When Should You Start Using Paid Media For Your Business?

If you aren’t familiar with paid media by name, you’ve absolutely seen it in the wild. One tends to think of ads in the traditional sense, such as billboards, tv spots, etc, but the most effective ways to advertise are changing as the world becomes more digital. 

What paid media, in particular, refers to is digital advertising. It can be anything from YouTube ads to sponsored posts on Facebook or Instagram. So what does all this mean for you? 

Depending on where your business is in terms of its growth, it might be time to implement paid media into the larger scope of your business. Keep reading to find out if it’s the right time for you. 

Are You Looking To Go Beyond Free Media?

You might have seen similar businesses or brands build a huge social media following and wonder how they are doing it while you make the occasional Facebook post but only getting a few likes doesn’t really make you want to focus more time into it.  

Don’t feel like posting isn’t worth the effort, odds are you need to put more focus into it and not less. If you are at the stage where you feel like you need more brand awareness in the digital world, paid media might be the ticket you are looking for. 

Speaking Of Brand Awareness

Increasing this is probably the biggest and most straightforward benefit of making the switch to paid media. By using sponsored or promoted posts, users will begin to see your brand more and more and even start to eventually recognize it. This will lead to more credibility and influence users when looking to make a purchase and your brand is what sticks out in their minds. 

Keep in mind that promoting your brand doesn’t guarantee sales. Going with paid media will get your brand in front of their eyes, but what they see must keep them there. Memorable images and clever, witty writing is going to be just as important when it comes to having your brand staying in the consumer’s consciousness. 

Once You’ve Learned Your Demographic

Seeing who is more interested in your brand or products might be obvious depending on what you are offering or it might be a surprise to see who clings to what you provide. Once you have the data of what demographic is purchasing what, making the move to paid media might be the right decision for you. 

While paid media is typically less expensive than traditional media, thanks to models such as pay-per-click, you’ll still want to make sure you choose the right platform.  While Facebook was once known as the go-to for college kids, that’s not typically the case nowadays. 

Gen Z might have Facebook accounts, but you are much more likely to find someone in that demographic on places like TikTok or Instagram. If that has been who has gravitated toward your brand, your effort and dollars will be much better used by introducing paid media onto those platforms.