Maybe digital marketing reshaped how businesses connect; now, this kinda marketing? A super powerful thing in your toolkit. PPC or pay-per-click ads? People only cough up cash when someone clicks through to their site, like a product page. If a new or expert PPC understanding could revamp your marketing.

PPC, what’s that, and why does it even matter?

Before diving into tactics, maybe first answer a basic question: What’s PPC? Pay-per-click advertising what’s that, I wonder. PPC ads? Advertisers pay a fee whenever someone clicks, which is how that digital marketing thing works. So, instead of getting visits naturally, you’re kinda paying for traffic to your site or page.

PPC’s true advantage? Probably its pinpoint accuracy. For keywords, demographics, locations, perhaps even time, make sure you focus. Specificity like this makes sure your brand connects with folks already searching for products similar to what you offer. When someone Googles “running shoes,” see your brand skyrocket to top results and unlock tons of prospects.

You can find PPC options across major platforms such as Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn Ads. Each platform? Audiences differ, so see building exposure as a chance to connect with prospects on-site or elsewhere.

The PPC – Branding Power of the PPC

Old-fashioned advertising is like throwing a net into the sea and, hopefully, catching a few good prospects. PPC turns this on its head, presenting your brand directly to people who are already demonstrating an interest. These targeted items provide a ripple effect for brand recognition in multiple ways.

First, PPC provides immediate visibility. PPC, unlike SEO, which can take months to take effect, has your brand in search results within hours. This immediate presence conveys that you exist somewhere in the world (which is a good start) and you’re not letting the marketplace carry on without you while you develop your organic positions.

Secondly, PPC affords you control of your brand message. You write the headlines, descriptions, and landing page copy prospects see. Such a control serves to maintain your delivery of a consistent brand message through multiple touch-points, supporting your value proposition and brand personality.

Third, the information from PPC campaigns gives you valuable information about your audience. You discover what words excite, what messaging matters, and what demographics and psychographics engage with your brand best. These data help you not only with PPC but with the rest of your marketing strategy.

Strategic Approaches to PPC Brand Building

Understanding what is PPC is just the beginning. Successful brand awareness campaigns require strategic thinking about keyword selection, ad messaging, and audience targeting.

Keyword Strategy Beyond Direct Sales

A lot of businesses focus their PPC strategy only on these high intent, ready-to-buy keywords. Although these do drive sales, building a brand is a little bit more holistic than that. Use informative query words that people use during the research process. If you’re a seller of accounting software, you might want to aim for phrases such as “how to manage small business finances” or “accounting tips for startups.”

This tactic puts your brand in the role of the helpful and expert friend, and leads to confidence before customers are even prepared to buy. And, when they finally do need your product, yours will be the first brand they think of.

Geographic and Demographic Expansion

PPC gives you a way to experiment with new markets without a huge risk. If you want to expand to new cities or target a different age group, PPC campaigns can test interest and brand receptivity before you actually or heavily invest your resources.

Begin with small budgets in test markets. Watch not just click and conversion rates, but how much increase in brand search volume and social media mentions they generate in those regions. You can use the information to see how effectively your brand appeals to audiences that are new audiences.

Seasonal and Trend Capitalizing

Previously successful brands stay in touch with now by relating to holidays and topical events. New PPC initiatives can be deployed within 2 weeks to take advantage of these opportunities.

When there are big sporting tournaments, a fitness brand could go live with campaigns targeting what’s relevant around those keywords.” Making a splash during tax seasonFinancial services can increase visibility with tax-related content. This timeliness will ensure that your brand remains at the front of customers’ minds, and show that you appreciate how their needs are changing.

Next-level PPC Strategies for Brand Awareness

In addition to such on-the-nose campaigns, smarter PPC strategies can also hugely complement brand awareness efforts.

Remarketing for Brand Reinforcement

Remarketing campaigns target people who have previously interacted with your brand but failed to convert. These campaigns are an excellent brand-building device because they make it so your business shows up when prospects are doing their research.

Develop multiple remarketing campaigns with varied messages for each segment. A person who landed on your pricing page may be shown testimonials and trust signals. A reader of your blog could now encounter product-oriented ads. This piecemeal approach grows leads and keeps the brand in-market throughout the buyer journey.

Competitor Keyword Targeting

Strategic bidding on competitor brand terms can improve your visibility to their audience. This takes very careful implementation to not fall under any branding copyright laws, but it can be a great way to get your brand in front of people contemplating the other side of the fence.

Emphasize your value propositions that make your ads unique here. Don’t just repeat your competitors’ messaging; articulate what makes your brand unique. This approach draws in customers who never would have found you under other circumstances.

Display and Video Advertising

Of course, search ads are just one small part of the PPC puzzle. Display and video campaigns can significantly increase your brand’s reach throughout the web.

Display ads are visually stimulating and used to raise brand awareness on the sites that your customers actually visit. Video campaigns on networks like YouTube can bring your brand’s story to life in new and immersive ways. These visual formats work extremely well for brand awareness because they make a lasting impression, even if people don’t click.

Common PPC Brand Awareness Mistakes

Most businesses fail on PPC brand awareness campaigns simply due to the fact that they use direct-response methodologies for awareness purposes. Here’s what not to do.

You’re narrowing your brand’s potential audience scope to those who are already in a purchase state by only targeting bottom-of-the-funnel keywords. These keywords deliver results, but they don’t create the overall awareness needed for long-term brand growth.

Relying solely on conversion-focused ad copy means missing opportunities to express the brand values and personality. Brand advertising should strike a balance between motivating CTA and brand messages that clues in the consumer and encourages familiarity and trust.

Disregarding the visual aspect in display and video campaigns undermines brand promotion. Strong branding across all PPC formats with brand colors, fonts, logos, and imagery helps reinforce brand identity and increases recall.

If you don’t match your PPC messaging to what your brand is saying in various marketing channels, it presents a disjointed brand experience. Make sure your PPC campaigns reflect and echo the brand messages customers are seeing in social, email marketing, and other channels.

Building Long-Term Success

Knowing what is PPC is paramount, but securing a successful brand presence means treating PPC as an instrument of the bigger picture strategy. The best campaigns are layered on top of your content marketing, social media, email marketing, and public relations.

Begin with evident brand-awareness aims. Define what success is beyond those clicks and advertisements today. Establish goals around brand search lifts, awareness survey findings, and how successfully you were able to engage users.

Ensure brand message is consistent in PPC advertising across all types of formats and on all venues. Your paid search ads on Google, the content you promote in display campaigns on Facebook and the LinkedIn sponsored content should all support the same core brand messages and values.

Test and optimize constantly on brand metrics, not just performance metrics. An ad with a lower click-through rate may lead to more brand searches or sentiment, after all. Balance the imperative of instant performance with the goal of long-term brand building.

Conclusion

PPC Ads provide you with great opportunities to create industry and brand awareness in the challenging digital environment. If the businesses come to grips to what is PPC and roll out brand-building campaigns with a view not necessarily for conversion but for exposure, then they get long-term exposure and mind share.

It’s about moving beyond immediate response metrics and harnessing the storytelling, audience, and brand-building capabilities of PPC. Successful brand awareness campaigns link focused keyword strategy, compelling creative and strong measurement together.

To start, audit your current PPC efforts keeping in mind brand visibility. Identify opportunities for greater targeting, the need for messaging refinements and metrics to measure how the brand is being built. Below, you can read about the benefits of and best practices for PPC, and learn how you can leverage this unique marketing channel to grow your brand.