If your business isn’t getting enough sales and you’re not sure why it might be time to consider paid marketing as a solution. From print advertising to social media ads to pay-per-click marketing, paid marketing campaigns can get your business the exposure it needs to attract new customers and generate revenue. However, paid marketing can be expensive—and if you don’t know how much ROI you can expect from your campaign, it could end up hurting your business’s bottom line more than helping it. Here are four facts you should know before investing in any kind of paid marketing program.

Beginners’ Guide To Paid Marketing

For business owners looking to grow their company, it can seem like paid marketing is not an option. After all, who wants to sink money into something that doesn’t have a proven track record of success? The truth is, though, that paid marketing channels have come a long way in recent years and are more valuable than ever. Marketers who work with these channels use them as part of an integrated growth strategy; they don’t rely on them exclusively. For your own growth strategy, you should think about paid marketing as one of many tools at your disposal—and do some careful research before you pick and choose. Keep reading for a list of places where you can begin your paid marketing research!

What’s Google Ads (and why use it)?

Google Ads is an advertising service by Google that allows you to place text-based ads on Google’s search pages, as well as its network of partner sites. It helps businesses make sure their ads are delivered whenever a search query matches their business, products, or services. If someone searches for marketing, your ad can show up if you want it to. But even if you’re not targeting anything in particular, your ad will appear next to generic search results for things like marketing services or SEO agencies. This is called broad matching and it works because it gives people what they’re looking for when they don’t know exactly what they’re looking for—or when competitors slip in a misleading ad before yours does.

What’s Facebook Advertising (and why use it)?

Facebook is no longer just for connecting with family and sharing funny photos—it’s also a powerful marketing tool. The key, though, is setting your advertising budget wisely and targeting your ads correctly. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about paid Facebook advertising. You’ll learn how it works, what kind of targeting is available, how to create and optimize an ad campaign, which reports are essential for optimization, and more. Check out our recommendations and stats on ways that B2B companies are using Facebook Ads now—then get started on your own campaign!

What’s Email Marketing (and why use it)?

Email marketing is a popular way of reaching existing and potential customers. If you’re trying to encourage repeat business, or simply promote your brand, email marketing can help you achieve that goal. Instead of trying to cut through all of your competitors’ noise on social media, email delivers messages directly into recipients’ inboxes. People are actually more likely to read emails in their inboxes than they are on any other platform. This makes it a great choice for businesses looking to get their message out in an efficient manner—it’s more direct than social media, but doesn’t require as much time and effort as other forms of advertising (like print ads or television commercials).

What’s Display Advertising (and why use it)?

Display advertising is exactly what it sounds like: ads that appear alongside other content on a website or mobile app. Display ads are generally larger than text ads and, thus, easy for consumers to notice. They can help you increase brand awareness and provide information about your products and services. However, the display isn’t as targeted as social media or search; if your target audience doesn’t see your display ad (perhaps because they don’t visit websites that frequently), it’s unlikely they’ll see it at all. While display advertising can boost engagement with customers in general, it may not be a good fit for B2B marketing purposes. In short: use it if you want—and get pretty results—but know its strengths (reach) and weaknesses (limited targeting).

What are Affiliate Programs (and why use them)?

Affiliate marketing programs can help you easily reach new customers and dramatically increase your sales. In fact, of those consumers who make a purchase based on an affiliate’s recommendation, over 60% buy again from that business within one year. However, it’s important to note that not all affiliate marketing programs are created equal; some are highly targeted and some aren’t. If you’re thinking about using an affiliate program, here are six factors to consider before diving in

What are In-Content Ads (and why use them)?

In-content ads are one of several types of dynamic remarketing ads offered by Facebook. These dynamic, interactive ads appear within relevant content on a business’s website or app. For instance, if a customer visits your website looking at bikes and parts, you can show them an ad when they visit pages with related content such as product categories, reviews, and articles. With in-content ads, businesses don’t have to wait for customers to browse their websites — instead, they can reach out directly with relevant messaging within specific pages on their sites.

Tips for Running Good Facebook Campaigns

Facebook is an excellent paid advertising platform, but it’s very important that you take certain steps when running your ads. This can make a big difference between a successful campaign and one that goes nowhere. Here are some tips for getting good results from Facebook.

1. Choose clear and interesting images for your ads. Many advertisers use stock photos in their ad creative, but there’s nothing wrong with using a picture of yourself or your products if you have them available. Just be sure you like what you see!
2. Selecting target audiences: Facebook has powerful demographic targeting capabilities; research who is most likely to buy from your business, then carefully craft your audience selections so that only people who are most likely to buy will see your ad.

Do you really need all this advice?

It’s good advice but it might not be all relevant. Take a step back and figure out your situation. Do you have no existing audience or content? In that case, you’ll want to focus on building an audience and developing relationships through social media or guest posting. Do you have a web presence but aren’t getting any conversions? You may want to look at how effective your website is and how you can optimize it for visitors. Do you already get traffic to your website, but just don’t see any conversions happening? You may want to look into search engine optimization or email marketing as two strategies that may help with increasing site engagement.