Paid advertising is a quick and effective method of promoting your brand to your chosen target audience.
If you’re a small business looking for advertising ideas, then paid advertising, whether on social media or the search engines, can be a highly efficient marketing method!
We’re paid ads specialists here at Bubblegum Search and have put together 12 reasons why your small business should consider paid advertising in the year ahead.
If you’re looking for the best way to promote your business in 2023, read on…
1. There’s a wide variety of ads and platforms to choose from
Whether you opt for advertisements on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok, or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on Google, you’re spoilt for choice!
Paid ads mean you can choose the platform and ad type that resonates most with your target audience. So whether you want to capture leads on LinkedIn or retarget existing customers with Google Display ads, all your bases are covered.
2. You can target prospective customers with laser precision
Let’s say your target audience is retired sixty-somethings in Scotland, who own cats, have a passion for independent cinema, and love cooking vegan food. You can create an ad especially catered to them!
Social media platforms have lots of customer data you can use to make sure your ads are served to the perfect target customer.
That way, you don’t need to worry about wasted ad spend and can focus on driving conversions.
3. It’s easy to get set up
You don’t need to be a paid ads pro to get started with pay-per-click advertising. Just sign up, provide your payment details, and your platform of choice will talk you through how to create the perfect ad for your requirements.
There’s a large amount of information available online if you have questions, and most platforms have chat functionality where you can speak to an expert if you need assistance.
(And don’t forget, if you need a little extra support with online advertising for your small business, we’re happy to help!)
4. You can use it to complement the rest of your marketing channels
Another advantage of paid advertising for small businesses is that it perfectly complements the rest of your marketing efforts.
Got a lead magnet in place to find prospective customers? Paid advertising can entice the right people to give you their details. Working on your search engine optimisation (SEO)? Google Ads is a perfect way for small businesses to see results while they wait for their SEO efforts to kick in.
5. You can get the edge over your competitors
A large part of online advertising for small businesses is keeping an eye on your competitors and seeing what they get up to. With paid advertising, you can keep tabs on your closest rivals.
With Google Ads, you can use Auction Insights to compare your performance with other advertisers and see what you need to do to get the advantage.
With paid social, you can intentionally target people who like your competitors and remind them why you’re the best business around!
6. You get instant results
SEO is a reliable way to boost your presence in the search engines, but it takes time to work. SEO typically takes between six and twelve months to see optimal results.
The advantage of paid search ads in Google is that you can leapfrog to the top of the first page of results straight away. This makes paid advertising a great option for small businesses that are just starting out, or want to promote something time-sensitive.
7. It scales as your business does
One of the things we love the most about paid social, especially when it comes to small businesses, is that it scales so well.
You can increase your budget, add new keywords, and try new ad types as your business grows, making it one of the easiest ways to find new customers and win sales.
8. You can appeal to people wherever they are in the sales funnel
Whether you want to raise brand awareness with prospective customers, or funnel people who are ready to buy to your product pages, you can do it all with paid advertising.
Paid advertising lets you target prospective customers, regardless of their intent.
9. You can make changes in real-time
Paid ad platforms like Google Ads and Meta Business Suite are designed to be as user-friendly as possible. This means you can jump in and make changes as often as you need to.
Many even come with their own smartphone apps so you can monitor and manage your ad campaigns on the go!
10. You can use images and videos to showcase your business
As marketers, we’re told that images and videos are imperative when it comes to getting people’s attention, and can lead to 94% more views.
With paid social for small businesses, you can use photos and videos to tell prospects a story about your business and entice them to convert. Platforms like Google Ads and Meta Business Suite can even create videos automatically for you!
11. You get analytics you can use to constantly grow and improve
Data is everything when you run a business. It can tell you what you’re doing right, how much money you’re making, and where you need to improve.
Paid advertising platforms provide a wealth of information you can use to improve your campaigns and even feed into your other marketing channels.
For example, you can use the words and phrases people use to find your ad to power your keyword research and SEO strategy!
12. You can use automation to save time
Our final reason why paid social is the best way to advertise your business – you can dedicate as much or as little time to it as you need to.
This makes paid advertising great for small businesses that might not have much time to dedicate to marketing.
For example, Google Ads recently launched ‘Performance Max’ campaigns that allow businesses to reach out to customers across multiple channels. The campaigns use data-driven automation to appeal to the right people at the right price point.
While we always recommend checking your campaign frequently to ensure you’re getting the right results, automation can help free up your working hours!
Want to get started with paid advertising for your small business but don’t know where to begin?
Paid advertising for small businesses – paid ads on social media and Google are great ways to appeal to a targeted customer audience and stand out amongst your competitors!
Our paid advertising specialists will create a high-quality campaign that drives conversions, raises brand awareness, and brings you profits.
Contact us today for your free marketing plan, and let us see if paid advertising is right for your small business.