E-advertising campaigns: the 5 deadly sins

Why do some online advertising campaigns are they successful, while others end in failure?
As we learn more and more failures, the Journal du Net has attempted to define, by questioning the agency Duke, the top five campaigns defects not bringing the results to advertisers ... Either five items to avoid in order not to miss his campaign.

Sin No. 1: Misusing interactivity

One through interactive agencies is sometimes lapsing into excessive sophistication. Now we must take into account the more passive use some form of Web surfers. Do not ask the visitor, who did not necessarily have the time or inclination to increase the shares from an advertising banner. "One mistake often made is actually opting for interactivity too heavy and then risk losing users along the way" 

When designing the campaign, we can allow two devices to use based on targets and publisher sites: one with a direct link to the content of the advertiser and the other with more interactivity. Everybody is not able to successfully download large files. In the case of rich media creations, therefore it is seen to have a file. That anyone can download.

Otherwise, to verify that it has placed the cursor, just monitor the click through rate on the various actions and the attrition rate in the first three days of campaign. If it is necessary to perform three actions before reaching the final content and after two stops the user, then it will simplify the device.

In addition, "If the format is lightweight, the cost will server banners will be even less" There is also a necessary balance between the importance given to the creation and that given to the media plan. No need for a highly interactive setting if the media plan is somewhat qualitative.

Sin No. 2: To jump on the formats and innovative

It may be dangerous to use at any price innovations of the Internet without measuring the reach and take account of the use made of it by users. "Too often brands are using new forms of advertising simply because they are new and not necessarily make good use is a mistake," But the problem is not to use new media as well do it.

Indeed, to cite a current fad, some brands use social media by creating accounts without necessarily creating content behind and this in order to track patterns of Internet bloggers or influential. "This was the case recently on Twitter, where some influencers have been spammed by a brand really causing a rejection of it,"

On the contrary, a brand should tell a story, offer content dedicated posture interaction and dialogue with the user without imposing. It should appear, install the image and does not interrupt the surfer using formats too intrusive or staggered. This is true for the sizes of banners or interstitial type flash transparent as it is sometimes impossible to close.

Sin No. 3: Do not consider his target

The tone of the campaign must be in line with the identity of the mark and, despite the target to which it is addressed, to maintain some consistency. Do not forget who you are even if we break new ground in creativity.

But the choice of discourse or advertising concept must also take into account its target, profile, behavior, location. "We cannot ignore the context," 

By way of illustration, the United States, a car manufacturer made a bad choice early 2009, taking the floor to thank the Americans for their donations to enable the brand to address the crisis. People do not understand in fact that the automaker uses some of that money to buy space on the Internet to disseminate its message. Instead, in February 2009 Hyundai, does not change your face to the economic context but suggested an appropriate offer to buyers of brand vehicles to make their car in case of loss of income.

Apart from this, the choice of tone is variable and may equally well be serious - let's not forget that all profiles of people surf the Web and not just the young and trendy - that shifted. “We can laugh at almost everything but paying attention to how it's done", with more precise targeting on the Internet on other media, language mistakes are hardly forgivable, complete. They are quickly punished on the canvas. " 

Sin No. 4: Rushing media plan

Some campaigns are very powerful and deliver a very large volume of impressions from the first day, before disappearing very quickly. But as far as possible, better focus on optimizing its campaign over time.

"We must try to smooth out the number of impressions over time and replaced by other formats when necessary," Depending on the duration of the campaign, he advocated make a first impression of the performance of the first quarter of the campaign, even from day one if it is short.

But too often the campaigns are not optimized. Yet from the outset, the agency will consider more creative. "If the goal of the campaign is to create traffic, we will test several creations and make adjustments quickly. For an image campaign with a circulation longer, we will conduct more tests of post. "

Finally, it is better not to separate the graphic design of the media plan, which together contributes to the performance of the campaign. Especially since some banners do not always correspond to areas of publisher sites. Therefore the creative agency should work closely with media agency.

Sin No. 5: Make only one shot campaign banners

We know today, a banner campaign is more effective if it is supported by media relations, coupled with online marketing and supplemented by sponsored links. "It is necessary to work in the context of Web search in parallel in the country display and contextualize it. We must also treat the environment and deliver content to users through the site of the advertiser or event-based sites dedicated to the ongoing operation.

And more generally, "better for an advertiser to communicate repeatedly on the Web throughout the year, and may be present in the minds of Internet users, than make a one-shot campaign." 

Indeed, if one shot banner campaigns have utility as part of promotional campaigns and localized, they are not sufficient to work the brand awareness or product. But the notoriety allows the user to quickly identify the advertiser or brand for which a campaign broadcasts. It is therefore more likely to attract attention, or better, to see it come to customers outside of periods of advertising campaigns that it pays on the Internet.

Target your email marketing campaigns

The email Marketing obtained very good results but for the type of results that marketers expect, it is essential to develop targeted email marketing campaigns, campaigns that identify and involve the people most likely to respond.

Without effective targeting, your email campaign or any marketing for that matter, will be a sword in the water that will generate a very low response rate and you will lose hundreds or thousands. It would also not enjoy the power of email marketing. It should therefore be targeted more effectively than any other type of marketing.

Because it simply does not make sense to run your campaign towards the wider public, when you can focus your efforts on a target qualified, far more inclined to buy your products.

Identify your Target Markets 
To identify your target markets, segment your market first global groups of people who seem to have the same desires and needs. Segmentation can be as many groups as you want. For example, a group by age, by gender, by job type, geographical area, by lifestyle, by purchasing behavior by ethnicity, educational level, etc. ...

The objective is to recognize that there is no "average buyer". Each group of people has its own desires and needs. Therefore, some groups find your products and services more attractive than others. These are your target markets.

Because email marketing can actually reach very specific targets, you can segment in depth, because the more you separate, your campaigns will be more highly targeted. And there will always be a listing of email addresses for each segment you have identified.

However, target markets must be sufficiently large to justify the time and effort, if not the cost will, of a targeted email campaign. Ideally, you should reach market segments that have sufficient size and are served by your competitors an opportunity Marketing niche. For this reason it is vital to spend much time on the segmentation.

Create a targeted message for your campaign

Now that you've identified your market segments, attach to your message. You need to create a different message for each target market, focusing exclusively by their desires and needs, and how your products or services can match them. Demonstrate your products or services is their much better than your competitors.

It is also very important to speak the same language as your market segment. Use a style and tone, and words that have the greatest impact on your target.

In short, create the email as appropriate to each of your targets.

Write an Effective Title

There are volumes of advice on how to write songs for email campaigns. In short, they must be direct, contain your name, be equally informative than suitable, and as short as possible. They must capture the essence of the content of your email. For this reason, your title will be much better if you write after writing the contents of your message.

Select targeted lists of email

The next step in your email campaign is targeted to find lists of emails for each segment you have identified. For small business or home, the best option available is that of Newsletter subscribers whose profiles match that of your target. You buy an ad and your message will reach your target so precisely. No need to invest yourself in your own email campaign, and you'll get more of the reputation and image of the site that sends the Newsletter . To find lists of newsletters that matches your target.

Target the right time

With the key elements of your email marketing campaign in hand, there is one more factor to consider before transmission: timing.

The advantage of email marketing is that campaigns can be sent in one minute. Think back to the lifestyle of each target and choose the best time to send. The ideal is to find when your target does not just open your emails, but when it will be able to pay attention.

For example, for mothers, this may be the evening once the children are asleep. For yuppies, it could be lunchtime. Rather trust your instincts and common sense as statistics about office hour’s email often result in error because they do not correspond to your specific market segment, but a global vision.

Test your email marketing campaign targeted

My last tip on targeted email marketing is to test your campaign. Test back on advertising is a standard procedure in large enterprises. Thanks to the cheapness of emailing, it is also an option for small structures.

Once you've perfected your campaign emailing targeted, you can then invest in shopping lists and run your campaigns with confidence.