When you are trying to think of the right type of ad for your next marketing campaign, you might consider a banner ad. These are a great option to include in your campaign – whether they are used on your site or a third-party one – but you do need to make sure that you are optimising it fully to meet your needs. Are banner ads effective? Let’s take a look at some of the things you can do to ensure that they are.
What is a Banner Ad?
A banner ad is a special type of ad that is embedded into the website itself. It can be a header across the top of a page, down the side, or even could appear in a box that the copy then fits around. If you want to create a banner, you should be able to find plenty of templates and guides online to help you do so.
When you create a banner, it is important to remember that this is a different size compared to other types of advertisements that you might create. Though you might decide to add a video to it, as this can make it more eye-catching, you still only have a finite space in which to get your message across. It might take careful planning before you are able to create an ad that speaks of your brand.
It is also important to remember that your ad might not be placed on a site that is necessarily relevant to your company. Though behavioural targeting is improving, you still need to make sure that you have an enticing ad that will encourage those clicks, no matter what site your ad ends upon.
Have Clear Branding
This is not the time to be a little mysterious and engage in some clever tactics to draw a potential customer in. When someone comes across your banner ad, they might just skim past it if they can’t tell what it is actually advertising.
Whether you have a product or a service, you need to make sure that your banner ads speak perfectly to what that ad is. On top of this, the ad also has to contain information about who you are as a company. If consumers can’t tell what brand the offer is coming from, you will have no way to convince them to click.
Be Concise
As mentioned above, you only have a concise area in which you can talk about your branding. From your text to your images, you need to make sure that you are as concise as possible. Now is not the time for metaphors and confusing imagery. You need to make sure that your offer is clear and open for anyone to understand.
It is vital here that you are able to communicate the offer to the customer. Make sure that there is a proper hierarchy in place in terms of text and image. This will help to guide the customer’s eye through the ad properly, and will hopefully help to avoid them getting confused.
Lay Out a Clear Path
You need to make sure that there is a clear call-to-action, or CTA, built into the banner. If you are just showing off a product, there is a chance that the consumer will just browse straight past. Having a CTA in place will help to encourage them to instead follow the path that you have laid out, potentially ending in a sale and a conversion.
The CTA could be as simple as a “Click Here!” button, but there are plenty of other options that you could try too. If you are promoting a sale, your CTA could be “Shop Now!” or for another campaign, you could have something like “Start Your Free Trial!”. It all depends on the needs of your campaign overall.
Keep the Banners Consistent with Other Marketing
Consumers will only be confused if they click from your banner onto a website that looks like it was made by a completely different company. This could potentially cause them to mistrust you and your brand and could click away without buying anything. Therefore, it is extremely important that you bring your banners in line with the imagery and copy used in your other marketing assets.
From your landing page to other ads you might run on social media platforms, or even traditional print ads, you need to make sure that all the assets are similar. Though you might have a fantastic banner ad, if it does not match up with your other assets, you will only confuse your customers and potentially set doubts into their head as to whether or not the offer will be legitimate, and coming from a trustworthy company.
Create a Banner Ad That Always Stands Out
There are always plenty of tips and tricks that you can use to ensure that your banner ads stand out on a page. One of the best ways to do so will always be to add video or animation.
Our eyes are naturally drawn to movement. If you are able to create a dynamic banner ad, you might find that it receives a lot more engagement than a static one. This is simply because it will catch the attention of more browsers, and so they are more likely to consider giving it a click. Coupled with bright colours, and the use of the right copy, an animated banner ad will always stand out on a webpage.
Creating an effective banner ad requires some thought, but it is an important part of any marketing strategy. When coming up with an ad campaign, make sure to include some banner ads there. They are a fantastic addition to any marketing strategy, whether they will be used on your own site or elsewhere. Though some might claim that they are not as effective as other forms of advert, there is still a place for them in your ad campaigns. Start planning your next banner advert and its role in a wider marketing campaign now!
