Ad blockers can’t block your business on all counts.
The advent of ad blockers has made marketing more challenging than ever. At their simplest, ad blockers are applications that remove or alter advertising content on a webpage. While some of these applications replace those contents with something else, others erase them from the page, leaving blank spaces here and there. Regardless of how the application is applied, ad blockers have cast out advertisements, as well as the hopes of many companies to put their products or services on the map.
With more ad blockers available for download, the population of ad blocker users is bound to multiply. Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom. Here’s a rundown of some marketing strategies to help you get around the impact ad blockers can have on your business.
Utilize content marketing
Content marketing is nothing new. Yet, if you’ve just started playing the marketing game, this concept might be foreign to you. In essence, content marketing is a strategy that draws in, captivates and sustains the interest of your target customers through crafting and distributing free, targeted and valuable content (e.g., articles, videos and podcasts) to current and potential customers. On top of the benefits mentioned, content marketing also—
- costs 62% less than traditional outbound marketing but generates triple more leads,
- generates six times higher conversion rates than traditional marketing and
- creates 434% more search engine-indexed pages for businesses than their counterparts that don’t create and publish content.
As one can see, content marketing has proven to be a tried-and-true strategy that packs a punch, particularly in today’s business landscape teeming with ad blockers. Leveraging the power of content marketing, you can wave goodbye to concerns about ad blockers hindering you from putting your business out there. It is simply because when the content is the ad in disguise, ad blockers can’t touch it, filters won’t catch it, and your potential customers get the message without even knowing they’re being advertised to.
So, how to get started with content marketing? It all begins with getting a solid grasp of your target audience and what makes them tick. To truly hit the mark, you’ll need to create content that’s right up your customers’ alley and strikes a chord with them. Presentation is key, and mixing up your content formats can widen your reach and engage with a more diverse crowd.
After putting together some captivating content, it’s time to spread it far and wide. To do so, consider tapping into a mix of avenues like email and social media. Since content marketing is all about getting your content in front of the right eyeballs, don’t forget to sprinkle in some search engine optimization (SEO) magic to ensure that your content lands right in front of your target audience.
Content marketing isn’t a one-and-done deal. To keep your audience hooked and rake in more leads, you’ve got to develop and publish captivating content consistently. Dedicating time and energy to content marketing can not only steer you through the hurdles ad blockers throw your way, but it can ultimately foster connections between you and your customers that can be converted into sales and profit down the line.
Diversify your marketing channels
It may be surprising, but enterprises rely on eight marketing channels on average. Website, social media and print advertisements are the top three choices among 15 channels, including email, television, direct mail, etc. Though there is no golden rule for the number of marketing channels a company should use, having only one or two is risky. That’s because if what you have doesn’t work, bringing in new customers will become challenging, especially if it involves reaching ad-blocking audiences.
The sea of marketing channels is vast. But in particular, we suggest you give video marketing and social media advertising a go. As one of the fastest-growing channels in today’s marketing landscape, video can boost conversions, generate leads and establish a stronger emotional connection between your brand and audience than any other medium. A study has revealed that 66% of customers prefer learning about a product or service through video over other channels, and about 84% of customers shared that they have been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a brand’s video.
Social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, are ideal platforms to showcase your promotional videos. With over two billion monthly active users, Instagram has drawn luxury brands, like Louis Vuitton and Hermès, to drop promotional videos on the platform. Aside from gaining access to an enormous user base, many companies use Instagram advertisements because they allow them to link directly to the company website or landing page, making efficient website engagement possible. Plus, it is simpler to reach the desired target audience due to Instagram’s algorithm.
Invest in paid search
To drive traffic to the website, some companies invest in paid search, a digital marketing strategy in which companies pay search engines to place their ads higher on targeted search engine results pages (SERPs). As paid search operates on a pay-per-click model (PPC), advertisers only get charged when someone clicks on their advertisement. This makes paid search an affordable marketing channel that ensures your advertisements reach those who look up your company’s products or services online, including those ad blocker users.
Although paid search appears simple, making it work for your business will take time and effort. It involves multiple steps, including but not limited to the following:
- Selecting keywords
- Choosing match types (i.e., how precisely you want your advertisement to match user searches)
- Placing your bids (i.e., the higher your bid, the higher your ad will show up on the SERPs)
- Adding extensions (extra pieces of information you add to show alongside your ad)
Every step must be handled carefully to launch a successful advertisement. If these are outside your field, consider bringing in a digital marketing specialist to manage advertising for your company.
Advertise with publishers
If you read featured articles by Harvard Business Review or TechCrunch, you may have come across some articles labeled as “sponsored content” or “sponsored by (a company name)”.
Image courtesy of Harvard Business Review’s website
Image courtesy of TechCrunch’s website
These articles are called sponsored content (also known as advertorials). Unlike regular articles, sponsored content is a form of advertising content published by websites to promote a company’s products and services. Though sponsored content is a form of advertisement, ad blockers won’t intercept them because they block communication between the website and the ad servers (i.e., advertising software that facilitates and manages ads). Since sponsored content is produced and published by the website owner and involves no ad server, ad blockers cannot interfere with them.
Since the promoted content aligns with the topics the publisher regularly covers, readers won’t find them intrusive to read. If you reach out to more well-known online publishers, you can take advantage of their large reader base and gain more exposure to your company’s products and services. All things considered, publishers help you circumvent the impact of ad blockers on promoting your business while building publicity for your brand.
Hopefully, this article will offer insights into marketing in this ad-blocker-packed business world. Carrying the strategies outlined above through takes time, so don’t quit too early. If you need assistance, consult marketing specialists; they will guide you in the right direction. Good luck!
Also read:
- What Is CRM and Why Your Business Needs It
- 5 Top CRM Software for Small Businesses
- Why You Need to Update Your Customer Experience Strategy
- How Multimedia Can Be Used in Customer Service
- How Should Luxury Brands Fight against Counterfeiting?
Header image courtesy of Freepik
