How Local Businesses are Taking Advantage of Self-Service Ads
If you’ve recently taken a stroll down your social media feed, ordered some household items on Amazon, or binge watched your favorite show on Hulu, you might have noticed a growing trend. Now if you haven’t noticed anything new, don’t worry. We’ll point it out, and you may spot it next time you’re online.
What is this growing trend, one might ask? It’s none other than Self-Service Digital Advertising.
Self-Service Digital Advertising, also known as Self-Serve Ads, is advertising that businesses can purchase and manage completely on their own with minimal human interaction.
In today’s customer journey, people are online more than ever. Social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok have gained an exponential number of users. Facebook rings in at almost 3 billion while TikTok is on course for 1.5 billion by the end of 2022. The streaming service, Hulu, grew from 39.4 million subscribers to 45.3 million in just one year. This is where Self-Serve Ads makes their grand appearance.
Self-Service Digital Advertising gives businesses the opportunity to serve up ads to their desired audience directly on the platform of their choice with just a few clicks. NextDoor, Amazon, Facebook, and Spotify are just a few of many to offer this kind of service. TikTok in particular takes Self-Serve Ads to another level by integrating businesses’ Square and Shopify storefronts to encourage users who tap on the ads to view their inventory. Let’s take a look at the benefits of this advertising format, and how it works:
- Google recently announced they are doing away with third party cookies in 2023. This means advertisers won’t be able to pursue potential customers using online behavior. Self-Serve ads bridge this gap. Although Google will cut off this information, each platform still has a plethora of knowledge on its own, offering a reliable way to target customers using current interests based on what users watch, like, follow, user demographics, and locations to target ads.
- The need to negotiate budget, and strategy is removed entirely. Businesses select their own budget and timeframe to run the ads on the platform of choice. In addition, businesses aren’t restricted by standard 9-to-5 business hours to get ads running because Self-Serve Ads are automated.
- Businesses will have access to reporting on how their ads are performing to understand which messaging is resonating with their target audience.
Getting started with Self-Serve Ads is as simple as an online search. Once businesses have identified which platform will best serve their needs, simply head to their website and scroll to the bottom. Usually, there will be an “advertise with us” or “contact us” prompt that’ll point you in the right direction.
We encourage business owners to keep their eyes peeled for marketing opportunities across the web and streaming services. Now, if you haven’t before, you just might notice Amazon or Facebook ads beckoning you to advertise.
If you are a current SproutLoud client, and you’d like to learn more about local marketing strategies, click here to schedule time with a SproutLoud Local Marketing Expert.