Social media is the first place people turn for running digital ads. If your mind goes there, you're not alone, and you're not wrong. Two billion people are on Facebook. It's a good place to start.
The crux of the question is where your audience is hanging out. Perhaps your audience is more likely to be on LinkedIn or Instagram.
When we run ads on social media, we may find that those ads don't convert very well. We also might explore:
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Text ads that run at the top of Google Search results
- These statistically get more clicks but are more expensive.
- Display Ads
- These are graphically designed ads that show up on other sites
- Picture your ads showing up on ESPN or TIME Magazine.
- Retargeting Ads
- After someone visits you site, you can send them ads
- These are much cheaper and have much higher conversion rates.
- Social Media Ads
- What most people think of when they think of digital ads
- Different from boosting a post
- Email Marketing
- This isn't technically considered an ad. Once someone has opted into your mailing list, you can send them emails for marketing purposes.
- Video Ads
- You can run video ads that play before videos on, say, YouTube.
- These are typically costly to produce, but many find these effective.
Each of these methods has pros and cons, and each method will be more effective, depending on your marketing goals.