The secret to getting higher returns on your ad spend

Has the performance of your ads plateaued? Have you been running campaigns online - either on Facebook, Instagram, Google or YouTube - and you're not getting the same results like you used to? Unsure why?

After years of strong performance in paid digital media, brands have been able to enjoy simply collating some punchy copy with thumb-stopping creative to sell their wares online.

Meta and Google's ad products have made it as easy as possible for you to spend with them (there's a reason why they're two of the biggest tech companies in the world right now; ≈80% of their annual revenue comes from the ad campaigns you're spending money on with them ;) )

The tech giants offer low barriers to entry (heck, you can boost an Instagram post from just £20), they provide seemingly laser-focused audience targeting, they give you pretty immediate feedback on the campaign performance, and of course the cherry on top is that it's all analytical - with the safety of black & white numbers providing "solid" reporting to your CEO, so everyone's a winner.

Right?

Wrong.

Much like the bull market in venture capital investment coming to an end, so too has the hey-day of this instant gratifying form of online advertising.

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If you've been running ads for a while and performance is dwindling, and you've been pulling out your hair trying to figure out how to ramp up results, the answer is likely to be in your brand...

The secret to boosting ROAS (Return On Advertising Spend) is to build a strong brand.

'Marketing a strong brand means you get to play the capitalist game in "easy" mode.'

In-depth reports by industry heavyweights including the likes of Mark Ritson, Peter Field and Les Binet conclude that a strong brand - i.e. one that's values-driven, mission-led, distinctive, relevant, and with high audience awareness - is the single contributing factor to ANY form of advertising (whether it's a Facebook campaign or an iMax wraparound).

Brand recognition is key to any successful marketing campaign. With a strong brand, you can increase your ROAS and see better results from your marketing efforts.

Read our 5 top tips on how to build a challenger brand.

But first, what is ROAS?

Return on Ad Spend, or "ROAS"* is a great way for digital marketers and e-commerce businesses alike to evaluate how effective their advertising campaigns were. This metric can be useful for creating a correlation between revenue generation and advertising efforts and for comparing the effectiveness of one advertising campaign against another. It’s important to note a high return on ad spend does not necessarily mean profits for the company, as there are other expenses that must be factored in.

*(Fed up of discovering yet another marketing acronym? And were maybe to embarrassed to ask?! Bookmark our definitive glossary of marketing acronyms.We're not judging).

Got it. So how does a strong brand lead to higher ROAS?

First off is the awareness piece. Brand awareness is a major factor in starting to sell online. When you have strong customer base and brand loyalty, then it's easy for your business start generating sales from the leverage of this knowledge. Needless to say, it will take time before such businesses can start producing high-converting digital marketing programmes as you need to build trust among customers as well create credibility with your target market first.

As Rory Sutherland once said: 'Marketing a strong brand means you get to play the capitalist game in "easy" mode."

Then there's the multiplier effect. A strong brand forms the foundation of ANY marketing activity. In marketing science, there's a phenomenon called "the multiplier effect" - whereby the campaign success increases exponentially based on the number of channels, with brand always sat as the foundational layer that lifts results across the board.

Lastly, optimise for conversion. An innovative product, a strong brand and an impressive website can all help you generate leads or better yet sales. You need to ask yourself - is your company interesting enough? Do they have one of the most engaging websites on earth that hooks visitors till its end to convince them not only stay but also buy from you. The power of a good website is undeniable. A professional and easy-to use site will give you more credibility than any ad on social media, which means that it's directly responsible for your success in marketing efforts like PPC ads or email campaigns.

Ultimately, you don't want to neglect your branding - it can make a big difference in your bottom line!

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If you're ready to invest in branding then get in touch with Bloom, the award-winning marketing agency for tech startups and scale-ups in the UK. We specialise in working with tech scale ups and know how to create a powerful brand that will drive results.