How To Use Paid Media at Each Stage of the Buyer’s Journey

Paid media is a powerful lead generation tool. Its versatility allows makes it a useful tactic use in every stage of the buyer’s journey. But to effectively get leads with paid media, you need to have a solid strategy in place. This article will explain how to use Paid Media at each stage of the buyer’s journey. 

Paid Media From Start To Finish!

There are three main stages in every buyer’s journey: awareness, consideration, and decision-making. Here is an overview of how paid ad campaigns fit into each stage:

Using Paid Media During the Awareness Stage

Awareness entails capturing the buyer’s attention and making them realize that they need your products/services. It requires that you know and understand the buyer’s pain points, enabling you to come up with a relevant ad.

At this stage, your ads should focus on a broad target audience, as many potential customers don’t even know that they need your products/services yet. The ideal marketing channels to use at this stage are social media platforms, as that is where many people spend most of their time online. As such, launch subtle awareness campaigns on popular social media sites, especially Instagram and Facebook. Google’s marketing networks, especially the Google Display Network, are also resourceful.

Using Paid Media During the Consideration Stage

Consideration entails convincing potential buyers that your products/services are right for their needs. It requires some persuasion on your part, as the buyers may not be ready to make a decision. The goal here is to showcase why your products/services fit the buyer’s needs and what makes them better than the competition.

This stage offers an opportunity to use the ads used previously in the awareness stage. Expectedly, the buyer will be actively researching related products/services. Consequently, you should make use of search ads to make yourself discoverable to potential buyers. Finally, expand your campaign to other platforms such as Google Discover and YouTube, in addition to platforms used in the awareness stage.

Using Paid Media During the Decision Stage

This stage is all about conversion. It entails getting potential buyers to buy your brand, and it involves showcasing the most popular selling points of your brand. Leveraging paid ads in the decision-making stage demands that you successfully execute the first two stages to close the deal.

The ideal marketing platform for this stage is the Google search network. This is because most buyers who are ready to buy mostly rely on Google for their online shopping. As such, you will need to be visible on the Google search results page by leveraging SEO and Google’s ad tools. Finally, consider any other partner platforms and third-party sites where potential buyers may flock.

Working With a Full-Funnel Marketing Agency

Paid media integrates well with any marketing strategy. The most important factors to take into consideration at each stage are the potential buyer’s mindset, how to craft ads that fit into those mindsets, and which marketing platforms to use to reach the buyer.

It is safe to say that this brief guide suffices as a blueprint for any marketing campaign. However, the experience is the best teacher and if you feel like you could use some help, do not hesitate to contact an agency partner for assistance.

To learn about our approach to Paid Media and Growth Marketing, download this FREE guide today!