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A business cannot function, much less thrive, if it does not have advertisements.
That’s an established rule of thumb by now, and in the last year, digital ad spending has risen to $375 billion globally. Though there are many different ways that businesses can advertise their brand or product, the best option depends on what situation the business finds themselves in financially, physically, and in the relative size of the business, whether it is just starting or is already large-scale.
Some forms of ads are risky, costly, or simply not the right for your business strategy. Yet, there is a form of ad for small and big businesses that ticks all boxes – banner ads.
But… What exactly are banner ads?
Think of banner ads as sort of like your digital billboards. They’re visual ads that are usually animated and are also one of the oldest forms of online advertising, with the first one being launched as far back as 1994. They can appear on the top, side, bottom space of your screen while you’re browsing or visiting websites and online pages. Not only are they good at displaying information about a brand, but their primary use is to get people on a website because once the banner is clicked on, the online user will be transported to the main website of the product/brand being advertised.
So, why should you go with banner ads as your prime choice in advertising? How does it assure growth for your business?
Well, here are five reasons that may convince you:
It does not have to cost much
Banner ads will more or less cost you nothing when you consider how many benefits you will be gaining from them.
Banner ads cost will depend on how many impressions the ad gets on the website. However, some websites will charge a fee for a specific time that the ad will be up on their site.
However, the cost is essentially nothing because rates are as low as 50 cents per thousand impressions. That’s already a lot of brand awareness for what is basically the minimum price. Also, for the set fees paid, the final amount will still depend on how well your ad performs, so you are guaranteed to decrease negative costs because it will always be in proportion to the benefit gained.
Will generate a lot of leads
Companies such as Apple, Nike, and Target are aware of how effective banner ads are in generating leads.
After all, banner ads are for website traffic. With its straightforward approach to capturing the interest of the target audiences, you can reach viewers with just one click. However, you can’t just put up ads on any website you want. You should find the websites your target audience frequents, as websites with more audience traffic are more likely to be interested in what you have to show or display.
What’s more, you can retarget specific users. Retargeting is the act of putting tags on viewers who merely visited your site but did not sign up or make a purchase so you can try to convince them again with banner ads.
Visibility
Though I am acting like every single one who sees your banner will click on them, sadly, this is not the truth. However, this is not a loss for you at all because the great thing about graphics is that it is implanted in viewers’ minds.
What I mean is that once they see you, they know you. And when people know your business, that’s already a mark for growth.
Brand zisibility is vital if you want your brand to go places, but it takes about 5-7 impressions for the average consumer to remember your brand. For banner ads, that’s not much at all. In no time, you’ll reach higher heights and evolve into a bigger animal in its chain.
But before all that, people and consumers need to recognize you, and the more banner ads you put out there, the more recognizable you will be.
Eye-catching graphics
Advertise with just a sentence. Wait, one sentence may even be too much, try advertising with just a logo. With banner ads, you don’t have to be outlandish or invest too much time into a grand design. Banner ads simply need to capture a user’s eye, the head-turner of the advertising world.
However, this does not mean you should be lazy in creating your banner and designs. Here are some tips and guides when creating your own:
- Consider your audience and what they would want to see, include or create something that caters to their liking and get them to click right away, even if it was just to browse what you were selling.
- Carefully choose your banner ad size. There are different dimensions to banners that are supposed to fit nicely in specific websites, and the owners of those websites might negotiate how much space you can take up. So, try to adjust your design accordingly.
- Try to find quality photos or animations to use. It is a visual ad, don’t settle for anything less than complete eye-candy visuals.
- Use your brand’s palette in creating a design. If your primary mood for your business and logo is yellow, try to have a yellowish palette. This helps create identity and consistency that blends well in consumer tastes.
- Be simple. The simpler the design, the faster your consumer will understand it.
- Use an online graphic maker. Graphic editing tools will help you design great banners and allow you to be as flexible with your design as possible. Some great banner generators include Canva, Adobe Illustrator, and Pixelixe.
- Tell a story. Try to tell the best story with the few elements you will be using. If you are selling homes, include a picture of a cozy and clean interior with a happy family in it. If you are selling new products, have them next to the old ones to highlight how better they are. Capture a fluid story in just a few elements, and it is enough for people to engage in.
Banner ads allow you to track ad performance
Perhaps the best thing about banner ads is that you can track and evaluate how your ad campaign is going. A feature almost exclusive to banner ads is click-through rate or CTR, which divides the number of times the ad is clicked by the number of times people saw it on a website or “impressions.“
So, with this feature, you can see how many people are interested in your site, how successful your ad is doing, and what you can do with the data generated.
Takeaway
Banner ads have declined in popularity as the digital world evolves and preferences change. However, this does not mean it is in any way obsolete and not a viable option. If you want to gain visibility and recognition for your business and brand. For up-and-coming advertisers, banner ads can grow your business exponentially with little to no risk for your resources. Basically, any ad will work when you know how to strategize.
