The advertising market increasingly became consolidated. Facebook and Google were the two big players for too long and while many are finding continued success through these two behemoth platforms, the best marketers have realized they need to branch out and no longer solely rely on these two (or any one or two platforms, for that matter). Fluctuations among platforms and policy – price increases, per user competition, engagement – suggest that it’s best to cast a wider net.
It makes sense that in order to cast a successful advertising strategy, one needs to diversify their sources meaning diversify their risk but it makes sense to engage with audiences that may be underserved by the bigger players. This article will explore some non-social media options that benefit those who want the most out of their ad game.
Why Facebook/Google Should No Longer Be the Go To
The reasons that Facebook and Google are not good alternatives extends beyond cost. However, too many companies put themselves at critical junctures with each other because the more they rely upon social media – and let’s be honest – Google is just as social, too.
There are four main issues that present themselves. First is the means by which an algorithm serves to penalize companies. One day a post may be seen and enjoyed and shared; the next, it’ll go viral and reduce organic reach ten fold. Companies are too dependent on having visibility to survive; far too often, companies find themselves needing to spend more for access they’ve already worked hard to earn. Yet when big tech pivots, they have no choice but to adhere.
Second is policy. No company will ever think of something so egregious it would kick them off of the platforms forever. Sure, companies have been put on hold, suspended temporarily – they’ve all happened with third party partners but no company thinks it will happen to them until it does.
Third is cost. The more users on the platforms vying for ads, the more CPC rises – and compounded by lower conversion rates, when companies have to spend more and less people are wanting what they’re pushing, it’s not worth it anymore – especially when smaller players need cash flow to prevail.
Fourth is market saturation. Users used to seeing ads on Facebook and Google get bored – and even annoyed – with interruptive advertising efforts. Targeting becomes difficult when users are uninformed of the fact they’ve seen that same ad 100 times before because all the fish are swimming in the same pond.
Outreach Outside Social Media
The solution lies outside social media connectedness. Ad networks usually connect across browsers/sites, etc but fail to see that social media is just one part of our connectedness – and often less successful than other connections – connections of alternatives.
There are unique networks, alternatives that can comprise strong analogs for strong success potential. For this reason, most fail to realize what exists outside of the pop ad realms which boast higher CTR and lower costs when compared to social media display options.
Pops ads throw a new tab/window at users without exiting their current space or giving them a chance to lose attention; they can decide whether or not they want to open new tabs/windows themselves or exit from whatever content they’ve been presented already, without mistake. Pop ads boast high conversion potential at low cost when successful with DSP and proper targeting.
Another strong alternative are native advertising networks; instead of disrupting a storyline or stream of consciousness building potential engagement, brand messaging becomes part of the editorialized work with brand awareness boasting seamless inclusion.
Video ad networks outside of Youtube are another strong competitor; Twitch and gaming platforms allow for video-based ads while content site-based connections allow access for video format ads as well, video ads having native potential where other text/narrative based sites do not.
Email Marketing/Newsletters
Email marketing doesn’t immediately become a potential placement for ads – but again, this is rarely thought about outside Facebook or Google. Many brands boast extensive email lists but fail to monetize them.
In addition, newsletter sponsorships occur all the time, popular newsletters boasting tenured follower loyalty; those who enjoy their content creators enjoy their recommendations as well. Therefore, ads bought in email blasts and newsletter sponsorships become excellent means for exclusive access without high costs and competition with everyone else on social media.
Higher engagement levels exist with email marketing because subscribers subscribe for content; they’re already interested. So they’ll be interested in relevant ads as well. Furthermore, targeting can be more specific relative to newsletter topics instead of broad bristle like social media can at times.
SEO/Content Marketing
SEO/content marketing advocate for long term plays not dependent upon social media/Google ad spaces but instead advocate for user-driven connections through organically formatted responses where companies must create online content that allows for proper placement merit where applicable.
These drive traffic over time instead of instant gratification but boast referential value that could get companies where they’d only otherwise be if they’d spent the time on social media because when content is good enough, those looking will find them when they need something; thus, that traffic converts better than any social media effort because that traffic isn’t just wandering aimlessly through the seas to find something they don’t realize they need at the time.
Programmatic and DSPs
Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) act as parallels across thousands of sites/apps that connect per request to find users successfully. For example, if a DSP ad requests demographic-specific engagement, it could go out across thousands of sites/apps/in one stroke looking for engagement before they’ve even loaded if people match across reading/viewing/etc patterns.
Unique ad networks boast safety via viewing and privacy from social media; Facebook owns all through tracking data collections.
The problem with Google/Facebook powered ads is they’re confined within the network; people will read things here and see things there OR they’re bombarded by ads all within one network as opposed to across all waters finding safety in shallow crevices from another area’s potential upturned depths for success.
Creating a Strategy for Diversification
Over time it becomes clear that finding alternatives becomes less about switching out replacement networks with Google/Facebook and instead compiling portfolios/efforts to bring them all together successfully.
For example, one network could boast branding efforts while another could have email sponsorship objectives; another might include display objectives while yet another might have campaign requirements specific to what’s necessary – but they can all succeed.
It’s important to test before metrics render relevance impotent; every network will require different creative needs and messaging/optimization – starting small with each allows for incremental growth when its evident success has been found.
Implementation/Budget Considerations
Ultimately it’s always ideal to realistically test 10%-30% alternatives at most while keeping some effort within established channels where profitability exists from preferred efforts.
This means assessing from time-to-time numbers percentages but ultimately testing efforts should find X budget distributed across these alternatives so success can be found among multiple channels instead of just one – while it may benefit one channel from onset right off the bat, another channel may take time to realize potential with optimization; it’s not a quick turnaround.
It’s a nuanced step approach relative to minor adjustments; it’s not an all-or-nothing effort immediately subverting what’s gone down.
Summary
Building strategies beyond social media channels requires understanding that alternatives exist – which can create a more resilient market space more profitably when companies know all channels exist for different purposes/different goals/different audiences.
Mastering messaging through multi-channel advertising while keeping messaging the same but brand experience universal will go a long way toward establishing success social media won’t provide alone.
People also read this: How Retailers Can Protect Their Stores with the Right Coverage
