It can be tempting to set up Google Ads as soon as you launch your business, to help bring in customers; however, if you don’t have a strong brand or website, then you could risk wasting time, money and resources.
Brand Foundation
If you’ve not nailed your brand strategy, then your ad will be like shouting into the void. Your brand strategy should be consistent across all platforms and customer touchpoints, meaning it is the first step before any marketing activity takes place. By building your brand first, you can then use paid advertising to strengthen your brand, find your target audience, and increase sales.
The Dangers of Brand Neglect
You need to determine what your brand stands for prior to setting up any marketing campaigns, as without this, you risk:
- Mixed Messaging in Copy – Your ad copy, headlines, and calls-to-action will lack consistency. This could cause your potential customers to become confused about what you offer or about your true value.
- Driving Irrelevant Traffic – A poorly defined brand attracts people who are not in need of your solution. Your ads might generate clicks, but the visitors won’t convert because they don’t align with your brand’s offering.
- Expensive Spend – Without following a coherent brand strategy, you risk including mixed messages in your copy, which could show your message to the wrong audience, resulting in an expensive cost per click, with small conversion rates.
Before Ads
Your brand is your core identity, with marketing amplifying your already defined brand to carry your message to a wider audience. Therefore, before you delve into the world of paid advertising, here are a few things that we recommend you do first:
- Complete a Full Branding Exercise – This will allow you to determine your brand logo, colours and typography.
- Establish Photography and Layout – Decide the feel and design of the visuals that you will use across your website and all marketing assets.
- Decide on Tone of Voice – This will be used across your brand and will form your brand personality, and therefore needs to be consistent throughout.
- Understand Your Solution – Establish what problem you’re solving or what you’re offering to customers that makes you stand out from competitors.
- Select Content Pillars – Deciding on main themes or topics that you will focus on across your marketing strategy will allow your campaigns to be consistent and align with your brand.
- Create High-Quality Landing Pages – Design pages on your website that your ads will eventually link to – they must be mobile-friendly, include a call-to-action, and align with the content that you will include in your ads.
Beyond branding, you’ll also want to define your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and establish your budget before setting up paid advertising campaigns.
Need Help with Ads?
If you’re ready to use paid marketing for profitable growth, Ballyhoo are the perfect partner. Contact us today to discover how our data-driven approach can transform your paid advertising budget into a reliable revenue generator.
