As a company, we deliver leads for ERTC and tax clients through TikTok’s platform, so we understand the power of social media. Many business owners use Google to advertise their business through monetized adverts that are added to their business pages or websites, to make money per click. However, there is a new market in the advertising world that takes the form of social media. Whether you are savvy at advertising and you know the benefits of social media, or you are considering efforts to diversify your advertising campaigns, here are five reasons to consider pivoting your efforts to other advertising channels.

More Customer Reach

The key difference between ad-centric data like Google ads is understanding how the target demographic is measured. For example, there are keyword-centered ads, which rely on a click, and the idea of intent. That is, the customer is responsible for making their interest known– intent.

Social media advertising on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, are based on demographics and the interests, likes and dislikes of the user. One of the biggest benefits of this type of advertising is that your product can target new users, so even if someone has never heard of your product or service, the simple introduction to it might draw attention, and the user will see some sort of advantage to your product being implemented into their lives.

Cost Effective

Whether you are just starting out in your advertising journey or you’re a seasoned professional just seeking a quick ad on socials, social media advertising can be a solution that makes your bank account happy. While having a bigger spending budget is ideal for optimization and traffic increases, it isn’t completely necessary. For comparison, Pinterest is the most low-cost option, with $0.13 per click for a smaller ad-campaign, while LinkedIn tends to run on the more expensive side. Deciding which one is right for you comes down to where your business is at in terms of budget and in terms of traffic, given that LinkedIn tends to have the most B2B pay off which will help you generate more leads and reach a larger audience. Hence its heftier price tag.

Gain Insight on Consumer Audience

Perhaps one of the most innovative things about social media advertising is the ability to pair your demographic insights and knowledge with the built-in software that accompanies these platforms. Social media platforms have a wider net, giving you the ability to target as many people as you need in a myriad of ways that coincide with your advertising goals. By implementing this method of performance metrics, and analyzing your demographic by age, gender, region, and even devices they use, you can then realign your ad campaigns to better support the audience that you are seeking to influence.

For example, Facebook has its own advertising hub that provides details down to the user’s relationship status, which can then help you streamline the goal of your product ad in a way that is authentic to your product and business. Although if you are seeking a more interactive approach, Instagram story ads provide a feature that includes a poll option, which allows a user to interact directly with your business. This assists you in understanding the audience members pain points when it comes to how they feel about a certain product or service, or even your ad performance in general. It also helps make the customer feel like they are a direct, important piece of your business puzzle.

Format Options

One of the prime benefits of social media advertising is the many format options that you can choose from. Social media offers endless creative license over how you show up as an advertiser and as a business owner. There is really no end to what you can do because there is a method for whatever tact you choose. Perhaps the coolest thing about the platform options is the ability to choose long-form or short-form content, rectangular or square space, or even colorful versus black and white. 

The most important thing is that you use your ad space as a type of real estate investment, a digital investment, that is. Short form video content as well as social media story platforms like Instagram and Facebook provide easily digestible, bite-sized content pieces that do not overwhelm the audience and make the perfect case for a product or business.

Not only do you have an endless number of options to work with, but you also can make your ad space unique and singular to the content you want to push out, digitally and socially.

Crush Your Goals 

With advertising, particularly on social media, you may have different goals, and those goals may align with different campaigns. Whether you are seeking to drive traffic to your website, increase app use or drive e-commerce sales, you are essentially guaranteed visibility through any channel you choose.

A method that is prevalent in today’s advertising is funneling through conversion. Whatever the campaign is, you can choose to funnel it to a certain type of conversion. For example, converting traffic into sales, and clicks into website traffic. If you are running an ecommerce store and want to entice people to add to their cart, you can select that as an option before the campaign goes live.

But always make sure that your creative ad copy aligns with what you want your target audience to pay attention to that day, or even for that week. Streamlining every part of your marketing strategy will save you time and energy and yield the results you want.

The advertising ecosystem is one of the most open in terms of your ability to diversify your marketing strategy, and in turn diversify your audience and increase engagement. The key is finding the right platform for you and not being swayed by one or the other simply due to popularity or ease of access. Each platform can yield successful results if you figure out a way to utilize it that will not only benefit your business aesthetically, but also fiscally.

Ready to get started with social media advertising? Contact Media Partners Worldwide today!

Podcasts have become an increasingly pervasive part of American culture. More and more people are tuning in to their podcast of choice over their PC, tablet, smartphone or home assistant.

It looks like this trend is here to stay, so the question for many companies is: How can podcasts be effectively incorporated into marketing strategy? The following information will discuss some outstanding podcast-related statistics, and how businesses can leverage these insights to their advantage.

How Popular are Podcasts?

The simple answer is: very popular. Over the past several years, the number of monthly podcast listeners has grown at an explosive rate. As of this writing, 55% of the U.S. population has listened to a podcast, and 24% (in other words, almost 70 million people) listen on a weekly basis. Moreover, experts predict that the number of active podcast listeners in the United States is expected to reach approximately 132 million by the year 2022.

Who Listens to Podcasts?

The reality is that just about every age demographic (with the exception of children aged 11 and younger) contains a significant share of podcast listeners. Research indicates that individuals in the age range between 20 and 40 make up the majority of avid fans; however, a sizable percentage of senior citizens (aged 55 or older) also regularly tune in.

Furthermore, the popularity of podcasts is growing across all age groups. For instance, from 2017 to 2019 the number of monthly listeners aged 12-24 jumped from 27% to 40% — a major increase!

Which Podcast Genres are Most Popular?

With over 1 million distinct podcasts on the market, there’s no end to the niche topics that are being covered within the industry. Nevertheless, the 4 most popular podcast genres, among both casual and avid fans, are:

• Music
• TV and movies
• Comedy
• Technology

The “Kids and Family” genre takes the 5th spot among casual fans, while “Games and Hobby” podcasts are the 5th most popular genre among “avid fans” (i.e., listeners that consider themselves extremely interested in a certain subject).

Examples of popular podcasts in the above-mentioned categories, as well as other genres, include Mogul, Dissect, The Televerse, The Hawkins Report, This American Life, and TED Radio Hour.

When Do Consumers Listen?

A large share of light users (casual listeners) follow podcasts at home, or during their work commute. On the other hand, heavy users tend to listen to podcasts anytime they are away from home. In both cases, a high percentage of listeners tune in during their transit to work, whether that’s in their car, on a bus, or on the subway.

How Can Businesses Leverage Podcast-Related Insights?

There are several ways that companies can turn the above-mentioned data points into actionable insights to grow their business. For example:

• Companies can target genres with the widest appeal. Unless a company offers a product specifically designed for a niche audience, organization leaders should explore ad placement on podcasts that are popular among their consumer base, such as those in a particular genre of music.
• Marketers can tailor ads according to light vs. heavy usage. If most of the company’s target demographic falls within the “light user” category, then the marketing team may want to publish short, attention-grabbing advertisements. On the other hand, if they are targeting heavy users then they may be better served by generating longer commercials.
• Business can target specific consumer segments with relatable messaging. For example, since so many podcast listeners consume this form on media on their morning commute, many companies may be able to spin their marketing message to play on commute-related pain points (e.g., heavy traffic, long wait times, sleepiness, and so on).

Many advertisers are using podcasts to increase brand awareness and build their consumer base. For example, Blue Apron has partnered with Adam Carolla to promote their product on his podcast. Sling Media has seen engagement rates from podcast ads 2 to 3 times greater than radio spots. The Great Courses, a series distributed by The Teaching Company, has leveraged “baked-in” ads on podcasts like Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History.

An estimated 75% of listeners not only pay attention to podcast ads, but also follow specific calls to action after hearing them. That being the case, many advertisers have found that targeted ad campaigns on popular podcasts is a clear path to marketing success.

Podcasts in the Time of Coronavirus

How have podcasts fared since mid-March, when COVID-19 first broke out on a global scale? In some sectors, podcast listenership actually went down when the first “stay at home” orders were enacted. For example, analytics firm Chartable showed a 10% month over month decrease in downloads from February to March for their participating podcasts.

However, other sectors have seen massive gains. In Italy as a whole, there’s been a 10% increase in podcast listening. In the United States podcasts about television and entertainment, like 2 Black Girls, 1 Rose, have seen a major influx in subscribers.

Advertisers are changing their marketing tactics to account for listeners’ changing habits, and the “new normal.” In fact,  92% of the Association of National Advertisers’ members say that they’ve adjusted their creative messaging strategy since mid-March.

Many advertising firms are using direct CTAs when the screen is in view, and more subtle, story-oriented ads for when listeners may be multi-tasking (e.g., working out, cooking, and so forth). They are also using carefully selected phrasing in their ads; for instance, they may avoid such terms as “sick beats” or “going viral.” Some elect to not even mention COVID-19 by name.

Whether things go back to normal sooner or later, the bottom line is that podcasts are here to stay, and they will no doubt continue to grow in reach and popularity in the years to come. With some planning and effort, you can take advantage of this trend and promote the growth of your business.