Why Some SMB Publishers Switch to Programmatic Advertising

By Marianne Chrisos - Published on May 16, 2019
Why Some SMB Publishers Switch to Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising continues to help businesses of all sizes with their digital marketing efforts. It allows business marketers to reach their buyers in the digital spaces they already shop and browse. One LinkedIn professional notes, “Programmatic is buying digital advertising space automatically, with computers using data to decide which ads to buy and how much to pay for them, often in real time. Traditional ways of buying digital ad space involve the publisher running the campaign, while programmatic puts the control to manage and measure back in the hands of the advertiser.”

This automated digital buying helps businesses use data to create a larger branding presence among their target audience. Marketing Week says, “Rather than buying a million impressions on The Telegraph in one go and committing to that over a period of time, a brand can buy a million impressions but split across multiple publishers or media owners, targeted at a particular audience segment.” This gives all brands the power to create more personalized advertising experiences for their customers.

This can be particularly beneficial for small and mid-size businesses. Startups and smaller companies often need to personalize and specifically target their advertising as much as possible in order to get the most ROI on their marketing efforts. Programmatic advertising also allows small businesses to save time on their advertising and marketing efforts so that they can effectively get their message in front of people but also free up more time to focus on other parts of the marketing plan and supporting the business strategy. Marketers, for instance, can focus on creating compelling, effective content instead of manually managing which platforms they need to display ads on.

How Small and Mid-Sized Businesses Are Using Programmatic Advertising

Here are some ways to use programmatic ads so it’s helpful for your small or midsize company.

#Don’t over target

Creating audience segments to effectively but you can overdo it. Having too small of an audience to market to won’t be effective enough to justify your efforts and create the kind of impact and engagement that your business wants to see.

#Consider an agency

Small to mid-size businesses don’t always have the resources to employ a dedicated digital team, never mind employees who are dedicated to programmatic ad efforts. Using an agency can help your company save; by tapping into their expertise, you free up internal resources and also avoid costly mistakes that inexperienced buyers may run into.

#Remember the long game

Even with a successful AdTech method like programmatic advertising, businesses might not see results right away. It’s important to remember that automation is a tool, not a strategy and that even small business owners or SMB managers need to make time to pay attention to and tweak even automated campaigns.

SMBs still have a lot of room to grow in the programmatic ad space. The UK Domain notes, “Currently, only 20% of small businesses that advertise online integrate programmatic into their marketing strategy, but two-thirds of programmatic-using small businesses intend to increase their annual programmatic ad spend within the next year. This indicates that programmatic is slowly gaining traction – and providing value – for small and medium-sized businesses who are proactively taking the role of early adopters and dedicating some of their marketing budgets to programmatic ad buying.”

Data is a powerful marketing tool, and programmatic AdTech uses it to help businesses in a big way. By using data to target audience segments online, programmatic advertising helps match your brand message with the right audience. Plus, programmatic advertising publishers offer brands feedback data so that they can see how customers interacted (or didn’t interact) with their content so that they can make adjustments to their marketing assets. With the right programmatic ad publishing partner, your business can see a big increase in brand exposure and also automate some of your marketing efforts.

Marianne Chrisos | Born in Salem, Massachusetts, growing up outside of Chicago, Illinois, and currently living near Dallas, Texas, Marianne is a content writer at a company near Dallas and contributing writer around the internet. She earned her master's degree in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University in Chicago and has worked in publishing, advertising, digital marketing, and content strategy.

Marianne Chrisos |Born in Salem, Massachusetts, growing up outside of Chicago, Illinois, and currently living near Dallas, Texas, Marianne is a content writer at a company near Dallas and contributing writer around the internet. She earned her master's degree in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University in Chicago and has worked in publishing, advertising, digital marketing, and content strategy.

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