Balancing performance marketing with brand building

Marketers are under pressure. In some instances, they are as stressed as people in the health service. Consumers are more demanding, channels of communication have amplified, enhanced technology has reimagined the possibilities, and growth targets are ambitious. 

The pressure is on.

The short-term versus the long-term

Desire in the Board Room no doubt dictates the need to push for short-term growth, but this still needs to be balanced with long-term brand building. Many consumers lack trust in digital advertising, they are concerned about the use of their data, they understand how to install ad-blockers, and in some instances, they are deleting at least one social media account.

Brands are pushing, but many consumers are pulling away.

To engage with these users it’s key to build trust and illustrate that you’re the right brand for their needs. If you can balance the short-term with the long-term, you can build a recipe for success with the modern consumer.

Choosing the right approach for performance marketing

Digital display should be the core of your performance marketing strategy. When done correctly it’s an extremely powerful tool to connect with users and guide them along the path to purchase with you through to conversion. It will also help you to turn loyal customers into brand advocates.

If consumers are becoming harder to reach, it’s important to be strategic about the way you approach display. Essential tips to cut through the noise include:

• Build ads that showcase your business in the best possible way, in line with your brand guidelines and tone of voice
• Segment your audience based on where they interact onsite and retarget them with ads that are tailored and relevant to their needs
• Provide helpful solutions for your audience based on the keywords they’ve originally searched for
• Ensure your ad creative changes in line with your customers’ mindset through dynamic creative
• Automatically keep all your ads up to date through feed ads
• Engage with audiences on a local level through geo-targeting
• Drive consumers into one of your physical locations on the go using geofencing

Finding the right ad-tech

When it comes to the short-term performance of your business, the number of ad-tech providers on the market will no doubt be adding to your stress.

The right ad-tech can revolutionise your digital advertising strategies, but only if it’s the correct fit for your business. Here we guide you through the key considerations when evaluating ad-tech providers.

If you get this right, not only will your short-term performance improve, it will also benefit you in the long-term.

Keeping one eye on the long-term positioning of your brand

Personalisation and a desire to tailor your ads to each and every user can potentially cause issues further down the line if a brand tries to be everything for everyone all at once. This dilutes the brand signalling and can cause confusion amongst your customer base.

It’s therefore key to understand what your overarching brand message is and the role you play in your customers’ lives.

You can do this by continuing to evaluate who your customer is and by defining your audience personas. Your short-term performance marketing campaigns help with this essential function.

By digging deep into the demographics that engage with your ads, you begin to build a picture of the audiences that convert and the creatives that work, giving you a 360° view of your campaigns. Reporting on and analysing the following metrics, enables you to build key personas and demographics for each of your products and services.

• Age
• Income
• Interests
• Gender
• Demographic
• Marital Status
• Device Type
• Time Breakdown
• Keyword Breakdown

By knowing the gender, age and income of your audiences for example, you can tailor your brand messaging and creative, as well as understanding where you should be advertising.

If you understand the predominant device your audiences use, the keywords they search for and where they spend their time online you have the capability to build a picture of their habits, mindset and interests.

In the short-term this means more tailored advertising on the right channels and devices, with the best possible messages for the best chance of converting.

For your long-term brand building, it means a detailed understanding of your audience and the potential role that you can play in their lives.