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Television, radio, and print media used to be the only forms of advertising before 1994. The concept of online advertising was born with the first banner ad appearing on the HotWired website.
Since then, technology has rapidly advanced, providing customers with more avenues to consume media and products. Advertising platforms have expanded from social media and e-commerce websites to mobile applications, smart TVs, and streaming services.
With the top 370 digital platforms now to choose from, businesses can reach a diverse and global audience. However, B2B and B2C marketers need a more focused approach, like cross-platform advertising, than simply blasting out advertisements to all platforms.
Let’s explore the concept of cross-platform advertising, its importance, benefits, and strategies for successful implementation.
Cross-platform advertising is a marketing strategy to reach your audience where they spend their time, irrespective of the device or platform. This approach considers the customer’s behavior, their device usage, and the platforms they use to access media.
For example, a B2B company may use LinkedIn to reach professionals, while a B2C company may promote its products on Instagram to target a younger demographic. The goal is to create a consistent and cohesive brand message across platforms to capture the attention of potential customers.
With new technologies and multiple platforms, customers are no longer limited to a single device or platform. They switch between devices and platforms to consume content or make purchases.
For example, In the USA, 16 to 66-year-old internet users use multiple platforms in a month, with Facebook leading at 75.4%, followed by Instagram (63.9%) and TikTok (50.2%).
People may scroll through Instagram while watching TV, use their laptops for work, and TikTok during breaks. They may see an advertisement on one platform and purchase the product from another. A business that is present on only one platform is at a disadvantage, as it limits its reach and potential customer engagement.
Here are some benefits of cross-platform advertising that can help businesses achieve their marketing goals.
By utilizing multiple platforms, businesses can reach a broader audience and increase their chances of engagement. The more platforms a brand is present on, the more opportunities it has to reach customers and create a lasting impression.
For example, a clothing brand may reach busy professionals on LinkedIn, fashion enthusiasts on Instagram, and potential buyers browsing Amazon or Google. The diverse audience can contribute to increased brand awareness, website traffic, and potential conversions.
Cross-platform advertising allows for more targeted and personalized marketing. By analyzing customer behavior on different platforms, businesses can align with the interests and preferences of specific groups.
For instance, a beauty brand may use Facebook data to target customers interested in skin care while using Instagram to promote makeup products. Advertising platforms also offer advanced targeting options, such as age, location, and interests, to create targeted advertisements.
Consistency is key to building brand awareness and trust. Businesses can create a cohesive brand experience for customers by being present on multiple platforms.
Nowadays, customers expect to see a brand on various platforms, and a lack of presence can make businesses appear outdated or unreliable. If customers see an advertisement on one platform and visit the brand’s website on another, they should experience the same branding elements and messaging.
With consistent brand presence, businesses can also create a strong brand reputation and increase their chances of customer loyalty.
A sales funnel is a customer journey from discovering a product to purchasing. When a customer sees an advertisement for a product on one platform but purchases from another. This behavior may indicate that the customer is further down the sales funnel and closer to making a purchase.
The journey between platforms can also be optimized to provide a seamless experience for customers and increase conversion rates. For instance, businesses can use retargeting advertisements to remind customers of products they viewed Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) on one platform when they switched to another.
With cross-platform advertising, businesses can track customer behavior and optimize their marketing strategies accordingly.
Advertising on multiple platforms may seem expensive, but it can be cost-effective in the long run. By targeting specific groups and optimizing advertisements, businesses can reduce wasted ad spend and increase return on investment (ROI).
Moreover, many advertising platforms offer analytics and reporting tools to track performance and make informed decisions. Businesses can identify which platforms are most effective by analyzing data and allocating their budget accordingly.
To maximize the benefits of cross-platform advertising, businesses can follow these top strategies for successful implementation.
The audience you want to reach and engage with should drive your cross-platform advertising strategy. Their demographics, interests, and behaviors on different platforms should inform your decisions on which platforms to prioritize.
For instance, a B2B company may succeed more on LinkedIn than on Instagram, while a fashion brand may see better results on Instagram and Pinterest. The location and culture of the target audience should also be considered, as certain platforms may have more popularity in specific regions.
To start, businesses can conduct market research and utilize DMPs (Data Management Platforms) to gain insights into their target audience. For more detailed targeting, businesses can also create customer personas and use them to guide their cross-platform advertising efforts.
The content, messaging, and visual elements you deliver at every customer journey stage should be consistent and aligned with your overall brand identity. This creates a strong brand reputation and helps customers recognize and trust your brand across platforms.
To achieve this, businesses can develop a style guide that outlines branding elements such as colors, fonts, and tone of voice. The designs and content used in advertisements should adhere to this guide, ensuring a cohesive brand experience for customers.
Other elements, such as logos, slogans, and brand messaging, should remain consistent across platforms. A unified brand image also helps customers remember and recognize the brand easily.
The unique features and audience of each platform should be considered when creating advertisements. While the overall brand message should remain consistent, businesses should tailor their content and approach to fit the platform and its users.
The filters, hashtags, and user behavior on Instagram differ from those of Facebook or Twitter. Therefore, businesses should adapt their content and messaging accordingly. They can also utilize features like location-based targeting, audience interests, and hashtag tracking to reach a specific group of users on each platform.
As mentioned earlier, cross-platform advertising should consider the customer journey from discovery to purchase. By mapping out this journey and identifying touchpoints at each stage, businesses can optimize the user experience and increase conversion rates.
For example, a customer may see an advertisement for a product on Facebook, click through to the website, and add it to their cart but not make a purchase. Retargeting ads on Instagram or Google can remind them of the product they are interested in and encourage them to complete the purchase.
The journey between platforms should be seamless and consistent, with a clear call to action at every step. This requires coordination across different advertising teams and platforms. Still, it can lead to increased customer engagement and sales.
You want to know which platforms and campaigns deliver the best results for your business. First-party data, such as customer behavior and engagement on a brand’s website or app, can provide valuable insights for cross-platform advertising. This data can be combined with third-party data from platforms to understand the target audience better.
Your best-performing platforms and campaigns can inform future advertising decisions, while underperforming ones can be adjusted or discontinued. Regular tracking and data analysis can help you save money by optimizing your advertising spend.
As with any marketing strategy, there are challenges and limitations to cross-platform advertising that businesses should be aware of.
The increasing number of platforms, devices, and channels has led to a fragmented audience and media landscape. Different platforms also have different user interfaces, algorithms, and ad formats, requiring a customized approach for each one.
Moreover, with so many options available to consumers, they may not be as loyal or engaged with one platform. This makes it challenging to reach and engage with a specific audience consistently.
The performance of campaigns across channels is often measured differently, making it challenging to compare and optimize results. A unified measurement system that considers reach, engagement, and conversions on different platforms would help businesses better understand their cross-platform advertising efforts.
Ad serving and targeting are becoming more sophisticated, but so are consumers’ use of ad blockers. As more users become concerned about online privacy, they may opt for ad-blocking tools. This can limit the reach of cross-platform advertising and brands ability to track user behavior.
To mitigate this, businesses should focus on delivering relevant and valuable content to consumers and being transparent about data usage and targeting practices.
Each platform has limitations and restrictions on ad formats, like Instagram and Snapchat’s vertical video-only format, which may not work well for an ad designed for a horizontal display. This can limit the creativity and effectiveness of advertisements.
To overcome this challenge, businesses should consider designing ads for each platform. Alternatively, they can utilize flexible ad formats that work across different platforms.
Cross-platform advertising also raises concerns about data privacy and compliance with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA. Businesses must ensure that user data is handled responsibly and that all ad targeting and tracking practices comply with relevant laws.
Failing to do so can result in legal consequences and damage a brand’s reputation and trust with consumers.
To overcome this challenge, businesses should consider designing ads for each platform. Alternatively, they can utilize flexible ad formats that work across different platforms.
A demand-side platform (DSP) with an omnichannel approach can help businesses overcome the challenges of cross-platform advertising.
VenziMedia’s DSP, for example, offers a centralized platform that can manage and deliver campaigns across multiple platforms. VenziMedia’s advanced targeting options utilize first-party data to enable businesses to reach specific audiences on different platforms, maximizing campaign effectiveness.
