Planning your online advertising campaigns can be a daunting task. Once you have decided how much your budget is you are faced with the myriad of online advertising program choices including those offered by:
- Search Engines like Google and Bing
- Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Buzz, MySpace
- Professional networking sites like LinkedIn
- Professional organizations
- Online magazines
- Online industry blogs, newsletters, journals
- News sites
- Shopping sites
- 3rd Party websites (related businesses, information sites, etc)
- Web Directories
The best way to decide where you want to focus your efforts is after you have done your homework. You need to understand not only the advertising platform, pricing, and the structure of the ad program, but even more importantly the advertising venue and the intent of those who frequent it.
“Intent” refers to the reason a person went to that site in the first place. For example, it is pretty easy to understand the intent of people who visit Google. They are obviously searching for something. And we can know what that is by the terms they type into the search box. But the intent of a person who spends time on Facebook is very different. He usually wants to share aspects of his life and work with his Facebook friends, or conversely, to learn what they are sharing.
By making intelligent assumptions based on your informed understanding of the intent of the audience groups you are targeting with a particular ad program, you can develop a highly focused message that not only speaks to their interests but successfully draws their attention away from their task and onto the message you want them to interact with and respond to.
In the following series of posts, I will introduce you to the concept of intent and how it applies specifically to:
- Social Media Advertising
- Search Engine Advertising
- 3rd Party Websites Advertising
You will learn how to profile intent for each venue in order to craft the right message that gets the results you are looking for. In the meantime, if you have a specific questions / concerns regarding your current / upcoming advertising venue selection and user intent impact on campaign performance, post a comment or contact me directly.
Read posts in this Series:
Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 1: Intro
Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 2: Social Media Advertising
Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 3: Search Engine Advertising
Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 4: 3rd-Party Website Advertising
