Digital Advertising – All You Need to Know

Marketing is a way to reach and connect with your target audience. One of the most effective ways is through digital advertising – after all, nowadays, everyone carries a smartphone in their pocket and uses search engines. You might consider showcasing your products and services using video ads or create flipbook with Publuu to display your product catalog to a global audience.

In this article, you will learn how to use digital advertising, discover the main types of digital advertising channels available, create an effective digital advertising strategy, and find out which applications to use. We hope our tips will help elevate your digital advertising strategy to the next level!

What is digital advertising?

Digital advertising encompasses various methods to advertise a product through digital channels such as websites, email, mobile apps, social media platforms, and search engines. A digital ad campaign should utilize these channels and be conducted entirely online.

Like any form of advertising, the goal of digital advertising is to capture audience attention, generate leads , increase online sales , and build brand awareness. In today’s world, most customers, spend at least some time online daily – and you can reach them through digital advertising campaigns.

Unlike traditional marketing, digital advertising can be highly targeted, measurable, and personalized. Thanks to advanced algorithms, your digital ads can reach the right person at the right time. What’s more, digital advertising provides the capability for real-time tracking and optimization, enabling companies to continuously improve their online marketing strategies.

As modern technology evolves, the capabilities of digital advertising are expanding, making it a key aspect of modern marketing. To learn more about digital marketing explore our Knowledge Base.

Advantages of digital over traditional advertising

Flexibility

Flexibility is a key advantage of digital advertising, enabling marketers to quickly and efficiently create, modify, and publish digital search ads. Online software and tools allow for the creation of not only attractive banner ads but also variations tailored to your target audience. For example, you can use Publuu flipbooks to run A/B tests, using them as digital leaflets in your ad campaigns.

Publuu’s online flipbook example

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MAKE YOUR OWN

This flexibility allows companies to respond quickly to emerging market trends, capitalize on current events, and market in real-time. The ability to customize digital advertising content allows for effective A/B testing and improvements to your content to create the best version of your ad in the shortest possible time.

Precision

Another major advantage of digital advertising is its precision in targeting. Advanced algorithms and data analytics have revolutionized how advertisers identify and reach their desired audiences. Thanks to browser information, you can instantly access the various segments of potential demographics, browsing history, geolocation data, device type, and even purchase intents of your potential customers. Digital marketing channels also offer many other benefits, which are explored in detail in our article.

For example, by analyzing your customer base, you can discover key segments and tailor your digital advertising accordingly. If you find that a lot of your users are young women aged 16-19, you can strategically target your products to this group as well. Interest-based targeting also allows companies to connect with users who share common passions and values, which significantly enhances the potential for customer loyalty.

Cost-effectiveness

Cost-effective scaling is another key aspect of why companies are investing in digital advertising. Whether you are a small start-up or a multinational corporation, there are plenty of options to fit any budget. Mostly, in display advertising or social media ads you pay only for the display of your ad – meaning you don’t waste resources on reaching your customers.

Digital advertising platforms offer control over your ad campaign, allowing you to set and adjust your budget based on your current needs or desired outcomes. You can customize your ads and choose their placement and timing. For example, if you want to target people on X (formerly Twitter), you can use different ads than on Facebook to diversify your approach. A robust marketing strategy should involve various platforms for maximum reach and effectiveness.

Measurability

Finally, digital advertising offers amazing measurability compared to traditional advertising. Every ad display and its viewers are recorded in a database, providing advertisers with easy access for analysis and inclusion in their analytics. This capability enables the advertisers to precisely measure the campaign impacts. You have a variety of metrics at your disposal, such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, return on ad spend (ROAS), and value since beginning tracking (LTV).

With concrete digital data, you can analyze the effectiveness of your efforts, plan costs and revenues accordingly, and make decisions based on specific metrics. This approach allows for the optimal utilization of marketing budgets and continuous improvement in overall performance.

Types of digital advertising

1. Search advertising

If you’re looking for digital advertising examples, one of the most common examples is paid search ads. These appear as the paid results on search engine pages like Google and Bing. Also known as pay-per-click (PPC) or paid search, search engine marketing involves promoting products or services on search engine results pages (SERPs) using keywords related to user queries.

In this model, advertisers bid on specific keywords. When a user’s query is triggered, the advertiser’s Google Ads may appear above the organic search results. Google Ads dominates this space, although other search engines offer similar services. It’s important to distinguish search engine advertising from Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While search engine advertising involves paid placements, SEO focuses on optimizing a site to rank as high as possible in the organic search results, leveraging the quality and relevance of the site and its content.

2. Display advertising

Display ads are digital ads that use visual elements such as images, banners, and multimedia to capture the attention of users browsing websites, apps, or social media platforms. These are the typically square or rectangular banners that advertise products and services – display advertising usually includes some interactivity.

As you browse the various web pages, you are likely to see those ads alongside the content. Website owners use digital advertising to reduce costs and earn money. Typically, the content of online ads adapts to the user’s recent online activity, lifestyle, and demographic segment. For example, young men aged 16-25 might often see ads for video games. Digital ads are recommended as an automated process designed to reach the largest possible group of users.

3. Online video advertising

Before you start watching a new episode of your favorite show on YouTube, you may see a few seconds of an advertising clip or other video ads. On user-generated content platforms, you can reach millions of people with interactive video advertising.

Video ads can be placed before, during, and after the main video, tailored to meet specific digital advertising goals. Alternatively, out-stream videos may appear independently on web pages, capturing users’ attention without interrupting their browsing. With interactive features, they can become very memorable.

4. Streaming media advertising

Video ads in streaming media extend beyond just YouTube videos. Many VOD platforms offer advertising opportunities as well. For example, for free subscriptions like the Star portal (known as Hulu in the US). You can also place ads while streaming podcasts, music, or even online radio.

These digital ads can also be targeted to meet user preferences. Ad-supported streaming media may include a commercial break similar to traditional advertising, but each ad might be adjusted to viewers’ preferences and the media they consume. For instance, viewers watching sports games might encounter video ads for sport-themed video games or personal hygiene products for men.

5. Audio advertising

Like streaming media ads, audio ads focus exclusively on sound communication and appeal to users engaged in activities that don’t require screen interaction, such as exercising or commuting. More and more people move away from traditional radio and instead switch to podcasts which also can be sponsored by digital ads.

Podcast sponsorships are a popular form of audio advertising that enables one to reach many niches and build trust. Increasingly, you can reach out to dynamic ad insertion on platforms like Spotify. Your digital ads can match target audiences based on their tastes and locations. For example, you can advertise your board games to audiences listening to podcasts about games!

6. Social Media Advertising

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have changed the way brands interact with consumers. These platforms offer multiple places to advertise and access data on billions of users. Digital advertising on these platforms can take various forms, including sponsored social media ads, running ad campaigns on your profiles, live streaming, and A2A (ad-to-audience), among other methods.

Social media advertising combines many of the above ways of reaching customers – and new elements, like augmented reality (AR) technology, are increasingly emerging.

How does digital advertising work?

Digital advertising relies on several interrelated elements that work together to deliver advertising messages through various devices and channels.

To get started with digital advertising, you need to identify goals, target audiences, and channels and choose a budget. The entire digital ad campaign depends on good planning. Choose the right online marketing platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook Ad Manager, or LinkedIn Campaign Manager. These search engines and social media platforms will help you select the right target groups.

Next, you prepare the ad content – create banners, short clickable copy for Google Ads, or a video clip. Upload them on the appropriate page.

Once your digital ads are ready, they will take part in automated auctions, where they compete with other search ads bidding for the same advertising platform. Imagine that a Google User searches for “board games for the family”. If you win the auction, it will be your ad that will be displayed in paid results. Your competition has limited budgets, so eventually, your search ads will be displayed as well!

Digital advertising employs various rate models, including CPM (cost per thousand), CPC (cost per click), CPV (cost per view), and CPA (cost per action). For example, video ads often rely use a cost-per-result model, since it’s hard to measure their effectiveness. Choosing the right model depends on your campaign goals and available budget.

Special algorithms determine the display frequency, timing, and placement of digital ads, based on real-time rates, auction dynamics, and quality scores. Throughout the digital advertising campaign lifecycle, marketers monitor reports, and performance metrics, adjust rates, and optimize their strategies to improve results.

Importance of digital advertising today

More and more companies rely on online digital advertising only and reject traditional advertising based on printed materials. Why does digital advertising play a key role in today’s world?

Certainly, the significant amount of time people now spend online, so digital advertising is essential for companies seeking visibility among their target audiences. Effective promotion and brand awareness building are only possible by engaging with audiences where they are most active.

Digital advertising enables us to accurately identify and profile potential customers based on demographics, psychographics, behavioral traits, and past interactions. When handing out flyers, for example, you have little control over the audience, digital ads allow for targeted reach. What’s more, you also have access to feedback and can improve strategies and correct them immediately.

Today’s consumers use multiple devices throughout the day – smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, wearables, etc. Digital advertising makes it possible for you to be present in ads on your phone or while streaming, which greatly increases your reach. Coordinating search engine marketing, display ads, video, email campaigns, and other digital channels creates synergistic effects that increase overall performance.

Conclusion

We hope this guide has given you a clear understanding of what digital advertising is, and how you can start implementing digital advertising in your business. Digital advertising is a dynamic and essential tool for companies aiming to connect with their target audience and achieve their marketing goals. Its flexibility, precision, cost-effectiveness, and measurability set it apart from traditional advertising methods.

Digital marketing can improve many strategies, and creating digital ads has never been easier. If you are looking for more information on how to move your marketing efforts online, explore our Knowledge Base .

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