Understanding your brand’s digital strategy and optimizing each tactic is pertinent to the success of a campaign.
When it comes to paid advertisement and ROI, what is the best option? Do you stand behind the broadness of awareness that is associated with impressions? Or do you invest in the interaction with users that is associated with a click?
Simply put, an impression is a view. This is often referred to as Cost Per Mile (CPM). Essentially you pay a fee for every 1,000 viewers of your ad. This is a great tactic if you are focused on trying to spread awareness about an event or get your name out there, it’s generally difficult to get a measurable action with this approach.
That is where a click comes into play. Cost Per Click (CPC) requires you to pay every X number of clicks, or pay X for a certain number of clicks. The majority of the time, a click refers to a “unique” click, meaning it was the first time this user’s IP address clicked on the ad. The great thing about clicks is that it obviously involves an impression and is also a step towards conversion.
Facebook has maximized its advertising platform by translating similar tactics; Optimized Cost per Mile and Cost Per Action. The advantage to these Facebook ad tactics is that brands can target their viewing audience. OCPM will allow you to filter the exact demographic, region, likes, etc. of individuals you would like to serve your ad. While you are still paying for a view, it is a more strategic view. CPA expands beyond clicks to allow for payment per actual conversions, signs-ups, or page likes. This provides more immediate and confirmed interaction between the brand and viewer.
To ensure you are getting your greatest “bang-for-your-buck” on clicks, make sure to optimize your ad. Implementing carefully targeted keywords that will cause your ad to appear in searches is crucial. The more relevant your ad is to the user’s search, the more likely they are to click, and the more likely you are to gain a conversion
It is no surprise that CPC and CPA are more costly investments for brands, however in most cases their ability to target individuals and require a direct call-to-action before you as the marketer must pay will lead to a greater ROI for the future.
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