In today’s advertising landscape, brands constantly are faced with the decision of whether to explore new ad platforms beyond the traditional giants like Meta and Google. But how do you know when it’s the right time to expand your ad channel portfolio?
Previously, we outlined criteria for prioritizing paid social channels. But in terms of expansion, consider these additional factors.
A Common Paid Media Scenario
The saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But that isn’t always the best advice.
Many brands achieve their goals on Google and Meta and scale efficiently, so they may not feel an immediate need to explore new ad platforms. Here are reasons why adjusting your media mix may be worthwhile.
Mitigate Platform Risk
When your ad spend is concentrated on one or two ad channels, you’re vulnerable if either experiences outages, bugs, or seasonal performance issues. Even a policy change could have major consequences on your ad performance. We’ve seen companies get locked out of their ad accounts for no reason at all, and it takes weeks to get a resolution.
Performance Fluctuates
Your go-to ad platform today may be over-crowded tomorrow. User habits change. Competition increases. Other platforms experience a resurgence. Be proactive to uncover opportunities elsewhere. For example, consider Pinterest Predicts, an annual report that details search trends from its 482 million users. This could be a greenfield for your product.
Don’t Let Platform Benchmarks Mislead You
Let’s say your Meta campaigns generate a $0.50 cost per click (CPC) and 1.5% click-through rate (CTR). Meanwhile, Reddit data estimates the CPC to reach your target audience would be between $1.45 to $2.25, and the CTR would range between 0.25% to 0.37%.
Why bother with Reddit, you might ask, and you could be right. But don’t assume that the funnel behavior in one platform applies universally. Conversion rates, average order values, and customer lifetime value could vary significantly for the customers that you acquire via Reddit ads compared to Meta. The only way to find out is by testing.
Client Support Is Not Uniform
Depending on your budget, the quality of ad rep that is assigned to your account can vary drastically. A helpful ad rep makes a big difference, particularly as it relates to beta product tests, benchmarking, bonus media opportunities, faster support turnaround times, account reviews and more. Smaller ad platforms may offer more personalized support, potentially yielding better results than larger platforms like Meta or Google.
Platform Synergy
Advanced media mix modeling can show the compounding effect of advertising across multiple platforms. In short, 1+1 can equal 3. While not universally applicable, certain platforms can significantly enhance performance when used in conjunction. Testing is essential to determine which platforms work best for your brand.
Interested in exploring new ad channels for your brand? Reach out to [email protected] for a free consultation.
