Marketing happens everywhere these days. Whether you’re checking the headlines on your favorite news site, following the latest trends on LinkedIn and Twitter or simply posting something to your own social media account, chances are you’re also seeing paid ads along the side of the page or between posts.
Paid ads have become so common they can easily become background noise. Still, they remain one of the most effective ways companies can get attention.
Traditional marketing dictates that the more you advertise and promote yourself the better, but is that still the case? As with just about everything else in life, our online and connected lives have changed the game when it comes to marketing best practices.
Ads on Facebook, Google Ad Words and other Paid Marketing channels can be effective when launching a product or service and getting the word out to fans. These channels quickly grow either cold or over-saturated, however, which can turn your campaign into a liability.
The problem is scale effects – the longer a campaign runs, the less effective it becomes. As the attention a new campaign receives begins to die down, many companies double down on the Paid Marketing thinking once they increase exposure, they’ll increase attention. It becomes an addictive cycle of pouring more money, time and energy into Paid Marketing, chasing that initial boost you saw at the start of your campaign.
Over time, the message becomes wearing on repeat and people will begin to tune it out or, worse yet, become annoyed by your message. Companies keep throwing money at the problem thinking more advertising will bring in more sales. Instead, it simply depletes their marketing budget and often their passion for the business. Couples that with lagging sales and it’s no wonder why this is the cause of problems for start-ups.
Companies that want to keep their Paid Marketing addiction in check need to give more freedom and control to their creative team. That means building second, third and even fourth channels for engagement so that marketing budgets can be spread evenly and used wisely. Diversification is key – from special service features and one of a kind content to a robust referral or loyalty program – these are the channels that get stronger as they go on, gathering strength and momentum instead of fizzling out.
Paid Marketing offers a rush of publicity and attention, but it’s almost impossible to keep up for long. Branching out and redirecting some of that budget into other channels of marketing and customer attraction may not deliver that same jolt to the system but, over time, they become consistent, reliable avenues to build a solid reputation and attract new customers.
