Most performance marketing agencies will try to find you new customers with product ads from the outset. But we don’t think this tactic works with the modern consumer. It’s too direct. Too salesy.
It’s possible that some of your target customers don’t know your brand yet. If that’s the case, these people might not be receptive to an unsolicited sales ad. You need to introduce yourself first. The prospect needs to get a feel for who you are and what you stand for.
In the past it might have been OK to go straight in there with an ad for your products. But not anymore. Today’s consumers expect more from brands. They expect useful information that can help them with their own objectives. If you’re asking for a prospect’s attention — and eventually their money — you have to offer something of value in return.
Sales ads simply don’t convert unless the prospect is already interested.
That’s why at Pollenary our initial focus is on generating interest in your brand and what you do. We create engaging content that is likely to resonate with your target customers. This could be some trends and insights about your market, or a blog offering prospects advice related to your product or the problem that it solves.
Your target audience is much more likely to engage with content-led ads than product-led ones. At least to begin with when you’re getting to know each other. It’s a bit like finding out about someone’s interests on a first date rather than getting down on one knee. We’re sure that the first date proposal has worked for some people, but most of us would probably be a bit freaked out by it.
Of course, once prospects have engaged with our content-led ads, we then reinforce and re-target with more product-focused ads. But that’s further down the line, once we know that they’re interested.
Why the work that we do occupies a unique space in the market
At Pollenary, the work that we do takes place at the intersection between performance marketing, content marketing, and influencer marketing. It’s a unique approach that has resulted in a significant increase in ROI for the brands that we’ve worked with.
We’ve already talked about our belief in the importance of content in generating interest in your brand amongst prospects. We believe that performance marketing works much better and generates better results if the conversation with potential new customers begins with some engaging, helpful content.
Most performance marketing brands hit your prospects hard with sales ads. But, as you’ve read, this just doesn’t work with today’s consumers.
What about influencers?
Social proof is really important in marketing. If your prospects see someone else - particularly someone they respect - engaging with your product, it can have a powerful impact on them wanting that product, too.
Influencer marketing can inject a little bit of authenticity into the adverts that we create. Particularly if it includes a visual of the influencer engaging with the product in a natural way. It makes the product seem a lot more personal.
What’s more, you instantly increase your reach via the influencer’s existing audience - that’s a lot of potential new customers.
The intersection between these three forms of marketing is a perfectly natural one for the average social media user. It’s a space they see every day and feel comfortable in. If your brand can operate in this space too, you have a great chance of engaging with this audience.
