This year, digital marketing and its nemesis, ad blockers, have seen increased monetization and usage. In 2016, over 615 million devices had an ad blocking service installed, according to a Business Insider study. Generally, people do not want to see ads because they see them as a money-grabbing annoyance to their internet browsing pleasures.
When consumers can be reached, digital marketing has proven to be one of the most effective ways to reach them. Advertisers lose millions of dollars due to ad blockers. Even if an agency like SandCrestSEO has the best ads, market research, and ad placement, money will be wasted due to ad blockers on the devices they hope to reach.
The question of how much money will be lost requires more information about the agency’s budget and desired outreach. Ad blockers affect small businesses because losing half of your advertising budget to reach 1,000 consumers is more costly than losing half of your advertising budget to reach millions. With the right knowledge and workarounds, anyone can overcome ad blockers. The first step is to understand why people use ad blockers.
Four reasons advertisements are ignored
- Many people find advertisements obtrusive and intrusive in their online experience. Especially when pop-ups are involved. Consumers may feel over-marketed to.
- Users have been duped by ads before and now refuse to click them. With just one horror story about an ad infecting someone’s device, or an ad refusing to close even after the consumer clicked the “X”, customers are gone.
- Advertisements also slow down browser speed. Multi-media advertisements can slow down a consumer’s browser, making them angry with the advertiser.
- Concerns about digital privacy have increased. Many users feel violated when ads related to past searches start appearing in their feeds. Unnerved consumers have sought out ad blocking services.
Accept the Fact: Most Users Hate Ads
Consumers dislike ads, which is a sad reality for advertisers. Advertisements are intrusive, obnoxious, and a source of frustration for consumers, not creators. The forced consumption of ads can lead to a consumer base that harbors animosity towards the company. Whether this aversion is rational or irrational, the fact remains that consumers dislike being hammered with ads, which is exactly what digital marketing does today.
According to a HubSpot digital advertising survey, 48% of consumers find online ads more intrusive than a year ago, and clicking to remove ads is frustrating. Clearly, consumers do not want advertisements, but businesses need them, so how does a company get consumers to do something they do not want?
Bring the Customers to You
Many consumers dislike clicking on advertisements for various reasons, but without clicks, an advertisement is useless. A company is in business because it believes it can provide something consumers want, but without proper advertising, consumers will never know about it. The first step is for the consumer to click the ad. How does an advertisement get people to click on it? Here are some ideas:
- Tease the consumer into thinking they can get something by clicking the ad.
- Request from the consumer. Encouraging consumer interaction by including a “click here” feature has been proven.
- Make sure your advertisement appeals to the consumer. This may entail more consumer research, more careful scheduling or location selection, or even targeting a different consumer type. A different color or border may be all it takes.
- Know where to draw the line between advertising and consumer privacy. Confronting consumers’ ad blocking issues with the right digital marketing campaign can mean the difference between a sale and a loss.
The bottom line
Of course, great content is important in advertising, but getting it in front of consumers and causing interaction is like half the battle. It’s vital to understand what aspects of a digital marketing campaign are driving consumers away. Ad blockers are widely used and are unlikely to change, but with the right content and techniques, advertisements can once again reach consumers. A digital marketing campaign can succeed by respecting the consumer and having powerful ads.