Paid Media: Which Channel Should You Invest in First?

Investing in paid media is undoubtedly an essential strategy for those who want to reach audiences more quickly and effectively.

This is because organic reach is almost never enough to leverage a brand (either on Google or on social networks), especially for those who are just starting out in the world of digital marketing.

Therefore, in the face of fierce competition, those who are willing to invest get a better return. But it is important to remember that nothing is done at random and it is necessary to follow planning appropriate to your persona.

So, below, we tell you more details about the benefits of paid media for your digital marketing strategy and show the main channels that are used by companies. Check out!

Why invest in paid media?

It is normal that, in the beginning, decision-makers are a little afraid to invest in paid media, especially if the values are a little higher than they expect.

However, with well-aligned planning, the ads can generate incredible returns and several benefits, such as:

increased traffic to your website or blog;
greater reach of your audience on social networks, which makes your pages or profiles grow;
facilitate audience segmentation and delivering the right message to the right people;
achieving results much faster than organic;
possibility of performing A / B tests to define what works best for your audience;
opportunity to measure results quickly, including in real-time, and make changes to improve campaign performance.

Just by this shortlist, you can already see that a digital marketing strategy becomes much more solid and effective with paid media, right?

So, if you want to find out which channels to invest in, below we tell you all about the main and most useful ones according to each type of business.

Which channels should you bet on?

Before thinking about channels, you need to understand which paid media fits best in your digital marketing planning, according to your persona and her buying journey.

After all, “shooting all over the place” is never a good idea for anyone starting out and their results will become much more effective if you know exactly what your marketing objective is and who you are going to talk to.

That done, then it is the ideal time to define your channels, not only to produce content but also to invest in paid media. Shall we meet them?

Google Ads

First of all, we couldn’t help but talk about the biggest paid media investment channel of all time: Google Ads.

With several ways to create ads, this is certainly one of the best ways to publicize your business online. Since Google offers a wide range of formats, we’ll highlight two of the most important ones here:

sponsored links, which are the ads that appear prominently when you search for any term in the search engines;
and remarketing ads, which are those pieces (made through the Display Network) that appear on other sites for those who have already visited your pages, reminding these people about your products or services.

But in addition to these, there are other goals and formats you can use, such as video, Google Shopping, and to generate more phone calls for your company.

Facebook and Instagram

For those who bet on the biggest social networks of the moment to relate to the public, investing in Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads is also essential.

As with Google, you can choose between different goals and formats to send your message to your potential customers. Among the most sought after purposes are:

increasing traffic to your site;
greater reach of the page and posts;
greater involvement with the posts, whether through likes, comments, or shares;
increased sales or actions (such as registering on a Landing Page) through conversion ads.

These are just a few examples, of course, but there are several other goals that can be defined according to your strategy.

Regarding the formats, you can bet on unique pieces, carousels, and videos, depending on what is best to generate interaction with your audience.

Another incredible benefit of Facebook and Instagram ads is also the ease of targeting the audience, which makes it easier for you to communicate with the right people.

When it comes to B2B strategy, LinkedIn is certainly a paid media option that should not be left out of your digital marketing planning.

As it is a social network focused on professional issues, it offers many segmentation possibilities, showing job information, type of company, education, and experiences for those who use its Ads platform.

Therefore, you ensure that profiles that are more aligned with your products or services see your ads, which increases your chances of obtaining more effective results with your potential customers.

YouTube

If your audience is a big consumer of videos, one of the best bets for your business is YouTube ads (in addition to producing content for that network, of course).

According to information released by the network itself, more than 2 billion users are part of YouTube, which is almost ⅓ of the internet. Imagine, then, how much you can’t achieve with campaigns for this channel, right?

To make your ads for the largest video network in the world, just use the Google Ads platform itself and select the options related to that channel.

Waze

For those who have a physical establishment and do not want to rely solely on local SEO strategies, especially in the post-pandemic scenario of the future, ads on the Waze app can also be a good start.

Ads on this platform are displayed while drivers browse the tool and can be done in three formats:

search: when the user does a search and the logo of your company appears;
pins: your location appears in the shape of a “pin” when the driver is on your route and he can press the “drive to” button to trace a path to the establishment;
takeover: they are more “invasive” formats, which appear when the user stops the car in a certain location near your store and receives the same “drive to” message.

Incredible, isn’t it? Thus, it is possible to align digital strategies to increase sales in physical establishments.

Now that you know the 6 main channels to start working with paid media, tell us: which one did you invest in or would you invest in first? Leave your answer in the comments!