How can you use paid advertising to promote your content effectively?

Don't be afraid to go a little broader with your targeting than what might seem optimal. No digital or social channel's targeting criteria are that accurate.

1. Boost the content once it's published. Post it to Social media and run it as an ad. 2. Bid on keywords you're targeting in your content, and other relevant keywords to cover the broader but still relevant audience. 3. Buy ads in communities and newsletters that cover the same topic.

Set Clear Goals: Define your specific objectives. Are you looking to increase website traffic, generate leads, boost brand awareness, or drive sales? Your goals will shape your advertising strategy.

A common error by many companies is to focus purely on conversions aka sales. However, with digital advertising, it is crucial to focus on all parts of the funnel : Awareness to add to the top of the funnel; Engagement to nurture the lead along the middle of the funnel and then finally Conversion to make the lead transact with the brand. Overfocussing on conversion without sufficient awareness / engagement will lead to the sales team getting frustrated with complaints such as the lead is of poor quality, too many cart abandons and so on.

To effectively use paid advertising for content promotion: Set clear goals. Define your target audience. Choose the right platforms. Allocate a budget. Create compelling ad creative. Use keywords and targeting options. Conduct A/B testing. Optimize landing pages. Track and measure performance. Make data-driven adjustments. Implement remarketing. Plan a promotion schedule. Experiment with ad extensions. Ensure compliance with platform guidelines. Monitor competitors. By following these steps and continually refining your approach based on performance data, you can use paid advertising effectively to promote your content and achieve your marketing objectives.

A content marketing campaign without a paid amplification strategy is like a Porsche without an engine. It’s great to look at, but it’s not going anywhere. Before launching Topple, I worked on the paid media strategies for some of the worlds largest companies like Chase, MasterCard, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, and The Hershey Company. My somewhat self-serving advice is to supplement your high cost advertising platforms by running a portion of your content marketing advertising budget through Topple. Topple helps stretch those advertising budgets out a little further with display and video CPC’s that are as much as 60-64% less expensive than other major ad platforms. Creating an account is free at app.wearetopple.com

Choose the Right Platforms: Select advertising platforms that align with your target audience and goals. Common platforms for content promotion include Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Twitter Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and native advertising networks like Taboola and Outbrain.

All platforms offer similar ad objectives and ad formats. There are two factors that determine the selection of platform: 1. Cost - Search-intent based ads (Google) tends to be more expensive than interest based ads (social / display). 2. Where your audience is present - Follow your audience to the platforms they frequent.

Opt for the Ideal Advertising Platforms: Optimize your content promotion by carefully choosing advertising platforms that align with your target audience and objectives. Popular choices for content promotion encompass Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Twitter Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and native advertising networks like Taboola and Outbrain.

The choice of image in display and social ads, the tightness of the copy, the choice of headline - all this is very crucial. You need to keep in mind how the ad presents on different devices and ensure that the top-fold (or the part of the ad read before 'read more') conveys all the important points.

The selection of images in display and social ads, the conciseness of the copy, and the choice of headlines are all critically important factors. It's essential to consider how the ad appears on various devices and ensure that the initial part of the ad (visible before clicking "read more") effectively conveys key information.

Consistency is key as it gives the best customer experience. Follow the expectations created. The message should be simple, clear and catchy and the design attractive to the eye with a clear CTA.

Landing Page Optimization: Make sure the landing page users arrive on after clicking your ad is optimized for conversions. It should be relevant to the ad and provide a clear path for users to take the desired action, such as downloading your content or making a purchase.

1. Ad message should be consistent with the top of the fold message that the visitor sees upon landing on the landing page. 2. The offer should be compelling enough for the visitor leave their contact details in exchange. 3. Smart forms are a great option to build an increasing amount of data on the prospect - Esp in B2B scenarios.

Always make sure that you add proper conversion tracking on your landing pages because if conversions are not tracked then your campaigns will never be able to optimise itself, therefore resulting in poor results. If you are not sure how to add tracking codes then either take help from a developer or watch a YouTube tutorial (most of them are pretty easy to understand 😄)

Consistency plays a pivotal role in delivering a top-notch customer experience. By staying consistent, you can meet and even exceed the expectations you've set. It's crucial that your messaging remains straightforward, transparent, and memorable, while your visual design should be not only appealing but also eye-catching. To top it off, ensure there's a compelling Call to Action (CTA) that guides your audience towards the desired action.

It's important to remember that there's a difference between audiences that know you already and those that don't know you. Most social content is for audiences that know you. Ads often aren't. So, you might need to change from your usual approach.

A/B Testing: Continuously test different ad creatives, headlines, and landing page elements to optimize performance. A/B testing helps you identify what works best for your audience.

Tracking codes / UTM / GTM are all great ways to track the efficacy of the ads with respect to the goals of the advertising campaign. The only caution I would raise is to give the ad sufficient time to settle before making changes. Typically it takes 3-4 days for Meta ads to come out of learning, and up to 7-10 days for Google ads.

It's crucial to distinguish between two types of audiences: those who are already familiar with your brand and those who are not. Typically, social content caters to an audience that already knows you, while ads target those who don't. Social content, such as regular posts and updates, tends to assume some level of brand awareness and can delve deeper into your brand's personality, values, and culture. However, when it comes to ads, the focus shifts to introducing your brand and capturing the attention of potential new customers. So, remember, while your usual social content may resonate with your existing followers, advertising demands a different approach to make a strong initial impact on unfamiliar audiences.

You know, in the beauty and health game, promoting our content is like an art form, and we've got this killer combo: educational e-books and retargeting ad campaigns. Those e-books aren't just ordinary reads; they're like treasure chests of knowledge. Now, with retargeting ads, it's like giving our audience a second chance to dive into these gems. We're not just promoting; we're teaching and captivating. This duo makes our online mag a go-to source, trusted and irresistible in the beauty and health scene.

If you are running Facebook Ads for your e-commerce brand then your campaigns will sometimes stop performing after 3 or 4 days. This is how Facebook ads operates sometimes for no valid reason. In this case, first pause the campaign and duplicate it to launch a new one. Just slightly increase the budget and nothing else. If the new duplicated campaign doesn’t bring results within 24 hours then work on changing creatives or targeting