Online Ad Spending WAAAAY up.
Think about your pay-per-click ads. When one customer clicks, a handful of change flies out the door. Ka-ching. So….um, Did you close a sale?
Compared to traditional ads (print, radio, TV) you might feel like you’re getting a bargain with digital ads. Or you can feel like you’re being nickled and dimed to death. Either way, if you’re like most advertisers these days, you are turning more and more to the internet or mobile ads because that’s where your customers are.
You’re not alone. Everyone is hiking up their Internet ad expenditures these days. Today, Google’s president of global sales Nakesh Arora predicted a hefty HALF of all ad dollars will be spent on some digital media within 5 years or so.
The big question is: Can you account for your money? When someone clicks and enters your site, does that person ultimately buy something from your company? Is that even your aim? Maybe you just want to create some buzz, inform your followers and friends about some charitable work you’re doing, or let them know what some new law means for your industry. Maybe you don’t always close a sale when someone clicks or calls or visits your site. Maybe you’re happy to gain a new Facebook friend. Maybe, maybe, maybe….
It’s no different than it was 50 years ago; most of us can’t tell what portion of our ad dollars are effective and what percent are wasted on potential customers that flitter around, read a little about your product, print off a coupon, leave, lose the coupon, forget about you, etc. Wouldn’t it be nice to know for sure that our digital dollars are spent wisely?
I’m just dreaming tonight. The “connector” in me wishes well and values the ever elusive human nature of the customer I’m hoping to connect with. I like sharing information; I like building relationships. Really I do. I love the giant question mark hanging in the air as our advertising budget is thrown out into the digital world on a wing and a prayer. And yet, I’m a practical person at heart, and while those nickels and dimes seem small, they do add up. I know I’m not alone worrying about this.
All of us who spend money on digital ads want to connect with the right people once and for all. Or at least for the long term. So what’s the secret?
It’s going to take some creative analytics to satisfy me. Sam and I are always talking about how to spend money on the right things for our clients and for ourselves. There never seems to be an easy answer, but we continue to search.
These are exciting times. Everything is changing so fast. It’s a great time to be a small business owner, don’t you think? We can make new rules and break all the rules we want, and do it without spending an arm and a leg. Now here’s the challenge: Let’s at least try to track our small gains, whether they result in actual sales or not. The benefit of being able to “talk to” so many people digitally, is a little like the the first printing press in the 18th century allowing pamphlet writers to reach a huge and diverse portion of the community. someone clicked; someone entered; someone glanced your way; someone raised his hand…
Who knows what can happen now? Stay on your toes.
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