Tag: AUN

Connect with Users by Displaying Facebook Ads in Instagram Stories

Posted on by Andrew

Instagram AdvertisingSince its launch just six months ago, Instagram Stories have become wildly popular with users. Over 150 million people interact with Stories on a daily basis and now, you have the opportunity to display ads to this engaged audience. Capitalize off of Instagram and Facebook’s powerful connection by creating ads that reach users within Instagram Stories.

With Instagram Stories, people and businesses can share multiple photos and videos in a slideshow format without overloading their profiles. Photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours and won’t appear on their profile grid or in feed. Stories appear in a bar at the top of users’ feed from Instagram accounts that they follow. Your ad image or video can be placed between Instagram Stories.

How to Create Facebook Ads for Instagram Stories

After connecting your Instagram account with your Facebook ad account, it’s relatively easy to insert an ad. Within either Power Editor or Ads Manager, create a campaign using the reach objective, a strategy that delivers your ad to the most people your budget can afford. On the ad set level, you will see the option to create ads for Instagram Stories. The new format will allow for a single image or video (no longer than 15 seconds). There will be no standalone links or text, including titles, messages, or descriptions.

Benefits of Facebook Ads in Instagram Stories

You are somewhat limited with your ad because you can’t promote a link or text that would drive traffic back to your website. Instagram plans to allow links or call-to-action buttons in the future, but there isn’t that capability just yet. Although you can’t directly send traffic to your website, this ad format can still work for you. You can:

  • Increase awareness: Delivering ads using the reach objective displays your image or video to a large audience, increasing exposure and awareness of your business, products, and/or services.
  • Make a memorable impression: You are limited to a single image or a 15-second video, so your image or video needs to make a statement. Get creative and create a visual message that leaves a lasting impression.
  • Spark interest: Insert ads to spark interest in a new product, promotion, or incentive. Once you capture someone’s attention, you can follow up with more targeted advertising that links to your website, moving users down the purchase funnel.

Lear more about Facebook advertising here, or contact us today!

Google Tests New Mobile Ad Extension Format

Posted on by Andrew

Google Mobile AdsHow do your ads stand apart from your competition? Give searchers the relevant information they want by implementing ad extensions, extra details that encourage customers to click. By including more information about your company beneath your ad, extensions can help boost traffic, increase your ad’s visibility, and improve the click through rate.

AdWords shows one or more extensions with your ad when it calculates that the extension will improve your campaign performance, and when your ad rank is high enough for it to appear. Ads with greater expected impact from extensions will generally appear in a higher ad position than similar ads from your competitors.

Google is always testing and improving ad formats. Google has been using swipeable cards in mobile text ads to display extensions. Now, they are testing a new version that combines multiple ad extension types into a swipeable card carousel. The carousel includes a variety of extensions that provide a wealth of information to customers before they even click on your ad.

There are two types of ad extensions: automated and manual. AdWords independently creates and displays the automated extensions (seller ratings, consumer ratings, social extensions, and previous visits) when it predicts that they’ll improve your ad’s performance. You can manually create new ad extensions that will show beneath your ad, including:

  • Site extension: links to promote additional landing pages or direct customers to more specific page on site
  • Callout extension: promote unique offers to shoppers, like 356-day return policy or free shipping. When customers see your ads, they get detailed information about your business, products, and services.
  • Call extension: a click to call button
  • Location extension: address to find nearest storefront
  • App extension: button to download your app.
  • Price extensions: show as a set of up to 8 cards that consumers can view to see different options and prices. From your price menu, people can go directly to the product that interests them on your site.
  • Structured snippets: highlight specific aspects of your products and services. Give potential customers a snapshot of what you do before they click on your ad.

There is no cost to add extensions to your campaign, but you’re charged as usual for clicks on your ad, with the exception of automated extensions. Consider beefing up your ads with informative extensions that compel buyers to click.

Learn more about our  Google AdWords services or contact us today!

Dealership Sees Increased Sales After Going Digital

Posted on by Andrew

Digital AdvertisingDoes your dealership still rely heavily on traditional advertising methods to reach potential car buyers? TV, print, and radio ads may have been effective in the past, but now digital advertising is where it’s at. If you haven’t taken the plunge, consider going all-in with a digital campaign.

Google recently profiled a small-town Canadian car dealership that experienced huge results after abandoning their traditional marketing plans and launching a digital strategy. Recognizing that car buyers were spending more and more time online, the dealership decided to go all digital in 2014. Since then, they have experienced:

  • 50% increase in new car sales
  • 79% increase in website visitors
  • 67% increase in the dealership’s website page views

By advertising to an online audience, the dealership was able to deliver highly-relevant ads to a targeted market. In addition to increasing sales and online traffic, a digital campaign can deliver these three benefits:

Multiple tools: Digital advertising allows you to develop a proactive strategy with the flexibility to adjust as needed. Here are a few tactics that we implement to drive traffic to your dealership.

  • Paid search ads: By using targeted keyword lists that focus on purchase intent, our paid search campaigns put an ad for your business at the top of the search results pages, giving you increased visibility to local searchers.
  • Dynamic Facebook ads: After identifying the best audience and determining purchase intent, we serve the most relevant ad to that potential buyer. The ad pulls real-time inventory from your website’s data feed. We optimize the bid to bring the most potential traffic back to your site, generating the maximum amount of VDP views. Dealerships using our highly-targeted dynamic ads are achieving record sales. Compared to standard Facebook ads, dealerships experience increased time on website, increased page views per session, and improved vehicle search conversion rate.
  • YouTube video ads: Video gives you the opportunity to personalize your dealership and creatively advertise your current promotions and deals.

Increased Engagement Opportunities: Digital advertising offers multiple platforms to boost engagement, build brand awareness, and foster relationships. Through social media, email marketing campaigns, and your website, you can reward buyers with valuable information they need to make an informed decision.

Measurable results: It can be difficult to pinpoint the effectiveness of a TV or radio promotion. With digital, you can track many metrics such as emails, site visits, calls, and car sales. By being able to instantly measure your results, you can spend your ad budget on tactics that deliver the best ROI.

 

We specialize in digital auto ad campaigns. We have the expertise and experience to create a plan for your dealership that will deliver results. Contact us today to get started.

Boosting a Facebook post or Launch a paid social campaign? Which is best?

Posted on by Andrew

Boost Post on Facebook

 

When you post on Facebook, it might be tempting to click the “boost” button to increase your reach and exposure, but hold on a second! The “boost” button is not the most effective way to reach your audience. This tool lacks the options available to advertisers who deliver ads to new and existing customers. Still need help making a decision?

 

Here are three reasons why you should avoid boosting your posts:

1.Limited Posts: You can only boost one post at a time, eliminating any opportunity to test different posts to see which is performing best. You miss out on refining your audience targeting to make sure you’re getting the right message in front of the right people.

2.Limited Targeting: With boosted posts, there are essentially two groups of people you can promote to: “fans and friends of fans” and interest groups.

  • “Fans and friends of fans”: Fans are interested in what you’re selling, but “friends of fans” most likely aren’t. Don’t waste ad dollars on an indifferent audience.
  • Interest targeting: Interest targeting is strictly limited to interests. It doesn’t include any demographic or location targeting.

3.Increased Expense: Without the ability to properly test posts and using vague audience targeting, you spend more money for less engagement than an ad that reaches your target market.

Skip the boosted posts and share your message through a Paid Social campaign. Using the following three tools, we deliver your ads to a relevant, engaged audience.

Optimized Bidding: We can optimize your bids to reflect what you want to achieve with your ads. First we determine your campaign goals (e.g. brand awareness, lead generations, and clicks to website), and then we can define optimization goals, bidding strategies, and ad formats that will reach your audience and compel them to take the action you want. Depending on your objective, you can choose to get charged for different actions, including impressions, page likes, and post engagements. By determining objectives and bids, you can efficiently extend your reach and maximize every ad’s potential.

Custom Audiences: Creating custom audiences within Facebook enables you to deliver your message to known audiences, increasing efficiency in your marketing campaigns. With custom audiences, you can define groups of existing and prospective customers and serve ads to these targeted groups who have already expressed an interest in your brand. Extend your reach and increase your ROI by delivering your ad to highly-qualified audience.

Facebook Dynamic Advertising

 

Dynamic Facebook Ads: We create an audience of people who are most likely to buy your products. After identifying a potential buyer’s intent, we serve the most relevant ad to that person. This ad pulls real-time inventory from your website’s data feed. We optimize the bid to bring the most traffic back to your site. When the prospect clicks the ad, they are sent right to the product page, creating the highest possibility of conversion. Compared to standard Facebook ads, businesses using our dynamic ads experience decreased bounce rate, increased time on website, and increased page views per session.

 

We have expertise and experience to help you execute a Paid Social campaign that reaches your target audience. Contact us today.

5 Tips to Create Effective Paid Search Campaigns

Posted on by Andrew

Search Engine Marketing

Every day, more and more consumers use mobile search to find information and make purchases. Since most people are using mobile to search, you need to have an active presence on mobile. Google AdWords makes it easy to execute a paid search campaign to reach mobile users. By setting up an effective mobile paid search campaign you get in front of more prospects, when and where they’re looking for you.

Here are five tips to create an effective campaign:

1.Set Goals: What are your campaign objectives? Do you want to generate more calls? Improve traffic? Increase click-through rates? Setting goals helps you gauge whether or not your campaign is running smoothly. Continually analyze your campaign performance, test, and optimize.

2.Define Your Target Audience: Accurate targeting helps you reach in-market buyers. Knowing about your customers, including their location and device helps you pinpoint which search queries are a good match for your ads. Precise, focused targeting helps drive your ad creative so you can capture interested buyers when they are looking for what you have to offer.

3.Determine Your Keywords: The keywords you choose to target tell Google AdWords which user searches your ads should appear for. It’s important to consider the many different keywords and phrases a mobile searcher uses when looking for information. Choose unique, action-oriented keywords that help users make a decision quickly.

4.Use Ad Extensions: Ad extensions are simple to set up and can have a huge impact on your paid search performance. AdWords independently creates and displays the automated extensions (seller ratings, consumer ratings, social extensions, and previous visits) when it predicts that they’ll improve your ad’s performance. You can manually create new ad extensions that will show beneath your ad, including:

  • Site extension: links to promote additional landing pages or direct customers to more specific page on site
  • Call extension: a click to call button
  • Location extension: address to find nearest storefront
  • Click-to-text extensions: like call extensions, but they provide users a method for sending a direct text to the business.

5.Compel mobile searchers to click with clear calls to action: A focused call-to-action with a few well-chose words is better than long, convoluted paragraphs. Skip the flowery language and opt for clear, direct language that conveys your message in simple terms. One clear call-to-action offers value to the consumer and increases conversions.

Paid search is all about showing the right ads to the right audience. We have the expertise and experience to execute an effective paid search campaign that delivers results. Contact us today.

Facebook Inserts Mid-Roll Ads into Videos

Posted on by Andrew

Facebook Video AdvertisingFacebook continues to evolve and develop new opportunities for advertisers and publishers. Most recently, Facebook started testing mid-roll ads in live-streaming and regular videos on its platform. This new feature aims to help media companies and the social network generate revenue from growing video audiences. How will this affect your video advertising efforts?

After a video of at least 90 seconds in length has played for at least 20 seconds, Facebook may insert a 15-second ad “break” during video content. Facebook will reportedly give publishers 55 percent of all ad sales, the same revenue split that YouTube offers. Facebook is rolling out these new ad slots to agencies.

The mid-roll ads will be enabled by default when you buy a video ad campaign on Facebook, but you do have some control. As advertisers, you can opt out if you don’t want your ads to run in the middle of publishers’ videos. You can also pick categories of videos (like DIY segments or sports clips) in which you want your ads to run. Conversely, you can avoid certain categories like, “live news,” controversial social issues,” and “political debates.”

These mid-roll ads are an effective way to reach a captive audience. Take advantage of these engaged audiences by sharing your message with consumers. How can you best utilize this 15-second video spot?

Tailor your story to your audience: People want to watch relevant, helpful ads catered to their interests. Customize your ad’s message to the people who see it.

Invest in production: Spend some time and resources to produce the best possible product within your allocated budget. Consumers will respond to well-crafted, professional video that renders properly on every size screen.

Get to the point: Bring your story to life quickly so you quickly grab consumers’ attention. Consider showing brand or product imagery in the first few seconds so it’s clear what you are promoting.

Focus on storytelling: Since you only have 15 seconds, you need to tell a clear and concise story. Use every second wisely to keep your audience engaged from beginning to end.

If you’re interested in learning more about Facebook advertising, or want to launch a Facebook video campaign, contact us today!

Three Ways to Prepare for Google’s Mobile-First Index

Posted on by Andrew

google's mobile first indexGoogle recently announced that it is revamping its indexing criteria to better align with smartphone users. Google’s new mobile-first index delivers more relevant search results and accurate content to searchers.

Google’s indexing process makes up a large part of the algorithm that determines what a user will or will not see. Historically, Google’s index was based solely on desktop websites. Google crawls your desktop site, creating ranking signals and categorizing content. When a user searches Google, the retrieval part of the algorithm looks at the desktop index. It finds relevant results based on this index, then ranks them.

The mobile-first index will look at the mobile version of your website for its ranking signals and fall back on the desktop version when there is no mobile version. This means Google will create and rank its search listings based on the mobile version of content, even for listings that are shown to desktop users. Google wants its search results to reflect the majority of its audience: mobile users. If you want to remain visible and competitive, you need to include relevant, informative content on your mobile site.

How can you respond to make sure you take full advantage of the new mobile-first index?

Create a responsive website: A responsive website serves the same HTML code on the same URL regardless of the users’ device, but will adjust the display based on screen size. When you have a responsive site, the indexing doesn’t change because Google sees the same content.

Create relevant, informative mobile content: When the mobile-first index rolls out in its entirety, Google will search your mobile site and index your site based on mobile content. Creating high-quality content will help Google understand the relevance of your site when searches look for what offer.

Launch a paid search campaign: To ensure that your ads land at the top of search engine results pages despite indexing, launch a paid search campaign. Compel prospective customers to click by exploring all possible keyword angles. Consider connecting ads to specific landing pages on your site to produce the most relevant results and best experience for your potential customers.

Did you find this blog post interesting? Comment below with your thoughts or questions? 

Facebook Broadens Dynamic Ad Options

Posted on by Andrew

Facebook Dynamic AdvertisingFacebooks’ dynamic ads are an excellent tool to show your real-time inventory to in-market buyers. Until now, your audience was limited to potential customers who had already interacted with your website. Now, Facebook is expanding its dynamic ad offerings by allowing you to deliver ads to users who have browsed multiple websites or engaged with content on Facebook looking for a similar product.

How will this work? Facebook’s ad-serving algorithm has added multiple signals and behaviors that will help determine who sees a particular ad. By expanding the retargeting pool, you can expect better performance from your dynamic ads. The updated dynamic ad options offer:

Broader retargeting: The update broadens Facebook’s dynamic ad format beyond basic retargeting. Let’s imagine that you own a car dealership. Instead of being limited to promoting a car to someone who has looked at your website, you now have the opportunity to promote your car to people who looked at similar cars on other sites or followed a Facebook page dedicated to automotive-related content. You can reach these broader audiences of people who have expressed interest in what you’re selling, even if they haven’t engaged with your website.

Improved relevance: By using multiple signals for retargeting, dynamic ads are becoming much better at predicting intent and becoming more relevant. A user could be checking multiple websites for a product, or they maybe clicking content on Facebook that provides Facebook with signals that indicate they may be interested in buying a certain product. Your ad reaches more active shoppers, giving you a greater ROI.

Exposure to new customers: Get your brand in front of potential new customers, in addition to people who already may be customers. You can promote specific products to a buyer who is searching for what you’re selling, but may not know that your business exists.

Benefits small business: In the past, dynamic ads have been most beneficial to big e-commerce companies that drive considerable website traffic. Smaller e-commerce sites have been limited by their traffic, only showing ads to the people who have visited their website. Without that traffic, there are fewer people to reach and fewer ads to be shown. This expansion provides new opportunities to show relevant ads to potential customers since it has broader reach.

But is Facebook dynamic ads right for your dealership? View a case study from one of our automotive clients here. We can get you started with an ad campaign that targets Facebook users when they spend time on the social network. Contact us today.

Snapchat Will Serve Targeted Ads Based on What People Buy

Posted on by Andrew

Snapchat AdvertisingThe more personalized an ad is to its audience, the greater chance it will drive a consumer to act. Snapchat will soon deliver more personalized and relevant ads to its users, improving the user experience and connecting buyers with brands.

Partnering with Oracle Data Cloud, owner of data collection firm Datalogix, Snapchat will start targeting and measuring ads on its platform based on what people buy outside of Snapchat. The list of approximately 100 categories takes Oracle’s data tracking people’s online and offline purchases and organizes them into un-branded segments including in-market shoppers in the automotive, retail, and service industries.

The focused targeting options apply to all ads bought directly from Snapchat or through a third-party API partner. Facebook and Google have successfully executed similar agreements with Oracle to use data to improve targeting. Using offline data to specifically target users will help you achieve even more effective campaigns. View Snapchat advertising success stories here.

Snapchat AdvertisingThese ads:

  • Targeting: You can target consumers based on their interests, shopping behavior, and past purchases. The ad-targeting options go beyond demographic information and help you accurately pinpoint your audience. People are more likely to respond to an ad based on a product they are interested in that a generic ad served to them because of their age, gender, or location.
  • Increase Relevance: Delivering ads of interest to consumers increases relevance because now they will view ads for things they already buy or might be in the market for. Deliver a more impactful ad that a user wants to see.
  • Maintain User Privacy: Snapchat will use anonymized email addresses and mobile IDs to match data with Snapchat users. The data remains encrypted so that Snapchat can’t see how individual users tie to Oracle’s purchase data and Oracle can’t see how its purchase data ties to Snapchat’s individual users.

Snapchat, which filed its IPO in November 2016, plans to go public this year. By offering enhanced targeting options, the social platform hopes to generate more customers for its advertisers in the same way that Google and Facebook have.

Do you advertise on Snapchat? Contact us today and we’ll help you develop a comprehensive social media marketing campaign that reaches your target audience.

Five Strategies to Craft a Killer Call-to-Action

Posted on by Andrew

call-to-action

Your website is the go-to place that car buyers visit to learn more about your dealership. To drive qualified prospects to your website through paid search ads, you need to engage users with a strong call-to-action (CTA) that compels visitors to click and learn more. The key to an effective CTA strategy is getting the right message in front of the right person at the right time. Here are five tactics to consider when writing CTAs for your paid search ads.

  1. Use a strong action verb to start your CTA

Be clear, concise, and get straight to the point. With limited ad space, you don’t have many words to get your message across. Let your audience know exactly what you want them to do by starting the CTA with a strong action verb. Use words like “buy” or “test drive.” Instead of writing, “the 2017 models are now here,” move users to action by saying “test drive our brand-new 2017 models.” Creating informative, yet direct CTAs will improve your click-through rate.

  1. Give your audience a reason why they should act

How will your dealership offer value to potential buyers? Include language like “call today to schedule your free test drive!” or provide some sort of incentive to come into the dealership. You have stated the action you want the user to take, but you have also provided them with a valuable reason why they should take that action.

  1. Create a sense of urgency

Fear of missing out is an extremely effective motivator. When there is a sense of urgency, people are quick to jump at the opportunity for fear that it might not come around again. Promote a sale that is running for a three-day weekend or announce that you have a limited inventory of a particular model. Provoking fear of missing out in your CTA is sure to drive traffic to your site; it’s tough to ignore a time-sensitive prompt.

  1. Customize CTA for Mobile Ads

Consumers using mobile devices exhibit different behavior and search intent than desktop users. Users searching for something on their smartphones are often looking for a quick answer, so tailor your CTA to meet their need. Mobile searches are often spur of the moment and will also likely result in a phone call. For mobile CTAs, focus on generating more phone calls. You could try something like “call now to learn more” or add a call extension so they can easily click-to-call. Google allows you to set a mobile preference for your ads so you can designate certain ads to only appear for searches completed on mobile devices.

  1. Think Outside the Box

Keep your CTAs fresh and don’t be afraid to experiment with some creative content. Use A/B testing to identify which CTAs bring you clicks and which ones don’t generate traffic. You never really know how certain messages will perform until you try them. Test and refine your CTAs to see what brings the most success.

Did you find this blog post interesting? Comment below with your thoughts or questions.