Online advertising somehow manages to be super convenient and overwhelmingly complex at the same time. The opportunity to promote their brand to millions of potential customers is understandably appealing to most business owners, but countless retailers are at a loss when it comes to creating the most effective types of advertisements and posting the ads on the right platforms.

To help you stick to your budget while expanding your company’s visibility, we narrowed down the best channels and ad types for retailers to invest in.

How to Find the Right Channels

If you want to get the most out of your advertising campaign, you need to make sure you’re putting your ads in places where the majority of your target audience will see them. For example, if your products are tailored for older men, investing in Instagram marketing probably isn’t the best choice. On the other hand, someone selling beauty or fashion products aimed at teenage girls would likely benefit from advertising on Instagram.

When you’re just getting started with online ads, you might not know which platforms will work best for you, and that’s OK! Any company can launch a successful ad campaign using one (or more) of the following channels:

• Twitter. According to Lyfe Marketing, 66% of Twitter users have reported finding a new small or medium business while using the site, and 94% of users have said that they plan to purchase products from the brands they follow. People of all ages are highly active on Twitter, so it’s a good option if you’re still trying to pin down your ideal buyers. In addition, Twitter offers two options for marketing: Promoted Tweets and Twitter Ads campaigns.
• Google Ads. If someone uses Google to search for a specific product to meet their needs, the first few results that appear are usually the result of using Google Ads. Although it can be tricky to get the hang of at first, Google offers several courses for business owners who want to boost sales and attract new buyers. You can even specifically target users by demographics and location.
• Facebook. Nearly 2 billion users log into this social media site every month, making this an excellent platform to gain visibility. The site allows for intense market segmentation, and running paid ads on Facebook can ensure that your brand will be noticed by those who could benefit from your products.

Best Types of Online Ads

After you’ve selected a channel, the type of ad you choose can make or break your campaign. Some ads can be highly effective and appealing to some users, whereas other types of ads just frustrate and annoy people. For instance, 82% of people have admitted to exiting a website that featured an auto-playing video ad, according to one study. These full-volume videos can be startling and irritating to users, especially if they had been listening to music while browsing online.

However, there are some types of ads that consumers actually appreciate and find useful. If you’d prefer to avoid disrupting your potential customers’ days, you can attract wanted attention by using one of these ad types instead:

• Retargeted ads. If a customer visits a website, looks at a specific product page, and then exits without purchasing the item, the retailer can remind them of the product later with retargeting. Essentially, a retargeted ad works by a retailer placing a cookie on the customer’s browser, which can then promote related ads on other websites that the person visits. One study conducted by the Stanford Graduate School of Business showed that retargeting ads can increase the likelihood of someone returning to the site by 15%.
• PPC marketing. “Pay-per-click” ads require some keyword research in order to be effective, but this type of ad can help you gain visibility at a low cost. You can also gauge which keywords attract the most visitors, and this type of ad model can work for nearly every kind of business.
• Banner ads. Banner ads can show a static image, display your brand’s logo, or include an interactive feature. These display ads are the ones that typically appear on the top, sides, or bottom of a website. They’re typically inexpensive, simple to track, and they allow you to target specific buyers.

If you’re just launching your first company, you may want to invest some time into building up your social media presence, creating helpful content for your website, and optimizing your online store before you start running paid advertisements. More tips and advice for creating a stunning eCommerce site can be found on our blog, or you can contact a Wagento developer today!