If you are an ardent user of social media and the internet there is one recurrent thing you always see – ads (i.e. adverts). They are so ubiquitous that there are even interventions such as ad-blockers. They can be downright annoying but that is business and entrepreneurship for you. You and everyone pushing a product or service cannot help but put out ads. Ads come in all sorts of forms and all scrambling for your attention. It is a gruesome competition for attention with the anticipation of conversions, leading to revenue and profits. So, how can you make sure your ad is effective enough to achieve that? Let’s jump into a discussion on the characteristics of an effective ad.
Does It Adhere To Ethics?
The subject of ethics when it comes to ads is highly contextual. What might be considered ethical in some context might not be in another. Ethics refer to principles relating to right or wrong conduct. If a brand does not pay attention to this there can be dire consequences. This reminds me of the Mambos Chicken ads that have often been topical online.
There have been times when their ads have included subtle profanity and sexism. Zimbabwe is mostly grounded in Christian and indigenous cultural ethos. This makes the context a mostly conservative one which can find such ads unethical. Interestingly, in other countries, such ads might not be an issue at all.
This is just an example but ethical considerations are pivotal in putting an ad together. There are countless ads over the years that have been banned completely due to ethical issues. Before you publish an ad, be certain you have considered all the ethical issues relating to its content. If an ad is found to be offensive your brand can be seriously hurt.
Does It Promote?
Marketing is all about promoting your brand i.e. your products and services. This means an ad must in its entirety promote – that is its intended purpose. The term ‘promote’ is actually defined as to attempt to popularize or sell by means of advertising or publicity. If the promotional element is absent then it is not an ad at all.
However, I must add something crucially important here. In this day and age, there are too many ads all around. People have gotten too accustomed to seeing them that it even annoys them. As much as you want to promote your brand do not be too obvious about it. A great ad does not seem like an ad. Though in it will be a hidden or indirect promotional element – that is what you should strive for.
Does It Persuade?
Promoting something seeks to ultimately persuade someone to do something. Thus an ad must be able to persuade otherwise it would be pointless. To persuade is to successfully convince someone to agree to, accept, or do something, usually through reasoning and verbal influence. There are 3 major ways to achieve this; one of them is already implied in the definition.
One is the use of reasoning i.e. logical and authoritative reasoning. Number two entails speaking to and appealing to people’s emotions. The thrust is to get your target audience to become emotionally invested. Number three is about building trust – give people a solid basis for them to trust you. Social proofs e.g. testimonials, demos, and reviews can help in that regard.
Is It Targeted And Personalized?
This is one of the major attributes that separate digital marketing from traditional marketing. Of course in traditional marketing, there is an element of targeting but not so much. The world we now live in is very different and sophisticated. People’s needs and preferences are so particular that you cannot just cast a net on everyone. Your ad must be targeted at a specific pool of people. When you are selling products or services you have a clear picture of what the intended (ideal) customer is.
Remember the emotions aspect under persuasion. How can you persuade someone whose nature or attributes you do not know? In trying to persuade them you no doubt have to leverage their nature. This is why an ad must be targeted. Along with being targeted, an ad must also be personalized. An example of this is email marketing. Emails sent out this way always feel so personalized and drawn in. That thing of addressing a recipient by name draws them in. Make sure your ads are targeted and personalized.
Is It Original And Creative?
Originality is central to making your ads stand out. There are too many ads out there with more or less the same content and tone. If you adopt the same drift you will most likely drown without being noticed. That is why you must become up with ads that are original and creative. I usually mention Volvo ads as some of the best ads out there. There are 3 of their ads that really stand out to me namely, the one with Jean-Claude Van Damme, the one with a paraglider and one with a slackliner. You can look them up on YouTube. That is the essence of originality and creativity demonstrated in those ads. That is what you should aim for with your ads. That way they rise to the top for maximum exposure and engagement.
These are characteristics to ensure are present whether it is digital marketing or traditional marketing. You might be wondering about how you can figure out whether or not an ad is or was effective. You can do that by checking traffic volumes (to your platforms), click-through rates, conversion rates, retention rates, and social media metrics (i.e. likes, comments, shares, views, and so on).