Banners - Are they an effective way of advertising?
The answer depends on three factors:
1. What are you trying to achieve via banner advertising?
- Increased Sales
- Increased Visitors (more click-thrus)
- Increased Brand Awareness
Banner advertising can be an effective tool for increasing brand awareness. In the long run, it can increase website visitors as well as sales. However, the results will not be apparent while your banner advertising campaign is running or even after it is over. Therefore, if you intend to run a banner advertising campaign and expect lots of sales and visitors to your site, you may be in for a disappointment.
People need to be exposed to your brand
This has almost become a cliché now … a customer has to be familiar with your brand. In quantitative terms they should at least have seen or heard of your product or service at least 7 times before they may actually make a purchase. Therefore, by using banners as a means of advertising you are doing exactly that. The purpose is not just to make people click your banner and come to your site but to also familiarize them with your product. When you see an ad in the newspaper, you do not run to the market instantly and get the product especially if its the first time you have heard of it. You may sit and ponder over it … you may see the ad a few more times, it might catch your eye, lying on a shelf in a supermarket … and you might pick it up. There are too many ‘mights’ but the probability of purchase increases with increased familiarity with the product.
Banner Click-thru’s vs. Banner Impressions
Banner Click-thru’s: You pay every time someone clicks your banner to come to your website.
Banner Impressions: You pay every time someone is exposed to your banner.
Everyone wants to purchase banner click-thru’s over banner impressions because click-thru’s guarantee that a visitor will get to your website. However, don’t overlook banner impressions especially if you can get a good deal for the reasons stated above.
Banner Advertising used to be dominated by Banner-Click-thru’s but recently more and more people have started selling banner impressions, instead. The reason is quite simple: when you give an ad in a magazine, you do not pay only when the customer picks up the phone and dials your number or rushes to the market to see your product, you pay so that people are exposed to your product. The same logic applies to banner advertising.
2. Is your banner design effective?
The second factor to consider is your banner design.
a) Is it designed well
Your banner should not looked like it has been designed by someone who just opened a graphics program for the first time and played around with all the tools. It must have a professional touch to it. The colors should complement each other and the overall design should be eye-catching.
b) Is the copy effective?
Banner copy constitute a very important part of the banner ad. Your copy has to target the right market. It shouldn’t be too long … preferably it should be something that a person can read at first glance … or the keywords should be highlighted in such a way that the consumer wants to read the whole ad. Follow the basic rules of writing a good copy: AIDA - Get your consumer’s Attention - create Interest - and Desire - tell them what Action they need to take.
c) Is it readable?
Too much clutter and the ad becomes unreadable. Don’t just keep on adding text and graphics just for the sake of adding. Sometimes an almost empty banner can produce the right effect as well.
If the above factors are taken care of, both brand awareness as well as click-thru rates will increase.
3. Are you placing your banner amongst the right target market?
Even if you have a professional looking banner, if you do not advertising in the right places, you will not get the results. For example, if you are selling baby clothes and you have the choice to target a music site and a work-at-home mom’s site, which do you think will be more effective?
The above mentioned factors may become responsible for increasing the efficiency of your banner advertising campaign. Apply them correctly and you will be sure to see a difference.
