With a new year comes the opportunity to plan your marketing and advertising strategies for the upcoming year and beyond. One type of advertising that requires this type of planning is paid advertising. 

Paid advertising is a type of advertising that involves you paying to place ads on search engines or social media platforms. Along with the creative aspects of the ads, you need to consider your budget and schedule. 

Here are three steps to take to plan your paid advertising for the upcoming year:

1. Figure Out Your Target Audience

Before you start any advertising campaign, figure out the target audience of your product or service. One way to do this is by building a buyer persona or a fictional representation of your ideal customer. This persona contains information gathered from data you collect about your customers. 

Along with demographic information like your ideal customer’s age, gender, and location, consider their interests when creating this persona. For example, if you own a pet supply store, you want to target pet owners. That way, you can find and possibly convert the best leads for your business.

2. Set Goals

Like anything you do, you want to set a goal for your paid advertising. For example, you may want to gain a certain number of conversions in the next month. Structure your strategy in such a way that this goal is achieved through actions you can measure to evaluate its success.

Keep in mind that these goals can change over time based on the needs of your business. Although you can create a goal for the year, it’s okay to make adjustments as time goes on. Analyzing your data on a regular basis can help you see what you need to do to meet those goals. 

3. Create a Budget

As a small business owner, you may think you can’t afford paid advertising. The truth is, you can as long as you create a budget. Once you determine how much money you have to devote, choose a bidding strategy that fits your budget and goals.

An auction determines paid advertising placements. This auction requires advertisers to bid for certain spots. These bids can be made automatically through your advertising platform, like Google, for example.

Your bidding strategy determines how the platform uses your budget. It is based on how much you want to spend on acquisitions, conversions, and the amount of return you want from your ad spending.

Start Planning Your Paid Advertising

Though the paid advertising marketplace changes over time, you have control over your campaign’s budget and goals. As exciting as this can be, you may find it challenging to know where to start. If you need help with your paid advertising strategy, contact Links Web Design for a free consultation today!

Links Web Design is a Paid Advertising Agency in Bangor, ME, and Fruitland Park, FL.