The Importance of Product-Based Digital Advertising for Small Businesses

Digital advertising revenue has reached $88 billion in 2017, surpassing the revenue spent on traditional media such as TV and radio for the first time in the history of advertising. A number of different reasons have contributed to this, including the massive increase in mobile use and the overwhelming popularity of social media. But from an advertiser’s standpoint, digital offers a unique opportunity in regards to delivering precise, measurable results, something traditional, TV-based advertising simply cannot accomplish.

Product-led, performance-based advertising is designed to drive conversions and generate sales. This had led to a growing number of brands and businesses ranging from small-and-medium-sized companies to well-established, household names spending increasing proportions of their budgets on digital, product-based ads.

But what exactly is product-based advertising, how can businesses incorporate it into their advertising strategies and what exactly constitutes a successful product-based advertising strategy?

What is product-based advertising?

As the name implies, product-based advertising refers to the digital promotion of specific products and services with a clear intention to pitch said products and services to a potential customer. Broad product-based strategies are predominantly used by companies and retail outlets trying to sell large selections of their merchandise and they are broadly advertised across the consumer market.

This makes sense when dealing with large product supplies that span a number of different categories and target segments. It’s akin to TV- and radio-based ads, as the main intention is to get the word out to as many potential customers as possible.

Specific product-based advertising, on the other hand, focuses on specific product attributes such as useful features, low price-point and other factors that separate your products and services from those offered by the competition. It’s more adaptive and precise when compared to broad advertising, but it almost always relies on marketing features that favor one product or service over the other.

How does it differ from customer-based advertising?

Whereas product-based marketing leverages the product or service in question to create a demand, customer-based advertising places focus on a specific target audience research has deemed most likely to be interested in products and services you’re offering. It’s ideal for raising brand awareness and creating a connection between brands and their offerings, mainly through discounts and special offers for returning shoppers, loyalty programs, and top-notch customer service. It’s not about product promotion as it is about incentivizing existing audiences who have already shown interest in your products and services.

Benefits of product-based advertising

Some of the key benefits offered by product-based advertising include fast returns, increased brand awareness and visibility and the sheer simplicity of use. There’s a number of different techniques used in product-based advertising include direct mail, paid advertising and product placements.

Depending on your approach, you can expect to see results as soon as you place your ads into circulation. The more money you invest and the more people your ads reach, the greater the exposure. And at the end of the day, it’s your own products and services you’re trying to pitch. People will either like them and make a purchase, or they won’t. Simple as that.

Developing a successful product advertising strategy

1.     Know your audience

As with any other digital advertising strategy, successful product-based advertising starts with setting an achievable goal in order to avoid sidetracking the entire campaign and wasting valuable resources. Find out who your target audience is and why does your specific line of products and services matter to them. Figuring out your target audience allows you to pick the right advertising channel to reach them and the right type of content to engage them.

2.     Focus on your offering

Build a compelling narrative around your offering in order to connect with those who actually need what you have to offer. Forget about pleasing everybody and focus only on those characteristics that add value to your product. Simply listing all the features is not going to generate sales, which is why it’s better to focus on the simplicity of providing value that piling up features that a small percentage of your audience may or may not find explicitly useful.

At the same time, have in mind that first appearances matter, which is why you might want to consider investing in top-of-the-line package designs before marketing your product. Articulate product value concisely, use it as a leverage and present your products and services in the best possible light.

3.     Don’t be afraid of large product vendors

More and more brands are realizing the effectiveness of running product-based ads to sites like Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. The reasoning behind this is simple, more than 50% of all products searches are conducted on Amazon. You can take advantage of this fact by running sponsored product ads on these platforms. Amazon, in particular, allows for headline search ads as long as you have at least three eligible products to fit the headline ad unit.

As with any other advertising strategy, tracking and analysis play a large role in its success. If your current product-based campaign isn’t providing ongoing value, then make sure to tweak the different parts or shell the campaign completely. Sites like Amazon and Walmart already have established audiences who are used to turning to them when searching for a product, so don’t be afraid to turn to e-commerce for your product-based advertising if it means reaching new customers, increasing sales and improving your bottom line.