9 Types of Online Advertising Techniques to Elevate Your Marketing

Is your brand trying to find creative and effective ways to permeate a digital ad space with compelling brand messaging? Here, we’ll go over nine different types of online advertising techniques that you can use to inspire your digital marketing strategy.

Some of them are strictly more focused on digital mediums, while others pertain to classical approaches with specific utility toward digital channels. In the end, you should have a better idea of how to present your brand in digital media to achieve the results you need.

Let’s go!

Yaniv Masjedi
CMO, Nextiva

Their expertise has helped Nextiva grow its brand and overall business

Elevate Marketing Creativity

1) Ad Copy and Brand Messaging Alignment

To grow your digital presence, it’s crucial to align your ad copy with your brand messaging. Start by clearly defining your brand’s values, identity and core message. Ensure that every piece of ad copy you create, whether for social media, website content or email campaigns, reflects these important elements.

Consistency with your language is key. Shutterstock estimates that 95% of advertising companies abide by branding guidelines when developing ads or website content:Marketing Consistency

Consistency means using the same tone, voice and language across all channels to reinforce your brand’s identity and establish a recognizable presence.

When aligning ad copy with brand messaging, focus on conveying the unique value proposition of your products or services. Highlight the benefits and solutions you offer to your target audience. Use persuasive language that resonates with their needs and desires. Remember to tailor your messaging to specific segments within your audience, addressing their pain points directly.

Making your ad copy congruent with your brand messaging will foster a strong, cohesive brand image that builds trust and loyalty. Customers will come to recognize and connect with your brand more easily, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions.

Dive Deeper: The Complete Guide to Brand Building (Must-Read for Digital Marketers)

2) AI-Generated Content

To enhance your digital marketing efforts, embrace the power of AI-generated content:

ChatGPT prompt for PPC ad copy

Utilizing sophisticated algorithms and machine learning, AI can create personalized and relevant content tailored to different audience segments. Leverage this technology to automate content creation processes, saving you time and resources.

Sure, it can be convenient and save you a lot of time in the process, but it should always be combed through and vetted for accuracy and authenticity.

With the right prompting, the use of AI can be a handy supporting advertising technique that can help you formulate content for:

ChatGPT prompts

Dive Deeper: 100+ ChatGPT Prompts to Supercharge Your Marketing Efforts

3) Statistics and Data Points

People love statistics; they love numbers that back up what they’re being told:

Graph showing Google-Ranking-and-CTR

You ought to find hard, numerical truths about your product or services that you can use to support your brand messaging.

They provide credibility and demonstrate industry knowledge to your audience. Incorporating relevant and compelling statistics into your content helps build trust and positions your brand as an authority in your field.

Start by conducting thorough research and gathering data that support your key messages. Look for reputable sources and studies that provide compelling insights. Use these figures to back up your claims and highlight the benefits of your offer.

Dive Deeper: 187 Online Advertising Statistics: Privacy, In-App, PPC, Social and More

5) Visual Marketing

People are visual creatures, and leveraging appealing visuals can significantly impact your digital presence.

Start by establishing a consistent visual identity that aligns with your brand:

Colors in marketing

Develop a visual style guide that reflects  your brand’s personality and values, including:

  • Color schemes
  • Typography
  • Phraseology (like slogans and catchphrases)
  • Logo variants

Maintaining consistency across all avenues that you present your offer is crucial in solidifying a lasting good impression to your audience:

Visuals should be relevant and compelling, maintaining the same color themes and fonts as your brand. They ought to evoke emotions that align with your brand message. Showcase your products or services in action, depict your brand’s lifestyle, or tell stories that create emotional appeal and connect with your audience.

Take the example of Miller Lite’s branding, which has, over time, progressively distilled its appearance to a more simplified and clean look:miller lite evolution

6) Interactive Ads

Interactive ads are a dynamic and engaging digital advertising technique that can significantly boost your brand’s digital presence. Encouraging active participation from your audience can create memorable experiences that drive brand awareness and customer engagement.

Ask your audience a question in your ads. Pose a few options to them and ask them what they think.

We see this advertising technique used a lot on YouTube with ads that basically function as polls:YouTube TV survey ads scaled

These miniature “surveys” accomplish several things. For one, they give the advertiser data about their audience and slowly help theme define the portion of their audience that is willing to engage with their brand.

Another benefit is that they compel users to engage with your ad, giving them a sense of connection with your brand.

Only users who resonate with your question will be eager to participate in the questions you ask them. The ones that do are basically exhibiting that they want to be involved with your brand. This will make them more apt to recall your brand in the future since they’ll associate your brand with relatable thoughts.

When designing ads that prompt the user to tangibly respond to the elements in the ad, consider the platform and format you’re using:

  • Optimize the ad for mobile devices: Most users engage with interactive content on their smartphones.
  • Keep it easy: Make interactive elements user-friendly, intuitive, and easy to navigate.
  • Make it unified: Create a seamless and enjoyable experience that aligns with your brand’s identity and message.

Interactive ads not only capture attention but also encourage social sharing and virality. Users are more likely to share interactive content that offers a fun or unique experience with their friends and followers, expanding your brand’s reach and increasing its digital presence.

Elevate Marketing Creativity

7) Repetition

The “Rule of 7” is one of many common advertising techniques in both digital and traditional advertising that highlights the importance of repetition in effectively communicating your brand message. It essentially states that a potential customer needs to be exposed to your message at least seven times before they take action or make a purchase:

Marketing Rule of 7

To apply this methodology, you should craft a cohesive and consistent brand messaging strategy across your digital channels:

  • Ensure that your core message, tagline or value proposition is consistently communicated in your website content, social media posts, email campaigns and digital ads. While the placements may be different, the object of your ads should remain the same.
  • Use different formats and variations of your message to keep it fresh and engaging for your audience. This could include blog articles, social media graphics, video advertising or customer reviews.
  • Repurpose and distribute this content strategically across various social media advertising channels and Google Ads campaigns to reach your target audience multiple times in a specific timeframe.
  • Consider the frequency of your messages and the intervals between them. Be mindful of not overwhelming your audience with excessive repetition, which could lead to annoyance or disengagement. Find the right balance that keeps your brand top-of-mind without becoming intrusive.

A consistent repetition technique can create familiarity and trust with your audience. As they see your message repeatedly, they become more likely to remember your brand, engage with your content and eventually convert into customers.

8) The Bandwagon Effect and Scarcity

People don’t like feeling left out. And this innate fear of missing out, or “FOMO,” is a useful advertising technique that you can use to grow your brand’s digital presence.

This psychological phenomenon implies that people are more likely to adopt a product or service if they see others doing the same and, just as importantly, if it’s limited in availability. By showcasing social proof and creating a sense of belonging, you can attract a larger audience and enhance engagement.

To harness the bandwagon effect, incorporate social proof elements into your digital marketing strategy by highlighting:

  • Customer testimonials
  • Reviews
  • User-generated content

Feature these testimonials prominently on your website, social media platforms, and in your online advertising placements.

Encourage user-generated content by running contests or ad campaigns that incentivize customers to share their experiences with your brand. This not only generates authentic content but also creates a sense of community and encourages others to join in.

For example, Treegear imposes pop-ups on their website that show periodic alerts of when other real customers add items into their carts a subtle way of encouraging new site visitors to follow suit:The Bandwagon Effect 5 Ways to Use the Power of the CROwd to Supercharge Your Conversions-2

Leverage social media influencers or brand ambassadors who align with your target audience and have a strong following. Their endorsement of your brand can significantly impact the bandwagon effect, as their followers are more likely to trust and emulate their choices.

Use social proof notifications, such as displaying the number of customers who have recently made a purchase or the number of people currently viewing a particular product. This real-time information creates a sense of urgency and motivates others to follow suit:

Social proof notifications

Creating a sense of scarcity is a proven strategy to drive engagement and increase conversions in the digital space. By emphasizing limited availability or time-bound offers, you can create a sense of urgency that motivates your audience to take immediate action.

When implementing scarcity in your digital marketing efforts, leverage persuasive copywriting techniques. Use phrases like “limited quantities available” or “only for a limited time” to convey the urgency. Highlight the unique benefits or value that customers will gain by taking advantage of the scarce offer:scarcity-marketing-and-competition-framing

By creating scarcity, you tap into the psychological factors of urgency and exclusivity, compelling customers to take action. This can lead to increased engagement, conversions, and a boost in your digital presence.

Dive Deeper: How to Use Scarcity on Your Landing Page to Skyrocket Conversions

9) Freebies and Limited Free Trials

Free samples, coupons and free trials are hugely valuable hooks when it comes to advertising campaigns that will drive your brand’s digital momentum. They can provide a taste of your products or services and give users a reason to come back for more.

By offering a limited, free version of your product or service, you can capture the attention of a larger audience and generate recurring interest:

HubSpot free trial

This gives prospective customers the freedom to experience the value and benefits your brand provides, establishing trust and credibility, without the pressure to commit financially right away.

Just make sure that the free version offers enough value to entice users while showcasing the unique selling points of your premium offerings.

You can also:

  • Highlight the limitations or additional benefits of upgrading to the premium version to encourage conversions.
  • Implement a seamless and user-friendly registration or sign-up process to make it easy for users to access the freemium service.
  • Collect relevant data during the registration process to build a database of potential leads for future marketing efforts.
  • Leverage email marketing campaigns to nurture and engage with your freemium users in which you provide valuable content, tips and insights related to your product or service to encourage them to upgrade to the premium version.
  • Offer incentives or discounts for freemium users who refer friends or share their experiences on social media. This word-of-mouth marketing can significantly expand your reach and attract new users to your freemium offering.

Leveraging freemium services can introduce your brand to a wider audience, showcase its value, and encourage first-time users to come back for the full offer.

Dive Deeper: 10 Benefits of Online Advertising

Final Word on Our Go-to Types of Online Advertising Techniques

As you can see, there are a lot of nuances that go into planning and executing masterful promotional advertising techniques online. And without a doubt, this list we’ve given you is not exhaustive.

There are hundreds of terrific advertising techniques that exist that may be just what you need to make your business’s web presence fire on all cylinders. How are you going to take your online advertising to the next level?

If you’re ready to level up your business, Single Grain’s paid ads experts can help!👇

Elevate Marketing Creativity

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