MARKETING
4 Pillars of Paid Media Growth
Paid media is straightforward. “Growth,” however, is very dependent upon the role you play in paid media, so let’s start by defining who these four pillars are intended for and what I mean by “growth.”
My paid media experience is 100% agency-based. Naturally, my experience shapes my viewpoint and definition of growth. From the agency perspective, growth equals managing more marketing budget. It’s no secret, the easiest way to acquire more marketing budget is to produce incremental revenue for your client so your client puts more money towards marketing efforts. It’s a simple cycle, but there are a lot of factors that go into achieving better results. Companies don’t hire agencies to maintain the revenue/ROI they already have; they invest more money into marketing resources, like an agency, to produce more leads, purchases, market share, etc. My point? It’s essential for digital marketers to understand what key factors YOU can control.
I also recognize PPC Hero readers include marketers who manage an agency relationship or in-house marketers who are part of an internal marketing team. If you fall into either of those categories, why keep reading? Well, if you have any level of paid media responsibility, especially if you present digital marketing results to a stakeholder, the following points will apply to you too.
Pillar #1: Product Knowledge
Many believe mastering top platforms (Google Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) is the most important component of managing paid media, but it doesn’t matter how much platform expertise you have if you don’t first master the product/service you are attempting to market. I also think this is one of the biggest gaps agencies have when it comes to managing paid media. This is why the relationship with the client is so important and why “client obsessions” was part of my PPC training (#2 and #4 will cover this in more depth).
In-house marketer, if your agency doesn’t understand your product, how can they advise budget allocation, funnel approach, target audiences, which platforms to run on, etc.? I’m not suggesting the outside entity (agency) needs to know just as much as the client contact, but you do need to understand the product if you are going to provide quality recommendations.
I’ll give you an example. I work with a website security firm. This is a very complex industry; one that both myself and even my main client contact are often perplexed by. However, we both understand the basic differences between the products, thus allowing us to craft a strategy and execute campaigns that produce tangible results. Working together with their team to understand their product has given me the opportunity to ask for budget increases when it makes sense for their business. I share this brief example because I’m not an “expert” in their products, but I know enough to do my job. I also know when I need to leverage other people in their organization to translate paid media results to what they see on their backend.
Pillar #2: Stakeholder Trust
Whether the stakeholder is your boss, a client contact, or the CMO, earning trust is paramount to paid media growth.
6 key ways to earn trust:
Go above and beyond
Scenario: your client asks you to pull numbers for a presentation they have to deliver to the CMO. Don’t just pull the numbers. Format the numbers in a slide and call out key insights. You can’t do this every time, but pick key opportunities to deliver greater value than what may have been expected of you and you will instantly become a go-to person for your client.
Teach your stakeholders
Teaching has to be curated for each individual, but if you can grow your stakeholder’s marketing knowledge, they will see a new side of value to your relationship and see as more than someone who manages their paid media.
Stand by your recommendations when you receive pushback
When I first started managing my own accounts, lacking confidence was perhaps my biggest weakness. Lacking confidence doesn’t look good in any area of life, so stick to your recommendations and explain your reasoning. This will earn you more respect and trust.
Own up to your mistakes AND provide solutions
Mistakes happen. I’ve overspent budgets, forgotten to pause promo ads, made ad copy typos, etc. However, have integrity and own up to the mistake, even if the client will never find out. If you handle the situation with poise and confidence, you will earn trust, not lose it. I also can’t stress how important it is to communicate the mistake along with the solution(s). If there are financial implications, do whatever it takes to make it right for the sake of integrity and a long-term relationship.
Personal connections
Personal connections can really speed up the process of earning trust. Find something in common and lead your meetings in a way that aligns with your stakeholder’s personality. You don’t have to become BFFs, but you do want to show your client you are human and don’t see your relationship purely as a way to make more money.
Face to face meetings [bonus]
Yes, this is 2020 and I’m well aware COVID-19 has made face to face virtually [im]possible (see what I did there), but don’t underestimate the impact face to face interactions have on a business relationship, especially when you are attempting to scale paid media budgets. Do a quick Google search and you will find plenty of evidence. According to greatbusinessschools.org, “84% of people still say they prefer in-person meetings.” Because this research was conducted pre-global pandemic, I will be fascinated to see how the lack of in-person meetings in 2020 effects business relationships moving forward.
Pillar #3: Strategy & Platform Adaptability
You don’t have to be an expert in every technical area of every digital advertising platform, but you need to know how to employ each platform (search, social, programmatic) to achieve your marketing goals. You also need to be able to adapt when priorities shift and your current platforms aren’t achieving your goals. This pillar is truly a separate article so let me leave you with a two questions to ask yourself:
- Where are the gaps in my strategy? Look at your funnel – do you have high ROAS but 1% net new customers year over year? Look at your competitors – are they successfully bidding on your branded keywords while you have no counterpunch? It’s imperative that your strategic approach is changing as new business needs arise or KPIs flatline. This leads us to the next question to ask yourself.
- When was the last time I tested something new? If you or your client have only run search ads for 10 years, why haven’t display, social, video been tested? If you have run display via GDN for years without any return or minimal brand awareness results, test out native or YouTube ads. If you continually hear, “Andrew, I would love to test, but I get pushback every time I propose a test,” you need to have an honest conversation with your client/internal team to understand why there is resistance. It might be the case that you aren’t explaining the reasoning for the test or providing a framework for expected results.
If you are just getting started in the industry, PPC Hero has thousands of resources for you to develop your skills.
Pillar #4: Communication
What you communicate is clearly important, but how you deliver the information is arguably just as important. I’ve already covered this to some degree, but let’s expand into a few specifics:
- Deliver insights, not numbers. It’s very easy to get caught up in different KPIs, especially if your stakeholders are adept in paid media. Rather than listing out week over week or month over month performance, callout what your client needs to know and why CPA increased by 50%.
- Learn how to spot wins and opportunities for growth. This comes with experience, but when you get the opportunity to pitch growth, there is one practical step I’ve found to be a game changer — projections.
It’s not difficult to pitch budget expansion and with platform tools available today, it’s also not difficult to project primary KPIs (impressions, clicks, conversions, CPA). Rather than telling your client we should increase search budget by x% and social budget by y%, use platform tools, historical data or industry benchmarks to project what impact the budget increase will have. This will also make it much easier to speak to your rationale. If your client has the budget to spend, it’s almost guaranteed they will say yes. If their marketing budget is strapped, that’s out of your control.
- Don’t shy away from communicating poor performance. As marketers, we can’t promise results, we can only put forth the best strategies and tactics. If your client is coming to you questioning why a campaign x performance has declined the last three months and you haven’t brought it up once, you’ve put yourself in a much more difficult spot. In other words, be proactive and focus on what has the highest impact on your account(s).
- Learn how to spot outside factors influencing performance you aren’t responsible for. I learned early on that managing paid media is often like being a politician — oftentimes, we get too much blame when things are going wrong and too much credit when performance is declining. So learn how to spot tracking discrepancies, poor landing pages, pricing changes, etc. and then communicate those issues and use the resources at your disposal to help resolve any issues.
I don’t think anything I penned is revolutionary, and this list is by no means exhaustive, but I firmly believe if you can master these four pillars, which are mostly within your control, growth will follow.
MARKETING
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MARKETING
Microsoft unveils a new small language model
Phi-3-Mini is the first in a family of small language models Microsoft plans to release over the coming weeks. Phi-3-Small and Phi-3-Medium are in the works. In contrast to large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, small language models are trained on much smaller datasets and are said to be much more affordable for users.
We are excited to introduce Phi-3, a family of open AI models developed by Microsoft. Phi-3 models are the most capable and cost-effective small language models (SLMs) available, outperforming models of the same size and next size up across a variety of language, reasoning, coding and math benchmarks.
What are they for? For one thing, the reduced size of this language model may make it suitable to run locally, for example as an app on a smartphone. Something the size of ChatGPT lives in the cloud and requires an internet connection for access.
While ChatGPT is said to have over a trillion parameters, Phi-3-Mini has only 3.8 billion. Sanjeev Bora, who works with genAI in the healthcare space, writes: “The number of parameters in a model usually dictates its size and complexity. Larger models with more parameters are generally more capable but come at the cost of increased computational requirements. The choice of size often depends on the specific problem being addressed.”
Phi-3-Mini was trained on a relatively small dataset of 3.3 trillion tokens — instances of human language expressed numerically. But that’s still a lot of tokens.
Why we care. While it is generally reported, and confirmed by Microsoft, that these SLMs will be much more affordable than the big LLMs, it’s hard to find exact details on the pricing. Nevertheless, taking the promise at face-value, one can imagine a democratization of genAI, making it available to very small businesses and sole proprietors.
We need to see what these models can do in practice, but it’s plausible that use cases like writing a marketing newsletter, coming up with email subject lines or drafting social media posts just don’t require the gigantic power of a LLM.
Dig deeper: How a non-profit farmers market is leveraging AI
MARKETING
Navigating the Video Marketing Maze: Short-Form vs. Long-Form
Are you torn between using long-form or short-form videos for your small business marketing campaign? Well, you are not alone. Despite 89% of consumers wanting to see more brand videos, there is no one-size-fits-all answer about the ideal video length.
However, this should not deter you from creating an effective video strategy. In 2023, people watched an average of 17 videos per day, highlighting the influence of video content in today’s digital landscape.
Both short-form and long-form videos offer unique advantages and come with their set of challenges. Join me as I uncover the benefits and limitations of each video format to help you make informed marketing decisions.
What are Short-Form Videos?
Short videos typically range from 30 seconds to less than 10 minutes long. They are popular on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.
Short-form videos deliver brief yet engaging messages that quickly capture the viewer’s attention. Here are some popular types of short-form video content.
- TikTok Challenges
- Instagram Reels
- Snapchat Stories
- YouTube Shorts
- Twitter Video Ads
Benefits of Short-Form Videos
A previously cited report shows that 39% of marketers find short-form videos, ranging from 30-60 seconds long, more successful. The same study reports that 44% of customers prefer watching a short video to learn about a brand’s offerings.
So, it is evident that short-form videos have their benefits. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.
Attention-Grabbing
Short-form videos capture attention quickly, making them ideal for the fast-scrolling nature of social media platforms. Your audience is more likely to watch them in their entirety compared to longer content.
Cost-Effective Production
Creating short-form videos requires less time and resources compared to longer videos. As a small business owner with a limited budget, using short-form videos can be cost-effective.
Increased Engagement
Short-form videos engage viewers due to their crisp and concise nature. This results in more likes, comments, and shares that boost your content’s visibility and increase brand awareness.
Integrating short-form videos into your influencer marketing campaigns can further amplify your reach to new and diverse audiences.
Highly Shareable
Short videos are highly shareable. This makes it more likely for your viewers to share them, increasing their virality.
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There are multiple benefits of adding video to your website including increased engagement, improved SEO, and enhanced user experience.
Limitations of Short-Form Videos
While short-form videos offer many advantages in content marketing, they also present some challenges.
Limited Message Depth
Due to their brief duration, short-form videos may struggle to convey complex or detailed messages. Longer videos might be more suitable if you need to communicate intricate information.
Competition for Attention
Standing out on platforms flooded with short-form video content can be challenging. You must create content that stands out to avoid becoming lost in the sea of other videos.
Shorter Lifespan
Short videos may lose their relevance with time. They can quickly get buried in users’ feeds, leading to a shorter visibility and engagement period than longer, evergreen content.
This means you must consistently create short-form videos to maintain audience interest over time.
Limited SEO Impact
Short-form videos may be more challenging to optimize for search engines than longer, more keyword-rich content. This can affect the discoverability of your content outside the social media scene.
What are Long-Form Videos?
Long-form videos are typically longer, ranging from a few minutes to several hours. They extend beyond a few minutes to several hours, providing ample time for in-depth topic exploration and detailed content.
These videos are particularly suitable for educational content, product demonstrations, and narrative-driven storytelling. Long-form videos are common on platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. Common types of long-form video content include:
- YouTube Series
- Webinars
- Educational Tutorials and Courses:
- Behind-the-Scenes Content
- Interviews and Conversations
Advantages of Long-Form Videos
Long-form video content is the fastest-growing segment, with videos above 30 minutes experiencing tremendous growth over the years. Let’s explore some of the benefits behind this growth.
Establishes Expertise and Credibility
Long-form videos allow you to provide in-depth information about various subjects, establishing your brand as an authority. Potential customers will likely trust and rely on your insights when you consistently deliver valuable content.
Builds Strong Audience Connections
The more your audience watches your videos, the more they become familiar with your content and brand. This consistent engagement promotes trust and loyalty, helping you create deeper connections with your audience.
Provide SEO Optimization Opportunities
Long-form videos keep your audience engaged for a longer duration than short ones. This signals search engines that your content provides value, resulting in higher rankings and increased visibility.
Besides, these videos provide opportunities to optimize for relevant keywords. This Attrock guide offers more insights into the value of SEO for your small business.
They Are Sustainable
Unlike short videos, well-produced and valuable long-form videos have an extended shelf life. They can continue to attract views and engagement over an extended period, contributing to a sustainable content strategy.
Instagram reels are also a part of short videos and you can get benefits from this platform by integrating it with your website. You can learn how to embed Instagram Reels on websites and get extra benefits from your Reels.
Drawbacks of Long-Form Videos
Despite their benefits, long-form videos also have certain limitations, including:
Attention Span Challenges
Between distractions, juggling tasks, and information overload, user attention span quickly diminishes. Viewers may lose interest and disengage from your long video before its conclusion.
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Complex Production Process
Creating high-quality long-form videos requires more resources, including time, equipment, and skilled personnel. This can be disadvantageous, especially for small businesses with limited budgets.
Platform Limitations
Some social media platforms and video hosting sites may limit video length, making it challenging to distribute long-form video content. You may then be forced to repurpose your content to suit various platforms.
Short-Form or Long-Form Videos: Which Are Better?
Now that you know the benefits and limitations of each format, which one should you choose? Short-form or long-form videos?
Well, it all boils down to considering several factors, such as:
Content Objectives
What do you want to achieve from your video marketing campaign? Short-form videos are highly effective for quick brand exposure and generating buzz. Long-form videos, on the other hand, contribute to a more in-depth understanding of the brand.
Target Audience Preferences
Audiences with short attention spans likely prefer short-form videos, while long-form videos appeal to those seeking a more immersive experience.
Similarly, short-form videos may appeal more to younger audiences, while older demographics may prefer the depth of long-form content.
Platform Dynamics
Various platforms support different content formats. Short-form videos are well-suited for platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. On the other hand, platforms like YouTube and Vimeo are better for hosting longer videos.
Industry Type
Short-form videos would be ideal if your industry thrives on trends, entertainment, and quick messages. However, long-form videos are effective for industries requiring in-depth explanations or educational content.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, choosing short-form or long-form videos depends on your business’s specific needs and goals. Since both formats have advantages and limitations, making a choice may prove difficult.
However, it doesn’t have to be an uphill task. The key lies in recognizing when to incorporate each video format into your marketing strategy. Understanding your audience and its needs allows you to combine both formats strategically, maximizing the benefits of each.
Continuously analyze performance metrics and adapt your video marketing strategy accordingly to ensure optimal engagement and conversion rates.
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