1. TARGET THE RIGHT AUDIENCE

One of the best ways to maximize your budget and spend your ad dollars efficiently is to ensure you’re reaching your business’s target audience. To do this, first make a profile of your target customer. You can survey your existing customer base, or refer to demographic information you’ve already gathered about your audience, including details included in mailing list sign ups. Once you have a demographic profile of your target customer, choose advertising platforms that make sense for that audience and your location.

2. ADVERTISE WHERE YOUR AUDIENCE IS

Now that you understand who your target market is, do your research on the various ad platforms available to make sure your advertisement will reach your target customer. For example, if your target consumer is under 21 years old, mobile advertising through Snapchat might be a great choice. If you’re considering print, broadcast or outdoor advertising, request a media kit before purchasing ad space to make sure the demographics make sense for your targeting.

3. TRACK AND MEASURE SUCCESS

It’s important that you evaluate the performance of your advertising campaign so that you can make informed decisions about future ad decisions. Digital ads make it easy to track the success of your efforts; social and PPC ad platforms give you detailed reports on how much you spend, how efficiently you spend your budget, the best performing ad creative and the demographics of the people who engage with your ads. You can get a sense of how many people click on your digital ads and what percentage of those people go on to make a purchase or take another desired action on your business website. With broadcast and outdoor advertising, it can be more difficult to measure success. Consider using a unique URL, email address or phone number in those ads, so you can see how much interest they generate. Or, include an offer code that can be used for a discount on your website. If you use a unique code for each ad you create, you’ll be able to compare the success of all your advertisements.

4. GET THE TIMING RIGHT

If you don’t have the budget to advertise all year long, it’s best to run your ad campaigns during the most effective times of year. Study your business earnings and identify your busiest seasons. Maybe, if you’re a retail business, your peak season is during the December holidays. Or, if you run a landscaping business, you’re probably busiest during spring and summer. Advertising during the time of year when people are most likely to pay for your products and services can increase your return on investment.

5. TRY REMARKETING STRATEGIES

Remarketing is relevant for most forms of digital advertising. It involves targeting your ads at people who have visited your website before but haven’t converted to a paying customer. You can create highly personalized ads to engage with these users, based on what they previously viewed on your website. These ads will then be more relevant for the customer and with engaging copy or a discount offer, you can hopefully convince the person to convert.