When marketing, and especially when advertising, website managers will need to captivate the audience with something that catches the eye and is aesthetically pleasing once attention has been grabbed. Small, seemingly insignificant factors can make a large impact on this marketing, including the various combinations of words, graphics, animations, and even basic colors.
When beginning an advertising campaign, web managers, whether managing a mortgage website or any kind of site really, need to evaluate the goals of this strategy, the maneuvering necessary to achieve these aims, and how to effectively perform the maneuver. With these things in mind, you will need to determine the overall message of the advertisement, as this message must align and mesh with the tone of the advertisement.
When crafting a banner, one must consider both the image and the text. To make the most of these advertisements, this article will provide 10 tips for creating an effective banner advertisement:
1. Study.
When creating a banner ad, the best way to start is to find examples of successful or effective banners online and study them. To this end, visit major websites that receive a lot of traffic and compare some of the different techniques used in banner ads, finding ones that particularly appeal to you. Next, identify the common characteristics of these banners and think of creative ways to utilize these techniques to suit your own advertising strategy. Not only will this give you a sense of what already works, but it can help you define your brand’s advertising style and personality.
2. Speak Clearly.
Metaphorically and literally. An unclear message can be misinterpreted, but will generally be ignored for its ambiguousness. Rather than force a potential consumer to take a minute to decipher the message, an advertisement should evoke a particular reaction, usually to capture the viewer’s interest in the product. By making the message clear and understandable, the consumer will be more enticed and will immediately know whether or not he or she would be interested in purchasing the product, whether a mortgage product such as an ad for FHA loans or any something entirely different. Regardless of the product, a clear message will make a tremendous difference, as many ineffective advertisements may evidence.
3. Regulate the file size.
Web browsers can easily grow frustrated by large sized banner ads that must load before the page will finish materializing. While this may get the ad more attention, consumers may be more inclined to ignore the ad even if the product itself was something that they would potentially be interested in. To address this, web managers should limit the file size of the ad. In general, a 468 x 60 pixel banner should be no more than 12 kilobytes. One method for reducing file size with colorful advertisements is to save the image as a GIF file.
4. Keep it simple.
The most effective advertisements will be able to provide a strong, clear message in seven words or less. With a relatively small space to use for the ad, this is even more critical, so you may need to work at phrasing the text in different ways to find what works best without taking up too much space. Remember, the less text to read, the more likely that the visitor will actually read and digest it.
5. Choose words wisely.
Along with maintaining a simple message, web managers should try to use power words that convey an immediate and tempting benefit. Examples include the words “free,” “affordable,” and “incredible,” which evoke a feeling of opportunity with minimal cost on the part of the consumer. Create a list of these words for use within the campaign and experiment to see which get the best results for your advertisement.
Continued next week in Part 2!