You finally have the budget to start creating and posting ads for your digital marketing campaign, only to find they’re not performing as well as you thought they would. It took a lot of time and effort to create ads, but why aren’t they converting into customers? Many businesses struggle with advertising campaigns for many reasons, mostly involving optimization issues or insufficient data. You may also have fallen into some of the most common pitfalls when it comes to ad design. Learning what they are and adjusting your campaign can boost your efforts and convert more leads than ever.
Inconsistent or Unfitting Imagery
Clickbait-style ads aren’t very trustworthy coming from healthcare professionals. A cute, cartoony ad looks out of place for a law firm. You want your advertisement to be relevant to your industry and target audience. Dive into what message you’re trying to send and include fitting imagery in your advertisements. These ads should also accurately reflect your brand imaging. You should use a consistent font, color palette, and imagery for your brand. If your advertisements look like they come from completely different companies, you won’t be able to establish trust and authority with your audience. Let the ad fit the theme and brand well.
Lack of Creativity
When you cut corners with your ad design, customers will cut corners with you. They won’t be interested in viewing numerous generic advertisements filled with stock imagery. You want to get creative to engage your target audience. Instead of a stock image, include a before-and-after print ad using lenticular 3D reactions. Instead of a traditional call to action, think of some creative, unique ways your business can change someone’s life. Use an intriguing (and readable) color palette compared to your competition. What draws the eye of your target audience? What ways can you think outside the box? If you’re stumped for ideas, you may want to consult with a graphic designer, visual artist, or marketing expert to add some creativity and innovation to your printed or digital ads.
Unfamiliarity With the Target Audience
A trendy ad dedicated to teenagers won’t do well if your target audience is older adults. In order to properly advertise to the audiences who will interact with your business, you need to know who they are. What is the age range of your likeliest customer? What do they do for a living? What is their schedule like? How much do they know about social media or online shopping? Once you get to know your audience, you can craft advertisements that are much more effective. Do some market research if you’re uncertain who needs your services. Use data analytics to see who is visiting your website or stopping by your storefront and target them in ads. Personalize ads based on customer personas. Knowing your target audience sets your whole business up for success, not just the marketing side.
No Call to Action
You’ve gained your audience’s attention, now what? If your advertisements don’t adequately inform viewers what to do next, they won’t do what you want them to. You need to include a call to action on all advertisements you send out, from printed direct mail marketing to social media ads. Want them to visit your website? Tell them to. Should they know about a free trial you’re offering? Inform them how to claim it. You can get creative with the call to action to better cater to your audience, but you should help guide them through their next steps. Ads can inform audiences to join a mailing list, get a free quote, or try a product for thirty days. Set goals for your ads, and show your audience why they should help you meet those goals.
Poor Optimization or Readability
Advertisements need to do far more than just engage your audience. They need to be readable and accessible for all audiences and user types. Most people experience digital advertisements on their phones. If your ad campaign only targets desktop users, those on their phones likely won’t be able to read the ad clearly. You don’t want to overflow the ad with too much text, either. You have a limited window to get user attention from an ad; too much text will be boring and difficult to read. While the colors you use should be consistent with your brand imaging, you don’t want to include light text on a light background or use intense colors that are visually distracting. Advertisements shouldn’t give people a headache!
Conclusion
Designing an effective ad isn’t always an exact science, but you’ll get a lot farther when you take readability, optimization, and target audience into account. Flashy colors and clickbait-style ads might be difficult to ignore, but they could be harming your reputation and hindering trust in your brand. Make sure your ad fits what you’re selling thematically and includes a call to action that is reasonable for your audience. Use data and evidence to reach the customers who are most likely to spend money on your brand. Don’t be afraid to adapt your ads according to research and industry trends. Adaptability is an important tool when fine-tuning your marketing campaign. Think outside the box, and you’ll bring in the audience you need.