyal customers’ emails.
Driving Impressive Results
Small businesses are increasingly turning to customer-focused digital advertising to maximize their ROI. They aim to reach high-value customers, engage look-alikes, and optimize the customer journey. In a Forbes Insight and Turn survey, organizations leading data-driven marketing reported higher customer engagement and market growth. These leaders were three times more likely to see increased revenues compared to their slower counterparts.
With approximately 28 million small businesses in the U.S., many have untapped potential in their customer data. Today’s data-driven strategies empower small businesses to target customers with highly relevant ads. It’s not just about your ad being seen; it’s about the right person seeing your ad at the right time. It’s a game-changer, and the key to your marketing success is right at your fingertips — in your customer data.
Reach New Heights with Your Small Business
In conclusion, programmatic advertising offers small businesses an array of benefits, from diverse ad formats and premium inventory to efficient targeting and unparalleled reach. To thrive in today’s competitive landscape, leveraging programmatic advertising and harnessing the power of customer data is essential. Just like Missing People, who used programmatic OOH to make a significant impact despite limited resources, your small business can achieve remarkable results with the right strategies. Embrace programmatic advertising to maximize growth potential while ensuring your brand reaches the appropriate people at the right time.
Don’t let your small business fall behind in the rapidly changing world of digital marketing. Accept programmatic advertising, leverage your customer data, and watch your company soar to new heights of economic success. The tools are at your disposal; it’s time to wield them effectively and lead your small business to a brighter and more prosperous future.