Most Singapore search marketers understand the power of targeting an audience. This is especially the case if your company has used web search engine marketing to retarget your customers. However, as we start to experience search that is based on targeting, more personalization as well as more intelligence, it’s easy to see how audience targeting can help you to create the perfect ad.
Demographic targeting:
Singapore search marketers have used several different methods for audience targeting. This includes things like interests, user behaviour, device and location, and demographics. However, there is one piece of the puzzle missing–additional demographics. For instance, you could target the company that a person works for as well as their job title.
Microsoft Audience Network, or MSAN, is a great example of this type of targeting. This company recently announced that it will be pushing the boundaries of search and modernising the traditional native advertising. It plans to pull its data from places like LinkedIn.
What this means for Singapore marketers is that reaching a specific user is now easier than ever, if you do it throughout their own personal journeys. You see, while search ads traditionally used keywords which are text-based, audience ads are more feed- and image-based. While keywords traditionally wait for your customers to start their search, audience ads use artificial intelligence in order to find and reach your exact targeted audiences. Also, while keywords traditionally rely on algorithms, audience ads make use of AI and analytics that are predictive.
So as you can see, adding an extra layer of demographics to your targeting can make a big difference. Thanks to the audience ads, Singapore marketers now have access to a wealth of targeting ingredients to create the perfect ad. Let’s take a look at the key ingredients:
More native ads
Many Singapore business owners would be surprised to learn that the future of advertising is actually non-advertising. The question is, how will you know when you have delivered the right message to the right individuals and at the right time? Consumers won’t have any idea that an ad is an ad.
The answer lies in how well you consider the customer’s daily journey. You see, the key to successfully delivering the right message to the right person and at the right time is to serve the user throughout the day, not interrupt them. It’s estimated that by 2002, over half of consumers will expect companies to anticipate their needs and then make relevant suggestions before they ever even contact them.It’s also estimated that native advertising is going to gain more and more popularity as the search engines continue their growth into digital assistants. And as time progresses, consumers will expect these digital assistants to make purchase recommendations.
More storytelling
It’s important that Singapore business owners understand that all of their customers have their own stories. And audience ads gives Singapore brands the ability to reach certain customers at multiple points throughout their purchase journey. So you need to consider how your products actually fit into your customer’s story. Put less time and energy towards the “what” (your products) and more of it towards the “why.” Why should your customers want to purchase the product? Give thought to what is actually driving their behaviour.
The great thing is that customers are often willing to help you out with this information. According to Bing, consumers are open to sharing their data with brands. This is especially the case if you are offering something free in exchange. However, most are more willing to share their gender, email address, age, and purchasing history than they are their full name and address.
Ultimately, audience ads don’t necessarily require the users to share all of their data, but they will invite you much further into the lives of the consumers. The truth is, consumers want brands to become a part of their story. This specifically the case if your brand offers value. So become a storyteller and speak to the individual customers. Create contextualised moments.
More visual content
Over the last few years, we have noticed different types of paid media becoming more visual in nature. When you think about the evolution of paid search ads, you will realise that they started with titles, two description lines, and URLs. Presently, while ads still include titles and descriptions, additional extensions and features make them much more visually appealing, including adding links to websites, locations, product ads, image extensions, ratings, and reviews.
There have also been visual image components added on to ad formats, paid social carousel ads, paid search product ads, as well as dynamic remarketing ads. This visual ads shift will continue when it comes to audience ads. So Singapore search marketers need to consider how images and text may help them to better connect with their customers and target audiences.
More intelligence
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is becoming much more common across ad platforms. This means that Singapore marketers should look for solutions that have AI capabilities of machine learning as well as predictive analytics built directly into them. This way, instead of targeting specific placements, you can target audiences.
More quality partners
One of the most important elements of a great ad is making sure that your partners are high quality. In the past, display networks were not that visible. However, things are very different today. With time, audience ads will continue to appear in new forms and places, including in reality and on social platforms.
More overall efficiency
Though we live in a very fast-paced world and digital marketing has proven to be ever-changing, it’s important that you implement these strategies and techniques with efficiency. Consumers are okay with being targeted because they want to be heard and valued. More specifically, they want brands to reach then in smarter ways. This means taking a more efficient approach with the use of customised orders, automatic reorders, form auto-fills, as well as walk-out payments.
The Takeaway
Most experienced search marketing agencies will agree that ads have changed a great deal within the last decade. What once one simply text-based is now dynamic. However, we are not experiencing a new shift. And this shift requires that we take a deeper look into our audience and who they are as individuals. This means pushing past the generic and delving more into each of their stories.
The good news is that Singapore consumers want to be targeted. They want brands to know and understand them, because this way they can better serve them. This makes the job of marketers much easier if they know how to collect the information. While audience ads may not be the final change in search advertising, they do represent steps in the right direction as brand continue to search for the best ways to perfect their ad.
