Are you throwing ad dollars down the drain?

Whether you’re looking to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, generate leads for your organization or even convert leads into customers, advertising can be a powerful way to reach your target audience.

But are you making smart media buying decisions?

Think about this scenario:

You’ve finally gotten your leadership team to sign off on an advertising budget for the year. GREAT! Now you’ll be able to buy that full page, glossy ad in the industry magazine you never put down. Or perhaps you’re convinced that display ads on the website you most frequent would be perfect to spread the word about your upcoming event. You’ve seen sponsored e-blasts and partner promotions in your inbox highlighting eBooks or competitor products. You think it might be a good avenue for you.

But before you go on a media buying spree, let’s pause for a second and consider an important question: What spawned the need for the ad purchases?

Was it brand awareness? Needing to get the word out about who you are and what you do?

Did it come from reviewing website analytics and realizing that virtually no one is visiting your site?

Did you determine that you need to generate more leads, and get perspective audience members into the sales pipeline or funnel?

These questions herald back to the ultimate strategy and goal that advertising supports. What was the goal you set out to accomplish? Your answer should influence every single step of the planning and execution process.

If your goal is conversion or even lead generation, that full page, glossy ad might not be your best purchase. So before you lockdown placements, consider your end goal and ask yourself if the ad you’re purchasing will help you actually accomplish that goal.

Got it. NOW I make the ad buy.

Not just yet. Stay with us here.

After you’ve determined your goal for the campaign, a critical next step is determining your target audience. Just because your target audience is made up of women, doesn’t mean they’re all reading FamilyCircle.

We’ve all gotten those emails that were clearly not meant for US. From retail promotions to poorly segmented emails from the non profit organization you support. We’ve all been there and moved them to the “Trash” folder quickly.

That’s why it’s so important to do your homework and compile your research to make sure you’re actually reaching your audience where they are with the information they want.

So, stop throwing your ad dollars down the drain. Find out where your tribe is congregating and what type of content they’re engaging with. THEN make the strategic decision to purchase that ad, show up, speak their language (with messages that matter to them!) and offer them value.

Not sure who you target audience is or how you should be talking to them? Checkout our FREE Audience Matrix Worksheet below. This worksheet helps you identify your audiences and how to speak to them!