January 08, 2021 Published by Caress Agatha Fonte

Online Ads for Small Businesses: Top Advertising Channels

Are you considering paid online ads for small businesses? If yes, learn the top advertising channels where you can promote your products and services.

Effective marketing is vital for every business. Without proper marketing strategies, it would be hard for any business to thrive, considering the market's tough competition. As a small business owner, one way to get on track is through online advertising. You can create appealing graphic designs to deliver a message that can persuade customers to use your products or services. However, a beautiful advertisement would be useless if only a few people can see it. To help you in your marketing strategies, Delesign listed the top advertising channels to place online ads for small businesses.

5 Advertising Channels When Placing Online Ads for Small Businesses

There are hundreds of online platforms where you can place online ads. But how do you determine which of them is the perfect one for your small business? To answer this question, you need a platform that can reach millions to billions of people. To select where it is best to place online ads for small businesses, you have to consider the type of products and services you wish to promote and the audience you want to attract. If it is challenging for you to pick the right platform, you may consider the following:

Facebook

According to Statista, Facebook is the top social network in the United States. 169.76 million mobile users had access to the Facebook app in 2019, and it is expected to grow more. There are two billion people around the world who log into Facebook every month, making it one of the biggest social media platforms. Facebook is not only for communication and entertainment. It also serves as an advertising channel that helps businesses promote their products and services.

Facebook offers paid online ads for small businesses. You may promote regular posts or be more creative by using unique graphic design, infographics, slideshows, gifs, and even videos. You may also consider boosting posts on Facebook’s Messenger app. Facebook caters to all audiences and collects their data, which you can use to reach your target audience.

This platform provides a huge amount of data such as age, employer, relationship status, interests, and even location. It can also track the users and nonusers’ on other apps and sites. As such, using Facebook Ads is powerful because it allows you to target those who specifically meet your target audience criteria.

Google Ads

With Google Ads, you can target your ads depending on your preferred demographics, geography, and other criteria. Although it might be challenging for small businesses to use Google Ads, it could be the best option because different niches can use this platform. With the right strategies, your site can be on the top results, which is a significant factor in creating brand awareness.

One of the best things about Google Ads is Google Display Ads. It shows advertisements to people who have used products similar to what you are offering. Since Google has an extensive and powerful display network, using Google Ads is an excellent opportunity to boost sales.

When using Google Ads, it is important to use competitive keywords. These refer to the words or phrases that allow search engines to determine the topics that your content covers. Algorithms can analyze these keywords through their sophisticated systems. If you have a high ranking on the Google search engine, any user who types a specific keyword can find your website on top results.

Instagram

Facebook owns Instagram, which is one of the top social media platforms with millions of users. Although it has a smaller audience than Facebook, it is an ideal platform where you can post graphic designs, beautiful images, and videos. Instagram is the platform for highly visually appealing posts, making it suitable for businesses who offer food products, clothing, and other products that can be photographed.

One of the best Instagram features is it allows you to create marketing campaigns directly from your phone. Many cameras today enable you to capture high-quality photos. You may post them or edit the pictures using different types of editing software. After preparing the online ads for small businesses, you may create the campaigns right on your mobile phone.

With Instagram, you can connect with your audience across multiple channels. You can integrate the app on your website, allowing your website visitors to check your Instagram posts even if they do not follow you. Doing so increases your visibility and attracts people to follow you. You may also set a shoppable Instagram where your customers can click right through the product pages, giving them a better shopping experience.

Advertising on Instagram allows you to enhance your targeting. Like Facebook, you can target your audience by demographics, location, interests, and behaviors. With this feature, the paid ads are more likely to be seen by your target audience. Instagram is also packed with exciting and unique features to make your advertising more creative. Among your options include Instagram stories and IGTV.

Snapchat

Another advertising channel to consider is Snapchat. This platform offers different advertising types, such as Geofilters, Snap Ad Videos, and Sponsored Lenses. With Geofilters, you can customize a filter for brand recognition. Since posting stories is in demand, you can make unique and entertaining filters to attract potential customers. Sponsored Lenses are interactive filters that can be activated through tapping and raising eyebrows.

Snapchat has a better reach than other platforms because the “snaps” you post can be seen publicly. Even if users don't follow you, they can still see your posts once they decide to check them. With this feature, you can gain more organic reach, which can help in your marketing strategies. Snapchat allows users to respond to an ad without leaving the app directly.

Twitter

Like Facebook and Instagram, Twitter is a highly dynamic platform. It allows you to post updates on your business through tweets. The more followers you have, the more chances you have make your products and services trend. You can promote a tweet, be it a simple text or with an image, gif, or video. Some people prefer buying from the brands they follow, so you have to attract this type of buyer to boost your sales. Aside from advertising, Twitter is also an excellent tool for increasing customer engagement.

What’s good about Twitter is you only pay for your performance. Suppose you have set a goal like increasing app installs, you’ll only pay for the number of successful app installs. The same goes for increasing your followers and engagements. Even if you have set a specific budget, you will only pay for the number of people who have followed you and engaged in your content. This feature benefits every business that wants to use cost-effective marketing strategies.

Why You Should Consider Online Advertisements

There are several ways to promote your products or services. You may consider placing ads on television, radio, magazines, and newspapers. Besides these methods, online advertising is another effective way to reach more people and potential customers. According to Statista, almost 4.66 billion people were active internet users as of October 2020. The statistics show that it has encompassed 59 percent of the globe’s population. Ninety-one percent of the total internet users use mobile for internet access.

Billions of people are online every day. It is an excellent opportunity for businesses to create brand awareness through online advertisements. However, it is not easy to reach your target audience. You need to use the platforms that they usually visit. If you use the right channels, it would be easier to make effective online ads for small businesses. Using the top advertising channels can provide you with the following benefits:

Target the right audience.

It is crucial to target the right audience when making online ads for small businesses. Using the top online advertising channels allow you to target and retarget the ideal prospects. First, you need to reach your target audience. After a few days or weeks of advertising, you can gather the insights and retarget the customers based on the previous engagement. This way, you can reach the ideal target audience and become more specific with the demographics.

Reach more audience.

Through online ads for small businesses, you can reach those people who prefer surfing the internet than watching television. It allows you to cater to internet users who spend most of their time browning social media platforms and websites. Considering online ads give you access to a global audience. The more audience you reach, the higher engagement you can receive.

Make more creative ads.

With online advertising, you can be as creative as possible. You may use different types of ads, including posters, banners, infographics, and video. These graphic designs and videos can be posted on social media, websites, and affiliate platforms.

Create brand awareness.

Many big brands compete for the customers’ attention. As small business owners, it would be challenging to gain the attention of potential buyers. But with the right online ads, you can drive traffic to your website and create brand awareness. You may use different strategies like collaborating with online influencers and affiliate websites to grow your business.

Find cost-effective online advertisements.

Advertising on television, radio, and magazines could be expensive, But through digital channels, you can find cost-effective advertisements that allow you to reach many people. The rate depends on several factors like the advertisement type, size, location, and performance. You may adjust the cost depending on the performance, giving business flexibility in terms of marketing.

Get the insights you need to improve your business.

Online advertising channels provide the metrics you need to improve your business. These platforms can help you determine the exact number of people who were reached by your ads. You can also get other essential data like engagement. With these insights, you can become a more effective marketer because you can use the previous metrics for retargeting the ideal customers.

Creating effective online ads for small businesses would be challenging without placing them on the right channels. As business owners and marketers, you need to select the best online advertising channel to ensure you reach more customers and potential buyers. Considering online ads is a helpful strategy to create brand awareness and create a global audience. The combination of appealing graphic design and an ideal advertising channel could be the key to growing your business.

Have you found the best platform for your online ads? Perfect! Now, it’s time to create beautiful graphic designs to attract your potential customers. Here at Delesign, we offer the best graphic design services at a reasonable price. Contact us today to meet our team of expert graphic designers, and together, let us grow your business.

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Caress Agatha FonteCaress Agatha Fonte is a Communications graduate focusing on content writing and social media management. Outside work, Caress loves to write poems and play Scrabble and mobile games.