Get More Value Out of Your Programmatic Advertising Campaign

Few digital marketing tools are as powerful as programmatic advertising. However, many businesses fail to optimize their campaigns. This results in wasted ad spend and an underwhelming ROI. You may have even experienced some of these challenges firsthand.

Insights ABM, a Dallas-based programmatic marketing company, wants to help businesses get the most value out of their programmatic advertising campaigns. With this mission in mind, we’ve outlined six questions that you need to answer when you’re planning your programmatic strategy.

These questions address everything from who you are targeting to where your ads are being displayed. If it’s time to reassess your programmatic advertising campaign, here are the places to start.

How Much Spending Goes Toward Impressions?

Contrary to popular belief, ad impressions do not always equal consumer views. Since many programmatic campaigns use a cost per thousand (CPM) impressions model, this is a huge revelation.

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, an impression occurs when a minimum of 50 percent of your advertisement’s pixels are in view for at least 1 second. Google also adheres to this standard when it is calculating impressions. This means that you are getting charged for impressions, even if your ads are not actually getting viewed.

When you’re partnering with an ad agency, find out what standard they use to measure impressions. Doing this can save you big bucks on your programmatic campaigns.

Who is My Target Audience?

Programmatic advertising is all about targeting the ideal consumer. You should define this audience using your own data, along with third-party data. However, you must ensure that your data is correct, too. If your data is inaccurate, then your campaign may be targeting the wrong demographic.

You need to find out which characteristics are being used to define your audience. Find out which segments are being excluded and why. Continuously review this data and make adjustments to your targeting practices as needed.

What Areas Am I Targeting?

We suggest taking that previous question a bit further by making sure that you are targeting consumers in the right geographical area. This is especially important for franchises and multi-location brands.

An easy way to improve upon your location-based advertising is to set up geo-targeting. This prevents your ads from being displayed to consumers that are out of your service area. 

We also recommend breaking down your impressions by geographic location so that you can gather even more feedback on your targeting practices.

What Sites Are My Ads Appearing On?

Perhaps the most important element of programmatic campaigns relates to reaching a specific audience. However, you must also find out which sites your ads are appearing on. 

For instance, you don’t want to advertise your products on a site that contains explicit content.

If you are using a vendor, find out which sites are included with their programmatic network. Closely scrutinize this list and ask them to block any sites that are inconsistent with your company’s core values. An ad agency that is unwilling to disclose this list is probably not the ideal partner for your business.

Do I Need a Programmatic Marketing Company?

Many businesses have implemented successful programmatic campaigns on their own. However, far more have failed to achieve their long-term marketing goals.

If you have limited experience in the world of programmatic advertising, it may be a good idea to partner with a dedicated marketing agency. These firms can optimize your content and targeting processes to produce real results. 

When you want to take your programmatic marketing to the next level, do your research and take the time to find the perfect company to represent your brand.