When marketers are purchasing advertising online, there are two main places that they go. Facebook, and Google. These two companies handle billions of dollars’ worth of ads each year, and are the two largest ad platforms online today. By far.
They didn’t become the biggest and most popular for no reason either. They offer brands and marketers an exceptional service that is easy to use, mostly affordable, largely transparent, and when done right, offers a great return on investment. To put it simply, marketers who don’t use Facebook and Google area foolish.
So why is this article titled, “Why Smart Marketers Should Look Outside Facebook & Google for Advertisements”?
The answer is simple. While these two companies provide a great service, there is still a lot that is left ‘off the table’ for those who use them exclusively. Using smaller ad options will require that you put in more effort to research and monitor the results to ensure you’re not falling victim to the fraud and other problems out there, but they can be well worth the effort. Here are a few of the available options and why they should make up a part of your advertising budget:
- Smaller Networks – There are hundreds of niche advertising networks out there that can place your ads on very targeted properties throughout the Internet. When done properly, these networks can produce excellent ROI, especially since they often have a much lower cost compared to Facebook & Google.
- Single Site Advertising – If you know of a website that caters directly to your market, you should absolutely reach out to them for direct advertising options. If you sell gourmet dog treats, for example, running an ad directly on a ‘pampered puppies’ type of website can produce great results, and generate excellent brand recognition. This can be done through buying a banner ad, popup ad, or best of all, ‘sponsored content.’
- Second Tier Social – While Facebook dwarfs options like LinkedIn, Twitter, and others, that doesn’t mean these others are useless. With millions of active users, it is foolish to overlook them.
- Second Tier Search – Again, Google is the giant when it comes to search ads, but Bing, Yahoo, and others all produce millions of searches per day, often from very dedicated users. You can often get in front of the exact audience you want at a cost much lower than you’ll find from Google.
These are just some of the many advertising options out there to consider. Each business is going to want to spend their money a little differently to get the results that you’re looking for. Investing the time needed to research all the options so you can get the best ROI is time very well spent.
