To attract new customers, you need some form of advertising. Of course, if you want to advertise, you need to pay for placements – whether it’s old-fashioned billboard real estate or space in the digital landscape. Not too long ago, this buying had to be done by humans, which was time-consuming and often resulted in purchases that were less than optimal for businesses.
Luckily, a solution emerged that revolutionized the way media buying works: programmatic advertising.
What Is Programmatic Advertising?
Programmatic advertising uses software to automate the process of buying digital ad space. Thanks to machine learning and algorithms, today’s technology has replaced requests for proposals (RFPs), tenders, quotes, and human negotiation. The software housed by programmatic advertising platforms handles the sale and placement of digital advertisements in a fraction of a second.
How Does Programmatic Advertising Work?
Programmatic advertising relies on artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze visitors’ behaviors in ways that enable real-time optimization of media space. Data management platforms (DMPs) bring together information from both demand-side platforms (DSPs) and supply-side platforms (SSPs) in ways that allow marketers to target audiences more specifically than ever before.
Once an ad is purchased using programmatic display advertising, the algorithms then evaluate users’ information based on elements such as:
- Behavior
- Engagement level
- Social engagement
- Location
- Time spent per visit
Using this data, the software can then plan and determine what ad content is relevant to particular audiences. At that point, the ad is displayed as an impression on the page. The goal is to present advertisements that are highly relevant to individual users in ways that entice them to click.
The Effectiveness of Programmatic
Programmatic advertising is an excellent way to bolster brand awareness among high-volume audiences. Because it eliminates the need for human interference, this advertising solution offers marketers the ability to easily scale, consolidate, and optimize how they target and influence future customers.
In addition to speed and scalability, programmatic advertising comes with the following benefits:
- Increased transparency and control
- Real-time measurement of effectiveness, opportunities, and successes
- Greater targeting capabilities
- Increased audience reach
How to Best Leverage Programmatic Advertising for Your Business
If you’re ready to enjoy the benefits of programmatic advertising, here’s what you can do to make the most of your efforts:
1. Do Your Research
Set some time aside to research programmatic advertising a bit deeper so that you can develop a better understanding of the concept. This is also a good time to determine whether or not this approach aligns with your budget and current business goals.
2. Find the Right Company
There are near-endless options out there, and you’ll want to partner with the programmatic platform that has the right tools for your unique needs. As you begin your search for a vendor:
- Ask what ad exchanges each company partners with.
- Determine the data sources you’ll have access to.
- Understand the variables you’ll be able to adjust for during the ad-buying process.
- Find out if the vendor’s cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is fixed or dynamic.
3. Develop Your Strategy
Utilize customer personas to develop your campaigns and define your strategies. This is when you’ll need to determine which channels will be most effective for your company, what your average customer looks like, and who you’re speaking to with your ads.
4. Set Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
You need to have a plan in place to measure results after you launch your campaign. To create this, set your baseline, then determine which KPIs are most important for you to track. You might consider measuring:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- Conversions
- Cost-per-click
- Cost-per-acquisition
Need Help Honing Your Advertising Efforts?
Want to dive into the world of programmatic advertising for the first time? It helps to have a partner by your side who can handle all of the details. At Zero Gravity Marketing, we know what it takes to create, launch, and manage a successful programmatic campaign – and we’re here to help you grow your business with this innovative marketing solution.
Contact us today to learn more!
