Digital Ad Targeting: 3 Ways For Small Businesses To Break Through

Digital Ad Targeting: 3 Ways For Small Businesses To Break Through

Today’s world is more digitally interconnected than ever before. With all of the different types of media available, the challenge for marketers has become how to best reach consumers and deliver a message that has impact. One of the most effective ways to do that is to incorporate a distinct message at the right time to target specific consumers; this can be achieved with precision through digital media. Here are a few types of digital ad targeting that can improve your marketing results.

Geo-Fencing: Target Users by Place and Time

Geofencing refers to the use of a targeted location, or fence, where prospective customers are found. Our geofencing software tags consumers who enter the geofence, so that they can be served ads on their location-enabled mobile devices. Ads can be served the same day the person enters the fenced area, or may be served later depending on your business’s needs. Fences can be as large or small as your business requires, down to a 400 meter radius.

  • First, you’ll need to identify a location you wish to target, whether it is a city or town, an event, a building, or even a parking lot.
  • When consumers enter the predetermined location, their mobile devices are tagged.
  • Your business’s specific ad or ads are then delivered to apps and websites being accessed on mobile devices.
  • This allows for ads to be targeted by time and place, giving businesses the ability to access very specific groups of consumers that might otherwise not be targetable.
  • Popular geo-fencing locations are sporting events, college campuses, shopping centers, conventions, concerts, and parts of cities.

Targeted Display Advertising: Target Users by Demographics and Interests

Have you ever noticed that some ads seem to relate to your interests?  This is the work of targeted display advertising:

  • Targeted display advertising includes the use of demographics, interests, and approximate location to display specific ads to consumers that match their interests and needs.
  • Digital agencies can target specific ads to consumers as they navigate the internet. Along with location, this allows companies to reach people in specific demographics, such as higher income adults who are interested in sports.
  • This strategy works well to create brand awareness or to advertise sales or events.

Paid Advertising on Search Engines: Target Users by Search Engine Queries

Paid search advertising, or pay-per-click (PPC), refers to an advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay based on how many users click on a digital ad that appears on a search results page:

  • This is the fastest and surest way to drive web traffic to your website and generate leads.
  • Ads are only showed to consumers who are using relevant search terms when using search engines, such as Google.
  • Terms are selected by the advertiser, in consultation with your digital agency, which means you have control over what products and services you promote.
  • Advertisers pay per click, rather than per impression, ensuring that ad costs are low and impact is high.
  • An effective PPC technique is to buy search terms such as “near me”, allowing advertisers to put their brands in front of consumers who are ready to buy.

Find the Right Technique for Your Business

These techniques are just the beginning of how you can use digital marketing to reach exactly the right customers at the right time and place. At LNP Media Group, we’re happy to help you plan the most effective ways to meet your digital marketing goals. We offer free consultations for you to discuss how to best advertise for your business. Contact us today and let us know how we can help with your next marketing campaign.

Digital Marketing from the “Newspaper?”

Digital Marketing from the “Newspaper?”

Digital marketing has become a critical part of most marketing plans. Platforms like Facebook/Instagram offer unmatched audience targeting, paid search advertising reaches specific customers who are ready to buy, and geofencing reaches mobile audiences within narrow geographic areas. The question we often get is, “Why do I want digital marketing services from the newspaper instead of a dedicated digital marketing agency?”

In this article, we’ll demonstrate the reasons why your business will get the best results using “the newspaper” as your digital marketing agency:

  1. Digital marketing credentials – We earn, and maintain, digital marketing credentials that demonstrate our expertise.
  2. Local – As a newspaper, we have a long history as a part of the Lancaster County community, and we understand the importance of having a local team you can talk to. Our team includes local artists, videographers, photographers, and digital marketing strategists.
  3. Design – We have robust graphic design capabilities that are offered at no extra cost to advertisers.
  4. Multi-channel and multi-audience – Because we have deep expertise both print and digital marketing, we are experts at creating multi-channel campaigns to boost performance by reaching targeted audiences wherever they spend time.
  5. Proof of performance – Newspapers have long understood the need for transparency and factual information. With LNP Media Group, you’ll know exactly where your money was spent and what results your campaign generated.

Digital Marketing Credentials – LNP Media Group is a Google Partner and Meta Certified

LNP Media Group’s historic roots in the newspaper business mean that we know the value of credentials to prove the truthfulness of our claims to have digital marketing expertise. Our Google and Meta credentials show our clients that we have taken the time and effort to master these platforms, and that we can bring that expertise to a business’s marketing campaigns.

We are not a fly-by-night digital marketing agency; LNP Media Group has been in business for over 225 years. We have embraced the digital marketing era and will continue to stay at the forefront of the learning and credentials needed to maintain our expertise.

Google Partner:

  • To be certified as a Google Partner, LNP Media Group’s digital team members had to pass exams to validate our understanding of Google Ads (Google’s advertising platform) and Google Analytics (Google’s website traffic analysis tool).
  • We also have to show Google, on an on-going basis, that we’re managing a significant amount of digital advertising, and we have to verify that we have sustained growth in the number of clients we serve.

What does this mean to your business? It means that when you use LNP Media Group for a Google campaign, you can be sure that our team is on top of the latest advances in Google’s ad serving technology. Google offers a broad array of campaigns and we can select the best ones for your business’s goals. Among the options are:

  • Search campaigns – These campaigns target people who are actively searching online for specific items and services to purchase. This is an excellent campaign type if your goal is to drive sales or leads through your website.
  • Display campaigns – These campaigns are best for creating awareness and consideration of your business’s brand, products and services. Display campaigns use visually appealing ads to help drive interest. You can target people who have visited your website, or who have visited a competitor’s website, or who have interests in topics related to your brand.
  • Video YouTube campaigns – Video is a highly engaging content type that can tell the story of your business. Your business’s video can be shown as pre-roll, outstream, skippable in-stream or non-skippable in-stream.
  • App campaigns – These campaigns run on over 3 million sites and apps and are great for promoting downloads and engagements with your app.
  • Shopping campaigns – Use shopping campaigns if you have an e-commerce store so that your ads will appear in the Google Shopping tab and in search results. This campaign type is excellent for conversion.

Our status as a Google Partner also means that the Google support team is just a phone call away. Our proven expertise translates into a better return on investment for your digital marketing campaigns.

Meta Certified:

  • To become Meta Certified, our team members had to study the details and pass exams to demonstrate mastery of Meta’s targeting and campaign management tools for Facebook and Instagram.
  • We understand the details of the audiences that Meta can reach, and the best placements for your Meta ads. We also understand best practices in setting objectives to drive the right kind of traffic and engagement with your campaign.

What does this mean to you? It means that when you use LNP Media Group for a social media campaign, you can be sure that our team is on top of the latest advances in Meta’s ad serving technology. Meta offers a broad array of campaigns and we can select the best ones for your business’s goals. Among the options are:

  • Awareness – This type of campaign objective will cast the widest net to reach the most people and let them know about your business’s brand.
  • Traffic – This type of campaign objective will increase traffic to your website, app, or Facebook page.
  • Event promotion and ticket sales – We have used Meta many times to successfully drive event attendance and sell tickets for many types of events.
  • Leads – This campaign objective is best for getting people to share information about themselves for further communication later, such as signing up for an e-newsletter.
  • Sales – This campaign objective is great for e-commerce, to drive product sales, including adding items to a cart.

Our Staff Are Local

Many digital marketing agencies will not tell you that they use offshore contractors to set up and run campaigns. In this digital world, it’s tempting for marketing agencies to use inexpensive overseas labor.

However, with our long history as a local news organization, LNP Media Group does not use offshore labor and never will, even for digital marketing.

LNP Media Group has been deeply rooted in Lancaster County for over 225 years, and this connection means that we only hire people who live and work in this area. We believe that offering employment is a benefit to our community, and we also believe that, as a marketing agency, we perform better by having local people who can get to know businesses in-person. As you work with us, you’ll get to know the names and faces of our team members. This builds trust and transparency between your business and our team.

Graphic Design Services Free for Advertisers

LNP Media Group’s long newspaper history means that we have always had a strong cadre of creatives on staff. And because newspapers have tight daily deadlines, we know how to work quickly and efficiently. In prior decades our artists were focused on creatives for print advertising, but our capacities have expanded with the rise of digital marketing. View some portfolio samples here.

Graphic design services are free when you advertise with us, whether using our owned-and-operated media or using outside services like Google and Meta.

Our design expertise includes, but is not limited to:

  • Newsprint and magazine ads
  • Digital ads: jpg and png
  • Animations: gif and html5
  • Billboards
  • Event materials like table tents, step and repeats, signage, booths
  • Illustration
  • Brochures and flyers
  • Van wraps
  • Video and photography
  • Logo design and branding

But, if you’re not advertising with us, that’s ok! Our graphic design services are also available as a fee-for-service.

Multi-Channel and Multi-Audience

LNP Media Group is different from a typical marketing agency because we have our own media distribution that we use to efficiently deliver audiences that no one else can:

  • We own LNP, a local daily newspaper with strong circulation.
  • We own Lancasteronline.com, the largest news website in Lancaster County with over 1 million unique visitors per month.
  • We own a TMC (total market coverage) weekly circular called Pocket.
  • We own two weekly newspapers, the Lititz Record Express and the Ephrata Review, that provide hyper-local news content for their communities.
  • We publish a tourism magazine, Visit Lancaster, three times a year that is distributed to hotels and tourism attractions in Lancaster County.
  • We publish Balance magazine, a glossy lifestyle magazine with beautiful photography and informative articles.
  • On top of all that owned-and-operated media, we can layer digital campaigns with pinpoint precision through geofencing, paid search, email marketing, targeted display, and Facebook/Instagram.

The fact that LNP Media Group is “the newspaper” means we have local ownership of news media that allows us to bundle together digital and print marketing to create the most effective marketing plan possible.

And, in July of 2023, LNP Media Group became part of WITF, a non-profit locally owned and operated media company in Harrisburg PA. WITF is an affiliate station of both NPR and PBS.

This combination of two local media powerhouses, WITF and LNP Media Group, creates incredible marketing opportunities for local businesses. Through this partnership we can provide your business with every possible type of marketing campaign, from print to digital to public radio and TV sponsorships.

We Deliver Clear, Measurable Digital Marketing Results

With our historical roots in the newspaper business, LNP Media Group understands the importance of building trust through factual, transparent journalism. This integrity carries over to our work in marketing, where we demonstrate our transparency through digital marketing campaign reporting. With every marketing initiative we create for your business, you will get a report that shows exactly where your money was spent, and the results that were achieved.

Here are a just a few examples:

  • An email marketing campaign for a local auto retailer resulted in 17 cars sold with a return on investment of over 100%.
  • A paid search advertising campaign for a heating and air conditioning company increased sales leads by 165%.
  • A Facebook advertising campaign for a local retailer resulted in 1,431 sales leads at a cost per lead of $0.81.

You can read more detailed examples on our case studies page.

Our roots in the newspaper business also mean that we understand the critical importance of the small business community in Lancaster County. Because of this, we offer digital advertising rates that are very affordable and get outstanding results.

Are we “the newspaper”? Yes, we are proud to be Lancaster County’s locally owned and operated daily newspaper for over 225 years. You’ll find that this heritage has tremendous benefits for your business when you use LNP Media Group as your marketing agency.

Let’s take the first step of getting to know each other with a free marketing strategy session. Together, we’ll review your business’s goals and craft a custom marketing proposal to achieve those goals. To get started, contact us today!

 

LNP Media Group is committed to delivering exceptional experiences to our audiences, our customers, our vendors and our employees throughout Lancaster County and Central Pennsylvania. We provide value to our marketing and advertising partners by building effective and innovative solutions and by delivering exemplary customer experiences.

Marketing Tips for Home and Holiday Retailers

Marketing Tips for Home and Holiday Retailers

Fourth Quarter is Just Around the Corner. Are You Ready?

For businesses in the home and holiday markets, July is truly the calm before the storm. While home décor and holiday sales are traditionally very slow in July and August, September heralds the return of the hordes of eager shoppers. They’re ready to outfit their home for the cold weather and make this the best holiday season ever.  

It’s no secret that fourth quarter can make or break a home fashion or holiday business. It makes sense to start planning your fourth quarter marketing strategies early. We can help.

The Goal is Top-of-Mind Awareness

When you think of phones, which brands come to mind? When you’re considering a new vehicle, which brands do you look at first? The brands that popped into your head have top-of-mind awareness with you. They are the brands you think of first when you think of that category.

Top-of-mind awareness is one of the most powerful marketing goal. Think of your best customers today. They come to your store often. They don’t complain (much) about price. They’re loyal. You have already achieved top-of-mind awareness with those people. Wouldn’t it be great if you could create the same kind of awareness with hundreds, even thousands, of new customers? This Fall your business goals should go beyond creating awareness. You want to create top-of-mind awareness.

Here in Lancaster County LNP Media Group offers a variety of ways to create top-of-mind awareness. We all know newspaper offers a highly visual medium. But did you know that LNP readers tend to be 40+ homeowners with families and above average income? For many home and holiday marketers, that’s the sweet spot.Lancaster County Consumer Advertising

That’s why, every Fall, LNP Media Group creates special Fall home sections developed to engage homeowners looking for ways to make this season the best one ever. Contact us to discover all the ways these special advertising opportunities can help your home and holiday business.

Combine the Reach of Print with the Laser-Focus of Digital

Nothing beats LNP for creating brand awareness, but if you want to combine your awareness campaign with super-targeted digital ads, we’ve got some great tools to help drive traffic into your door at the right time. LNP Media Group offers geo-fencing, a relatively new technology that pushes your ads out to customers’ mobile devices when they’re close to your store. That means they’re g
oing to be reminded of your business when they’re already in the neighborhood.

We also help businesses create special promotional landing pages, social and internet ads and help push those ads out to the targeted audiences that are most likely to purchase your goods. Be sure to contact us so our team can explain all the exciting digital options to your business.

Promotional Marketing

Even the most loyal customer needs an occasional push to get them to shop at your business. Break through shopping apathy with exciting promotions and sales. While nothing moves people to action like super low prices, if you want to maintain margins, you may want to consider fun, thematic promotions that pique curiosity and encourage foot traffic. It requires your business to think creatively and get a little less predictable. Have a sale on everything orange. Run a scratch and win promotion. Unveil new merchandise at an invitation-only event.

And then promote it creatively with things like digital landing pages, social media ads and geo-fenced mobile ads. Fourth quarter is a time to make big, bold moves, so be creative and try moving outside of your comfort zone.

We’re Ready to Rock the Fourth Quarter

LNP Media Group is continually growing and adding new, exciting technologies to our suite of marketing and media products. If you have talked to us lately, fourth quarter is the time to get reacquainted. Give us a call and we’ll help you make this your best fourth quarter ever.

LNP Media Group is committed to delivering exceptional experiences to our audiences, our customers, our vendors and our employees throughout Lancaster County and Central Pennsylvania. We provide value to our marketing and advertising partners by building effective and innovative solutions and by delivering exemplary customer experiences.
LNP Media Group is a division of Steinman Communications, one of the largest and most experienced communications companies in the Mid-Atlantic. Steinman Communications is an innovative, multi-channel communications company that delivers high quality news, information and entertainment to diverse audiences.