Show Me the Money - Google AdWords and Facebook Advertising

Pay-per-click advertising can be a cost-effective way of boosting traffic and leads

Social Media, when used consistently and properly can improve your brand recognition, customer satisfaction, referrals and ultimately, increase sales. Creating great, useful content can bring more visitors to your site and your store. When combined, these methods have proven to be the most sustainable and longest-lasting ways to improve your internet presence*. Most companies can expect to see results in six to twelve months.

But, what if you need more internet activity NOW?

Consider Redirecting Traditional Advertising Budgets to Online Platforms

For a Pharmacy Owner, the phrase “Google Adwords�? can conjure up campaigns of Cheap Online Canadian Pharmacies or ads for dubious holistic remedies. The first thing that comes to mind upon hearing “Facebook Ads�? might be the highly public and scathing reports by GM, which recently pulled most of advertising from the site, claiming that Facebook Ads don’t pay off.

In reality, Pay Per Click Advertising including Google Adwords, Microsoft Ad Center and Facebook Ads can be effective tools to target and market you your prospective clients. How? Consider a few advantages of digital advertising.

Creating Brand Awareness – On a Budget

If you are an Independent pharmacist with a limited geographical reach, you may find it difficult to compete with national chains and their giant advertising budgets.

Display Ads, such as those by Google are commonly displayed on sites your customers access every day, including local news stations, weather sites and community pages. Targeting trusted sites like these can be effective in raising brand recognition and advertising ongoing promotions.

Rather than paying a set price to publish in local newspapers and magazines, Google Display Ads are Pay Per Click (PPC), meaning you only pay when someone clicks on the ad and visits your website. Hence, they can be highly cost-effective, especially when your goal is to create brand awareness.

Take for example this display ad campaign recently set up to run on select websites of various news outlets. In its first four days 11 viewers clicked for more information, but had 11,389 views – all for under $30!

Advertise to Only Those Areas You Serve

Many pharmacists own one independent pharmacy, set up to serve a specific community, so there is no need to market to a large area. With online advertising, you can limit your ads so that they are displayed only to viewers in a precise town, region, or a radius from a specific location.

Is your pharmacy located in an area with seasonal visitors? Google’s geographical targeting can bet set so that if a prospective customer from out of state is searching for one of your services or products (such as “pharmacy in mytown�?), they will see your ad. Your ads can also be set up to show your address and telephone number in the body of your ad and allow them to click on a link to your Google Places page.

Don’t Forget Mobile!

Searches for health information on mobile devices increased 134% from December of 2010 to December 2011, and will certainly continue to increase. This makes targeting Google Adwords for mobile devices a smart move.

If I’m driving through your town and need to pick up a prescription or other items, chances are I will use to use my phone to locate you. An effective Local SEO campaign and mobile-specific ads can help me see your pharmacy first.

Ultra-Specific Targeting with Facebook Ads

While Google and Bing can target ad delivery with location data, they are limited in the ability to target with other parameters. Facebook by contrast can deliver your ads to a much narrower segment of users.

Do you have a prescription card for Seniors? Target your ad by age range. Offering a special on make-up or hair products? You can create campaigns by gender. There are a number of demographic categories that can be combined to reach a specifically targeted audience.

Should I Do it Myself, or Hire an Agency?

The ad platforms themselves are set up to be easy-to-use, and it is fairly simple to see if your ads are performing well or not. However, choosing the best words to bid on can be a challenge for new advertisers, and a trial and error approach often leads to a larger spend with lower payback. Some find it best to compromise by enlisting a professional to set up the campaign for them and then they can monitor it themselves.

Continue reading here: Use Email Signatures to Get more Facebook Page and Twitter Followers

Was this article helpful?