We are living in an age where marketers can reach more people, more users, more potential students than ever before thanks to the vastness of the internet. Users can consume ads across multiple platforms and different devices based on who they are and what they interact with.
At Edufficient, we pride ourselves on the ability to obtain, quantify and leverage granular data to present creative digital marketing ideas and create ads that are specific and optimal to our client’s goals and needs. While the data excites all of us, there is another essential component to ad creation that particularly excites me; the creative. I don’t just mean the image, but each individual entity that creates a top-performing ad. This ranges from the imagery to the copy and colors all the way down to the call to action of an ad.
We strive to create ads that will unequivocally gain an emotional response from a user. An ad for higher education can incite hope, excitement, or even pride in a user, causing them to pursue more information; a win-win for both user and marketer. This is particularly critical on social media, where space on each social network is becoming a bit more crowded and standing out is way more advantageous than fitting in. We identify what digital marketing and social media marketing approach works for each of our clients and capitalize on it through rigorous testing and data analysis, even when resources are limited.
Know Your Creative Digital Marketing Elements
The initial creation of an ad starts with the data. We gather as much information about our target audience as possible. Who are they? What are their interests? Their typical age range? Where do they live? What are their other options in the area? From there, we ensure that our imagery fits those demographics while maintaining and creating brand identity and awareness.
An image is much more appealing when you see yourself in it. Starting with alluring and inclusive images is just the beginning. We then leverage and utilize the tools at our disposal to create ads and imagery that are sure to stand out. Video, as an example, is utilized as much as possible. Videos have been shown to improve conversions by up to 86%.
When video is unavailable, we begin social media ad creation to generate the same type of interest by mimicking the multidisciplinary effects of video with an array of colorful and representative static images. The movement in a static newsfeed is one of many possible creative digital marketing ideas sure to gain attention and stop a scrolling finger.
We then write our copy based on what we know is important to the user as well as any key program differentiators. Perhaps a dental assisting program is accelerated and can get users on their way to a career sooner. Or a massage therapy program offers a flexible schedule for working adults and parents. Or perhaps there is a particularly appealing financial aid package aimed to provide a student with a viable option toward their dreams.
Whatever these key identifiers may be, we create copy that is sure to excite a user and speak to them directly. Additionally, we use all available data to us in order to copywrite as effectively as possible, whether that be using top-performing ad copy and keywords from paid search, or leverage ad copy from high performing landing pages. We want the copy to not only stop a user in their tracks but convince them to take action. Our copy, as well as call to actions, are all written to create a specific sense of urgency.
Execution is Key | Digital and Social Media Marketing
These ads are then placed appropriately. Depending on demographics, a variety of placements across digital and social media marketing channels such as Facebook and Instagram are utilized to get in front of the most appropriate users. This is where social media ad creation comes into play. Our creative is sized to fit each placement and take up the most real estate available on those placements.
Defining Success in Creative Digital Marketing
Our work isn’t done once we have turned our creative digital marketing ideas into published ads, or completed social media ad creation. Actually, it’s quite the contrary. Our creative digital marketing ads then go through a rigorous A/B testing process, or split testing. Each ad is tested against a counterpart with one variable changed to see which aspects work for our target audience, and which do not.
There are times where we test images by testing ads with the same copy but different imagery against each other. Other times, we test our copywriting by placing two ads with the same imagery but different copy against each other. Which ads perform best help us determine what will provide the greatest return on investment. Additionally, this process helps us understand what our target audience would prefer to consume.
Once we generate this critical baseline, it makes it easier to create subsequent ads and know all of our blind spots. The opportunity to speak to an audience through creative digital marketing is not one that I take lightly. I strive toward high-quality digital and social media ad creation for my clients that users consume and subliminally have a feeling of trustworthiness, quality, and inclusivity.
By experimenting with creative digital marketing ideas, creative types, ad formats and approaches, we can find the best ways to inspire a user to stop, look and engage.