Studies show that we make evaluations within the first three seconds of a new encounter. That's true whether it's a person or from the digital marketing perspective, with a brand, product, or website. Once that evaluation or first impression is determined, it is very hard to change. Online first impressions are no different, and internet companies have a tremendous opportunity to leverage the advertising vehicles that support their websites, not with ads for outside brands, but their own.
Putting your best foot forward
Your technology core competency can be used to promote your value proposition to your audience. In-house engagement marketing ads are an effective way to communicate with your audience while demonstrating confidence in your own ad-delivery system. Engagement ads can direct audience members to a specific piece of your own content that is relevant to their online behavior and inform users of existing or new features. The engagement ads serve as a reminder of the value proposition that initially attracted them to your site in the first place.
Identifying your soul mate
Since engagement marketing ads can eat into revenue generating opportunities, it's wise to deploy engagement marketing efforts efficiently. As with all advertising, untargeted run-of-site (ROS) engagement ads will have limited success.
Targeting engagement ads based on online behaviors, albeit limited with a new customer, can enable the dynamic segmentation of the market. Without the ability to segment the market dynamically, it is difficult to measure the performance of engagement ads. At our company, engagement marketing slider advertisements (see example below) reach about 50 to 60 percent of our monthly audience. These ads are targeted to specific audience segments based on search behaviors. Among those in our gaming audience, individuals who receive relevant engagement ads are 15 percent more likely to remain in our network.
Courting your way to the honeymoon period
Branding efforts have even greater potential among new audience members. Audience lifetimes are significantly impacted by ad delivery during the initial period after joining your network, when users are most critical of your product. If users stick by your side through this courtship period, you reap the benefits of the honeymoon period which follows. For a casual gaming audience segment, as an example, new audience members receiving relevant engagement ads within the first week are 40 percent more likely to stick around.
When the honeymoon is over
Even the best of us make mistakes. If the relationship goes sour, a little TLC (tender loving care) can go a long way. Before users leave your network, use the opportunity to promote potentially overlooked features, offer an ad-free period, or provide fee-for-service alternatives. Above all, obtain feedback about their dissatisfaction. While it may feel like pouring salt into an open wound, there is nothing worse than making the same mistake twice or millions of times over in the future.
The right chemistry
Audience loyalty will endure beyond the honeymoon period as long as you maintain quality of service and provide added value. Aside from using engagement ads to promote new or existing offerings, engagement marketing can also come in the form of rewards. Even in online advertising, you can't afford to forget your anniversary gifts and occasional bouquet of flowers. Try rewarding audience members for their loyalty with prizes or by donating to the charity of their choice. While this may seem like a high-maintenance approach, a very satisfied user is more likely to tell their friends about a service.
This kind of viral promotion can provide higher quality audience opportunities too. New viral marketing recruits who are referred by your loyal audience members are invaluable because they have a better initial understanding of your product. Since a kind of chemistry already exists between the new viral marketing recruits and your network, they are more likely to remain in your network and will require less wining and dining than users recruited through traditional approaches.
The rules of engagement in online advertising benefit from what we know about everyday relationships: (1) Establish trust by delivering early on your promises and (2) continuously add value to your relationships so that the honeymoon never ends.
Lotus E. Kam is a business intelligence analyst at Platrium.
