Should You Pay for Ads?
While paying to see real, instant results in the fitness community isn't possible (but how nice would that be?) the same can't be said for the marketing world.
We discussed the benefits of improving your organic search results in a previous post but now it's time to explore the other side of the coin; paid ads.
Paid advertising is a marketing method where companies pay a publisher (like a search engine or website owner) each time someone clicks or views their ads in a search result, on a website, on social media, or on another digital platform. Ever wondered how that (slightly annoying) fitness "influencer" keeps ending up on your Instagram feed even though you refuse to follow them? Paid ads. Keep seeing your rival gym popping up above yours when searching specifically for your own gym on Google? Paid ads.
As we mentioned in this post, many are quick to dismiss paid ads in favour for organic ones but this isn't to say that there's no positives to paid campaigns!
- Results are instant. According to Hootsuite, the average reach of an organic post on a Facebook page is around 5.2%. That means roughly 1 in 19 sees the page’s non-promoted content. Let's be honest, this is a bit of a flop. With paid ads, you're guaranteed to reach a defined audience.
- You know targeted weight loss isn't real, but targeted marketing is. With paid ads you can target a specific audience and reach relevant visitors who are interested in your brand, fit the demographics of your sales personas and reside in the exact geographic location you want to target. Advertise to potential clients within a 2-3 km radius of your gym. You can't do this with organic SEO.
- You don't need deep pockets. You can choose a paid campaign that suits your needs and your budget. Paid ads can cost anywhere from €1 to €38, depending on your goal and ad type across search engines and social platforms. That's less than the cost of a single PT session, and you're likely to get more clients in return.
I’ve said this on a few posts now but definitely love how with Paid Ads through Google, you are given exact measurements of who, how far and when the ads are being reached – not so much with traditional advertising where you have to rely on a not. Much like foot traffic, paid ads also bring traffic to a site then it is up to the creators to engage with the audience and create engaging, interesting and educational content which turns these people into customers. Sure who knows Rebecca, maybe gyms should start creating more videos on how to get the perfect BBL and then they’d be well in business from revenue on views alone haha.
ReplyDeleteSEO is really like going to the gym. It takes a lot of work and effort to see results and there are no real shortcuts. Google Ads to SEO is a bit like the magic pill where you can see results faster (except for it works). If are using the research that is put into SEO for Google Ads and Social Media Ads you are definitely going to reach your target audience, considering you have so much control over the budget it is worth exploring to see if it gives a boost. @oxana had some great ideas on videos there for the BBL, this could be the start.
ReplyDeleteSEO is similar to the hard work we put in in the gym day in and day out and eventually we do see somewhat of a result, but it does take time, Paid Ads can bring you right up to the top of the SERP but again its not so simple if you didn't put in the background work of researching. Targeted marketing is definitely the way forward - it is a much more practical use of resources too I might add. I enjoyed the humour and gym puns in the blog! Cant wait to see what you write next!
ReplyDeleteWoah, '1 in 19 sees the page’s non-promoted content', really does show that if you don't invest in paid ads you can effectively become invisible on platforms.
ReplyDeleteGreat point regarding demographics of sales personas and exact geographic locations, it just simply can't be done with SEO. Businesses could be pouring over an SEO strategy and that time is money, whereas, like you've pointed out, paid ads can target your specific audience. I think businesses that don't use paid ads probably haven't realised the importance of a 360 approach, that paid ads work side-by-side a well researched SEO strategy.
Great blog post Rebecca! SEO is great to an extent, it’s free but as you mentioned it’s only targeting 1 in 19 viewers on Facebook, whereas paid ads are targeting a defined target audience. Paid ads are an ideal tool for small gym businesses that want to attract a local audience and as you mentioned, you can achieve this by location targeting your ads. Paid ads don’t cost the earth either, setting budgets allows businesses to manage their spend and in return convert more clients to their gym, it’s a no brainer!
ReplyDeletegreat post
ReplyDeletegreat tips and some excellent takeaways and food for thought.
Caitriona