Digital advertising is a multifaceted form of promotion that offers a wide range of opportunities to reach your audience. Nowadays, with users spending more and more time online, digital advertising is becoming one of the most effective marketing tools for achieving huge reach.

Digital advertising vs. Internet marketing

The terms “digital advertising” and “Internet marketing” are often used interchangeably, which is not quite correct. Internet marketing is only a part of digital marketing in the broadest sense. The difference is that online marketing operates exclusively online and reaches users online. In contrast, digital marketing also includes offline activities, such as ads displayed on multimedia screens or the use of QR codes on posters and flyers that direct viewers to websites.
Digital ads can be defined as ads on a screen. Due to the fact that technology at the time is developing at a very fast pace – this field of marketing is also developing. So it is worth keeping up to date with technological and industry news.

Digital advertising – opportunities

Digital advertising offers many ways to reach audiences, but effectively exploiting its potential requires knowledge of both marketing and industry specifics. It is important to know where potential customers are, what they are interested in and what content can attract them. Knowledge of current trends also plays an important role.

Among the most popular forms of digital advertising are:

  • SEO – search engine positioning. In Poland, the most popular browser is Google (used by more than 95% of users), although Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo!, Yandex are also present on the market;
  • SEM – search engine advertising;
  • advertising in applications, games or instant messaging;
  • advertising in Social Media;
  • e-mail marketing;
  • content marketing – content marketing, e.g.: blogs, sponsored articles;
  • advertising on outdoor screen media, e.g.: LED screens, self-service terminals.

Digital advertising is only effective if it reaches a well-targeted audience. That is why it is so important to determine where potential customers are and tailor the advertising message to them. Inadequate targeting can lead to so-called “budget burnout,” i.e. spending on ineffective channels.

It is also worth combining different forms of digital advertising to increase the chances of conversion. Special attention should be paid to trends – especially in social media, where dynamic changes affect the effectiveness of campaigns.
What’s more, while digital advertising offers great opportunities, you shouldn’t forget about traditional methods of promotion, especially if you’re running a local business.

Advantages of digital advertising

One of the primary advantages of digital marketing is reach. This type of advertising gives the opportunity to target the advertising message to people all over the country and even the world. This is not possible with traditional forms of advertising or even television, which are limited in terms of territory and, for example: worldview.
Digital advertising offers the possibility of precise targeting of the advertising message. Targeting can take into account elements such as gender, location, interests, age or behavior. As a result, it is possible to reach a precisely defined audience, and thus spend the budget in a way that maximizes the chance of conversion.
Traditional forms of marketing, such as flyers or radio advertising, do not offer the possibility of precisely determining campaign results, such as reach, number of clicks, conversions or impressions. Systems through which digital advertising is broadcast measure all these elements. As a result, after the campaign is over, we have an accurate picture of who the message reached and how many times. It is then possible to determine the real effects of the campaign.
Another advantage of digital marketing is the ability to optimize the advertising budget. Advertising on the Internet is relatively inexpensive compared, for example: to advertising on TV. The ability to optimize campaign settings in real time or depending on the results makes it possible to manage the budget very carefully and use it as efficiently as possible.

Disadvantages of digital advertising

When describing the advantages of digital marketing, we must also mention its disadvantages, because like any tool – digital marketing has them. However, their existence does not mean that one should give up the opportunities and potential benefits it can bring. However, in order for digital ads to be converting and campaigns to be effective – it is necessary to know them and adjust advertising in such a way as to avoid possible negative effects.

When discussing the disadvantages of digital marketing, they mention:

  • high competition – especially for popular phrases and SEM advertising. The advertising budget should be adjusted in accordance with the competition, otherwise the ad may not be visible against others;
  • legal restrictions – before starting a campaign, it is worth checking the compliance of ads with the law. If in doubt, it is advisable to consult a lawyer;
  • time-consumption – especially in the case of content marketing, which requires time for the advertiser to create engaging content, and for the viewer to read the material;
  • adblocks, which are filters that users can set up for themselves. Their function is to block the display of ads. Such actions can have a particularly negative impact on ads targeted to industries whose users are familiar with such solutions and use them frequently, such as: gaming;
  • the risk of being annoyed by an ad if it is displayed too often. So here it is worth ensuring that one message or graphic creation is not used too often and for too long. Otherwise, there may be a so-called “message burnout.” This one will cease to be attractive, it may even become annoying to the audience, which will consequently negatively affect brand opinions.