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Whether you’re doing well on one ad platform or have yet to venture into paid traffic, the topic of multi-platform advertising may be of interest to you.
In this podcast episode, James calls on advertising pro Charley Valher of ValherMedia.com to shed some light on what can be a daunting prospect.
Charley and James will talk about the first step: choosing the best advertising platform for your campaign.
They’ll look at potential triggers for adding a new channel to your paid ad strategy.
And they’ll discuss the challenges of cross-platform advertising and the benefits of having a paid ads specialist on your side.
Table of contents
2. Knowing when to add a channel
3. Back when advertising was cheap…
4. Mitigating risks with expert help
5. How country affects ad success
6. Can you take things cross-platform?
7. Should you be putting energy elsewhere?
8. The points that have been covered
Where do you start?
Forgetting for a moment that one might be on multiple platforms, what would be a good place to start, asks James? How does one choose the right advertising platform?
Charley loves the question, and having reviewed numerous accounts – 10 in the last month alone – he has ample experience to draw on.
Mistakes to avoid
It’s a common mistake, says Charley, for marketers to follow trends or copy others’ strategies without taking into account one’s unique business needs and target audience.
You have to ask the critical questions, he says: Where are your target clients? And how do they behave? Otherwise, it’s easy to be swayed by others’ success stories on social media or popular platforms.
There’s a tendency, too, when something doesn’t work, to drop it immediately, whereas average results might encourage one to continue without considering that another platform might be more suited to their business and audience.
What a bit of search can do
Charley and James agree, there’s wisdom to be gained from industry experts like Bond Halbert, such as the importance of observing market behavior. James cites Gary Halbert’s analogy of selling to a starving crowd, stressing the need to understand and cater to the audience’s needs and behaviors.
If you can search for what you do, Charley suggests as a starting point for your advertising: Google and its suite for high-intent searches, LinkedIn for targeting specific job titles, and platforms like Meta for less search-driven, more ‘distractionary’ markets. He advises, too, spending time on platforms to understand how other marketers behave.
Where an expert comes in handy
For a more tailored approach, Charley recommends seeking expert help. James adds that working with experts can significantly reduce trial-and-error, cost, and frustration, drawing from their experience and proven strategies.
Knowing when to add a channel
So say you’ve picked a platform, says James. What would be the trigger point to expand to another channel? While there could be opportunity lost by putting it off, adding a platform involves new distractions, campaign adjustments, potentially a steep learning curve. So when is a good time to act?
Beware of doing it all at once
Charley emphasizes that, at least at the start, businesses should focus on maximizing their core platform – companies spending less than $50,000 a month, he says, are likely not exploiting their primary platform’s full potential.
Charley advises against hastily adding new platforms as a safeguard against risks like account shutdowns. He advocating instead for compliance and understanding each platform’s policies.
The goal is to achieve mastery and maximum efficiency on one platform before considering expansion to others.
The role of geographics
Among critical factors in deciding whether to expand to other platforms, geographics is a big one, says Charley. One can consider this in conjunction with market size, budget constraints, and return on ad spend.
For example, in a smaller market like Australia, a company might reach its ad spending limit sooner, necessitating expansion to another platform. In contrast, in a larger market like the U.S., there’s more scope to scale within a single platform.
Adjust your expectations
It’s important, too, to understand the inherent volatility and expectations of different platforms. One has to be realistic about the consistency of the results they are likely to get and adjust their strategy and mindset accordingly.
James and Charley agree that professional guidance is crucial, especially in volatile or complex advertising environments, to navigate these challenges effectively.
Back when advertising was cheap…
Charley remembers the early days of online advertising when it was inexpensive and even mediocre strategies could yield reasonable results. He notes that over the years, the cost of advertising has increased, raising the bar for effectiveness and skill in advertising strategies.
James recalls his experience with AdWords around 2006. It was affordable then to bid on major keywords like “Mercedes-Benz,” sometimes even creating profitable arbitrage opportunities. These days he would advise Australian businesses to consider targeting the U.S. market, leveraging the larger market potential and the advantages of operating in a more expansive digital economy.
Mitigating risks with expert help
In advertising, says James, it’s important to embrace calculated risks. He likens it to a fitness routine. Like a gym workout that benefits from varied and challenging exercises to avoid complacency, advertising strategies also benefit from occasional unpredictability and risk-taking to stay ahead of competitors.
James likewise compares the guidance of an advertising expert to a personal trainer. Charley agrees. Expert advice, he says, can provide stability and reassurance, especially when dealing with large advertising budgets. And just as a trainer helps navigate the gym effectively, an advertising expert offers valuable insights, ensuring that marketing efforts are normal and effective.
How country affects ad success
Charley goes back to the influence of a country’s market on advertising strategies. A successful business in Australia, he says, might reach a market saturation point, necessitating expansion into other markets like the U.S. When exploring overseas markets, he emphasizes setting expectations about how ad campaigns will perform differently in various countries due to cultural differences.
Advertising approaches, says Charley, need to be tailored to fit the cultural nuances of each market. For instance, U.S. audiences might respond better to confident, hype-driven offers, while Australian audiences might prefer a more skeptical approach. The key takeaway is that duplicating the same advertising strategy across different countries without adjustments is not effective.
Can you take things cross-platform?
As with cross-country advertising, there are challenges in transferring successful advertising strategies directly from one platform to another, such as from Meta to YouTube or vice versa. Charley highlights that a direct translation rarely works due to the different user behaviors and levels of awareness on each platform.
Charley compares adapting to a new advertising platform to starting a completely different sport – each platform has its own set of rules and user experiences. This necessitates a fresh approach rather than merely replicating strategies from one platform to another.
Should you be putting energy elsewhere?
In the overhaul of his branding, James and his team found it necessary to change the way they did show notes, short social posts, short videos, podcasts displayed in YouTube, etc. In the same way, should some marketers be redirecting their energy towards addressing areas where they may have been previously flying blind?
When you’re just starting out…
Charley suggests that businesses focus their efforts on mastering one platform before exploring others. Once successful, he recommends allocating a small percentage of the budget (about 10%) to innovation within the same platform or experimenting with new platforms. This approach ensures adaptability to changes like algorithm updates, preventing reliance on a single, potentially outdated strategy.
Are you working under pressure?
Charley also advises against waiting until current methods fail to explore new approaches. Instead, businesses should proactively develop alternative strategies while their primary methods are still effective. It’s been his experience that no one ever comes up with their best next campaign when the pressure is on.
James concurs, comparing this proactive approach to swinging from vine to vine like Tarzan to avoid stagnation and potential pitfalls in the rapidly changing digital advertising landscape.
The points that have been covered
In a quick recap, James summarizes some key points of the episode:
1. It’s important to select the right advertising platform to start with.
2. Beware of moving too quickly to a second platform.
3. Each platform requires unique campaign adjustments and a different approach, much like changing from one game to another with distinct rules.
4. It’s good to allocate a portion of the advertising budget for research and development. This strategy ensures continuous innovation and adaptation to changing digital landscapes.
5. Having expert guidance can be highly useful, particularly someone with platform-specific experience and connections.
Charley admits his deep passion for marketing. It borders on obsession, he says.
James likes Charley’s obsessions. He’s recently discovered a standout brand of coffee through Charley.
If you’d like more of Charley, he’s easily found on socials. And if an in-depth review of your ads interests you, you’ll find his service at valhermedia.com/review.
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