Many entrepreneurs have concluded that platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and programmatic display are overhyped. The reason for this is that they are focusing on 'engagements' or clicks as the measure of value.

When a business owner mentions 'engagements', it sets off alarm bells. It indicates that the business is using only a fraction of the power of these platforms. Many think that digital platforms are an electronic answer to ads in a local newspaper or a way to boost their social posts; they are so much more.

And they are not using conversion tags and optimising campaigns for sales or even landing views because they believe it is expensive and too complex to get it right. A lot of small business owners say that they can't use algorithms to target the most relevant user based on their behaviour because they don't have the budget to work with an agency that can help them with the tech and the data. 

This is a misconception since most of the major platforms have worked hard to make their toolsets more accessible to non-expert users, including the small business owner.

The hard part is to correctly set up the small business's accounts with each platform, configure the relevant tracking and optimisation tags and link them to Google Analytics for effective goal tracking.

You don't need to be an expert with data and algorithms to find the most relevant customers for your product and target them with the right message. If you have tags correctly implemented on your websites, the algorithms will be in place and ready to do the heavy lifting for you.

Digital platforms give small businesses the ability to talk directly to customers and prospects on their smartphone at the right moment and with the right message to drive an outcome such as an impression, video view, click, lead, app install or conversion. When done well, it's highly measurable and extremely effective. 

Here are some tips for small businesses to get started:
  • Make sure that Google Tag Manager is correctly implemented across all of your web pages.
  • Facebook advertising is a powerful channel — especially for business-to-consumer companies. But it only really works if your tags are linked to GTM.
  • Link your Google AdWords account to your Google Analytics account to ensure all data is synced.
  • Once your tags are in place, set up the campaign to automatically optimise for your desired end-goal. This couls be a sale, a lead or even a visit to a store locator page.
  • If your sales volumes are low, the platforms' algorithms won't have the data they need to effectively optimise your campaign for final sales. You could instead optimise for another step in the customer journey, where there is more data available, such as a customer adding a product to the shopping cart.
  • Don't get distracted by the hundreds of different targeting options across the various social and programmatic display platforms. Let the artificial intelligence find the most relevant audiences for your company. Segment only when you need to reach a narrow niche, for example, professionals with a four-year degree.
  • Create multiple custom audiences using existing data from customer lists, page visitors or data purchased from third parties. Also, create lookalike audiences of people with similar profiles to your best customers.
  • Use custom audiences both to include your target consumer and to exclude people outside your audience. As an example, don't target people, who have recently purchased the product you're advertising.
  • Use Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) strings, which are an addition to URLs that allow you to easily see the source of each conversion in your analytics tools.
  • Use Google Smart Display for a quick library of creative options. It combines your existing web assets — headlines, images and more — to create responsive display ads. This saves you from paying for creative development and ensures optimal bidding and targeting strategies.
For more information, visit www.datacoremedia.co.za.