Boosting Your Content Strategy with Paid Ads: Best Practices and Tips

You may be familiar with the common phrase “content is king” in modern digital marketing. How your brand is presented to potential customers is just as important as the products and services you sell. But what good is great content if no one sees it? 

There are many avenues for marketing, but perhaps the one with the most consistent reach is paid ads. They allow businesses to create a precise distribution and funneling strategy that ensures valuable content reaches the right audience with the right message. Whether you’re promoting a whitepaper, blog post, or demo video, paid ads can amplify your reach for more leads, clicks, and conversions.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how to use paid and sponsored ads. We’ll also cover best practices and the most effective channels for promoting content so you are set up for success right from the get-go. 

Paid Ads as a Distribution Strategy 

Paid advertising isn’t just for lead generation or driving traffic to web pages. It’s an incredibly effective way to share and distribute content otherwise limited by organic reach. This is especially relevant for B2B content when a business competes with hundreds of others to reach the right decision-makers.

Depending on the type of ad, you want to reach different audiences. For example, platforms like LinkedIn are perfect for B2B content because they allow you to target professionals based on industry, job title, location, and even company size. Believe it or not, 97% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for content marketing. LinkedIn shares your ads as sponsored content in users’ feeds, blending seamlessly with other posts, enabling you to promote your content in a way that doesn’t feel overly intrusive. 

This is the most vital part of any paid ad: capturing attention without disrupting the user experience. That’s why it’s important to utilize the ad platform's robust targeting features to drive customers down the sales funnel with valuable content, keeping them informed and curious. 

Best Practices for Promoting Content

When it comes to promoting via paid ads, there are many platforms to choose from, each with its quirks. However, there are several universal best practices you should follow to get the most out of your campaigns:

Know Your Audience

The key to a successful ad campaign is crafting content that truly resonates with your audience. You must understand who you’re targeting to be successful. The myriad of targeting options available on ad platforms will enable you to narrow your reach to those who will be most interested in your content. This is why it’s vital to understand them. We also recommend creating buyer personas to help understand your market segments.

Craft Compelling Copy

Your ad copy should be concise and direct but also meaningful to your target audience. In B2B spaces, customers often prefer to be told how you solve their problem over a generic product pitch. Always highlight the value of your content within any copy you're promoting and include a clear Call to Action (CTA), such as "Read Now" or "Download the Guide," to encourage users to engage with your ad.

Perform A/B Testing

This term refers to creating different but similar content and copy to test how one performs over the other. By creating variations of your ads, you will gain a better understanding of what resonates best with your audience. This can apply to headlines, images, landing pages, and CTAs, so always try a few variations to find what works.

Optimize Landing Pages

Always pay extra attention to the landing page users are directed to from your ads. It must match the content and value offered in the ad and provide a clear path of engagement for the visitor to move them down the sales funnel. This ensures a seamless user experience to drive higher ad conversion rates.

Track Performance

Always use analytic tools to track the performance of your ads. How your ad performs in metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, bounce rate, etc., will give you valuable insights into the level of engagement across market segments. This data lets you know what’s working and what’s not.

These tips enable you to create strong, compelling ads that drive conversions and resonate with your audience. However, no ad is perfect, and sometimes tweaks must be made. That’s why it’s best to utilize practices like A/B testing and performance tracking to understand where and what needs to be changed. 

Do’s and Don’ts of Paid Ads

It’s not enough to simply run paid ads—you need to ensure that the way you create content and run the campaign is ideal for your business and your long-term goals. Here are some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when promoting valuable content through paid ads:

Do’s:

• Ensure your content is high-quality: The first step to drawing in customers is offering truly valuable content. Your content should be insightful, educational, and relevant to your target audience, especially in B2B ads.

• Use clear, engaging visuals: Well-made visuals make a difference in catching attention. Always use high-quality images, videos, or GIFs that align with your brand and message to make you stand out in a crowded ad space.

• Personalize your content: Tailor your messaging to your target audience. 9 out of 10 B2B decision makers find thought leadership important. Customers want to see that you can speak to their current problems and the industry as a whole.

Don’ts:

• Use misleading headlines: While it might be tempting to use clickbait, misleading headlines will hurt your brand’s credibility. Consistently deliver on the promises made in your ad.

• Neglect mobile optimization: Over 60% of social media users and web users access content via mobile. Ensure your ads and landing pages are optimized for mobile phones to appeal to a wider audience.

• Forget about retargeting: With the metrics and data from your campaign, you can run retargeting ads. Once a user has interacted with your content, you can retarget them with more personalized offers or content for better campaign performance.

By using paid ads to distribute valuable content, you’re not just looking for clicks—you’re building brand authority, fostering engagement, and driving business results. Paid ads should be a powerful tool in your content marketing strategy, helping you reach the right people for your product or service. So, follow these best practices, avoid the common pitfalls, and watch your content shine. 

If you aren’t sure where to start, we’re here to help. We’ll work with you to craft content that resonates with your audience and drives growth for your business. Let’s talk content.