When it comes to advertising, there’s a lot of opportunity to reach a wider audience and generate new and valuable leads if a brand is willing to collaborate with another. Some avenues we talk about a lot on our blog are paid advertising with Google and social media sites, but the breadth of online opportunities for paid advertising stretches much further than this.
No matter what industry your business is in, there will be relevant publications for your target audience. Online magazines and websites cover a range of topics, from common and widespread themes to those that are much smaller and niche. Trust me, if your business works in a niche sector or encompasses a niche theme, there will be some sort of publication, online or in print, to suit.
Why advertise in a publication?
There really is a publication for everything, and finding one that fits into a niche area of your business or demographic means that its readers will most likely fit perfectly into your target audience. It can be invaluable to get your brand in front of such a specific demographic, especially when trying to connect with a particular market segment that you perhaps are not reaching via your usual marketing channels.
Magazines are often seen as more credible and trustworthy sources compared to other advertising channels. Being featured in a respected magazine can enhance your brand’s credibility and reputation, as well as encourage more leads from the advertisement. This sense of authenticity allows brands to tell a more elaborate story about their products or services using in-depth, creative content, building a stronger narrative and connecting with the audience on a deeper level.
Readers of magazines and similar publications are often more engaged and receptive to advertising than other media. People typically read magazines whilst relaxing, meaning that they usually are willing to spend more time looking at ads. This is similar for online publications, although the addition of an online search bar means that many users will come to the publication in search of a specific topic or advice as well as simply glazing over the latest articles and additions.
Most magazines and similar publications have a wide range of advertising opportunities. Brands can choose between lower cost, small placements, up to larger, multi-page pieces of content for a higher price. Brands both big and small can likely find a suitable and affordable advertising deal in many publications. Magazines often offer opportunities for cross-promotion, where brands can collaborate with the publication on editorial content, events, or other promotional activities. This can further enhance visibility and reach.
Types of ads
Brands can run various types of advertisements with digital or physical publications to reach their target audience effectively. Some magazines will run package deals, where you receive multiple advertising types for a discounted price. Others will allow your ad to appear both online and in print, helping to increase its reach across physical and digital readership.
Here are some common types of advertisements in publications:
Display ads
Display ads are graphical and can include images, text and sometimes interactive elements. They come in various sizes and formats, such as banner ads, pop-ups and header ads, as well as larger spreads, such as a quarter page, half a page, a whole page or a double page spread. Sometimes a display ad will be designed to match the look and feel of the content it is around, blending seamlessly with existing editorial aspects and providing a less intrusive advertising experience. Other times, the ad will boldly display your brand’s colours, fonts and themes, standing out from its surroundings.
Advertorials
Also known as sponsored content, advertorials are created by your brand in a way that resembles the publication’s regular content. The type of content used for an advertorial will depend on the usual content of the publication, but could be a how-to guide, a thought piece or an informative article. Advertorials can allow you to engage the audience in a way that doesn’t appear overly promotional but provides value to the readers.
Product reviews
If your brand produces a product, you may be able to send an example to the publication for their team to review and share with their readers. It’s worth checking whether product reviews are something that fits with the publication’s usual content, and some publications may only offer sponsored reviews, where you are not only required to send a product but also pay for a review to be written and shared.
Email marketing
Most magazines and other publications will have an email database, full of contacts that have opted-in to receive marketing content. Brands can advertise in the publication’s regular newsletter by placing an ad format in. However, you may also choose to run a dedicated email campaign, where an email is based entirely on your brand and the message you want to convey, sent to the entire email database. This is a great method of direct communication with your target audience.
Running an ad in a publication
Firstly, you need to have a clear idea of what you would like to advertise. Are you simply looking to increase brand awareness, or are you trying to promote a particular product or service?
Take the time to research different publications that really fit with the message you want to convey. If you plan on placing physical ads within a publication, remember that you most likely will not have a say in what other content your ad appears aside, so check what sort of businesses are advertising currently and what sort of editorial content is being produced, as you never know what your ad will appear next to! The same goes for email campaigns – even if you’re sending a solus email that is purely focused on your brand, you have no idea what the publication sent its subscribers most recently before your email. If your brand’s values seem to align with the publication, you probably have little to worry about on this front.
Most publications will have a media kit that you can download straight from their website. The media kit will lay out the year’s topics and themes, as well as share various metrics, such as how many views the website gets, how many people are in their email database and the types of job roles found within the database. There may be examples of how different types of ads look or are displayed to help you decide which type is right for your needs. Price lists for the different types of ads on offer will usually be included in the media kit too, but if not, you’ll need to contact the advertising or sales team.
If you want to proceed with an ad type, get in contact with the right department at the publication to discuss further. Find out if there are any restrictions, as well as specific sizes, formats, layouts and word counts to ensure that the specifications will fit with your needs. Don’t move forward with an advertising opportunity if you aren’t sure that it can benefit your brand and provide value.
After you’ve run an ad campaign, always analyse the results. The publication should be able to send you certain metrics to help you understand how successful the campaign was. Think back to your original goal for the ads. If you were looking to promote a product or service, have sales gone up after running the ad? If you were simply looking to increase brand awareness, has the amount of visitors to your site increased?
The effectiveness of these online advertisements depends on factors such as the target audience, the nature of the product or service, and the chosen platform. A well-rounded digital marketing strategy often combines several of these ad types across various outlets to maximise reach and engagement.
If the process of sourcing opportunities, liaising with sales teams and analysing the results of your ad campaign seems like a bit much, why not enlist the help of a friendly agency?
