For businesses just beginning to test the waters in paid media, identifying the right channels to start with is foundational to success. Splitting a budget prematurely among too many platforms is not likely to yield positive results, and launching on a platform that’s not a good fit for a business can cause difficult conversations around the value of paid media as a whole.
In this article, we’ll review a series of questions to ask when determining the PPC channels you should use.
What Are Your Business Goals?
Of course, the ultimate answer to this question for most businesses is to drive return on investment (ROI). But think through what you are seeking to achieve in the near and short term, and how you expect paid media to contribute.
Some potential answers include the following:
- Selling products online.
- Driving foot traffic to physical stores.
- Generating leads via contact forms and/or phone calls.
- Driving signups for online accounts.
An ecommerce business should consider platforms and campaign types that allow for syncing a shopping feed, such as traditional Shopping campaigns or Performance Max in Google or Microsoft.
→ Read More: The 5-Step Process To Setting Crystal Clear PPC Goals
How Familiar Is Your Brand?
Is your company a startup that is unfamiliar in a market with established players? If so, then branding-focused campaigns on social channels may be worthwhile for an initial focus.
You can build awareness first, and then use retargeting audiences to reach individuals who have engaged with ads, as well as launch paid search to capture intent from those who first see your brand ads. YouTube can also be an effective channel for showcasing your brand as well as building viewer-based audiences.
If your product is a straightforward product or service that people need (i.e., tax preparation services), you may not need to establish brand familiarity first, and can likely lead with search ads to meet people while they are looking for what you provide.
What Is Your Product/Market Fit?
What individuals are you seeking to sell to? Think about how you can match up available options for targeting on an ad platform to your desired audience.
If your product or service is easily identifiable with search terms (for instance, furnace repair), search can be a good place to start, as you’ll reach people who are in immediate need. Keywords are easy to define, and you know individuals will be making use of search engines to find your service.
If you’re promoting a product that has a very precise usage and little margin for error in relevance, campaign types likely to go broader with targeting are not ideal for a starting point. For instance, if you’re selling wheel bearings for industrial trucks, you’re better off launching with a traditional search campaign than a Performance Max campaign that may struggle to narrow in on the relevant audience.
If you’re promoting a product with potential wide appeal and opportunity for visual representation (such as colorful phone cases), running a Meta campaign with broad targeting may be a good route to both showcase the product and reach people likely to engage with it.
→ Read More: A Complete Guide To PPC Ad Targeting Options
What Existing Performance Data Do You Have?
Have paid media campaigns ever been run before, or are you starting from scratch? If there is historical data from past campaigns, review that to see what channels may or may not have performed.
Of course, be sure to take into context how campaigns were set up, and don’t completely write off a channel because it may not have worked in the past. Shoddy campaign builds, mediocre offers, and poor landing page experiences may have all contributed to poor results.
What Data Can You Send Back To Ad Platforms?
In an ideal world, you should send conversion data for the most valuable actions, such as marketing/sales qualified leads and completed sales. In reality, this setup can sometimes take time and complexity to get in place, and not every business has the infrastructure in place from the beginning to track to this level.
If you don’t have conversion data for “down funnel” conversions, such as reaching a qualified lead status, focus on campaign types that allow for more control over targeting to start, such as search or LinkedIn. Avoid campaign types like Performance Max, Display, or Demand Gen that may generate questionable leads if you are just optimizing for a form fill.
Additionally, data integrations can tie into audience creation, such as syncing lists of individuals who have submitted an initial contact form to be nurtured with retargeting ads. Analyzing match rates for your lists across various platforms may provide clues as to which channels your audience is most likely engaging with.
What Is Your Budget?
A starting budget is a crucial piece in both determining what ad platforms are realistic to run on and whether to launch on one or more platforms to start.
While the ideal budget amount for launching on a new platform can be subjective, generally, you should avoid splitting a low budget between multiple platforms. Using a more limited budget in one channel, such as paid search, Google Demand Gen, or Meta, is often the best option to get started.
Additionally, some platforms require higher budgets in order to realistically get off the ground. For instance, LinkedIn tends to have high CPCs and needs enough data to be able to optimize toward those likely to convert. In my experience, monthly spends lower than $10,000 are not likely to give you the volume you need to succeed on that channel.
→ Read More: From Launch To Scale: PPC Budget Strategies For All Campaign Stages
What Assets Are Available?
Do you have a stockpile of creative or access to design resources? If image creative is a hurdle, starting out by launching in search can be an easier lift as you only need to plan for text-based assets.
Thankfully, AI-based image creation tools, such as Google’s integration of Nano Banana Pro into Ads, can help to make generating creative less of a challenge, depending on your industry. Of course, if you need specific product photography or are in a heavily regulated industry with compliance restrictions, the use of AI tools may not be an option. AI-generated images should always be reviewed for brand accuracy and quality, and outputs may not always meet professional standards.
If you have video production capabilities or can develop an AI-generated video that works for your brand, video-centric channels like YouTube may be an option. However, you need to think about ensuring that the videos you have are tailored for the channels they’re on. Repackaging a TV ad is not likely to work on TikTok, where videos should have a more personal and informal feel.
Start Planning And Start Testing
Once you’ve asked these questions about your brand and laid out initial goals, brand familiarity, data, budget, and assets, you can begin building out campaigns. After launching, you can then start gathering data and working towards expansion into additional channels.
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Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock
