Digital Ad Campaign Plan for a Tech Startup
Table of Contents
- Understand current situation
- State The Problem
- Ask for the appointment
- Personal visit followup
- Personal visit followup
- Video followup
Objective
Utilize digital ads to increase brand visibility, generate qualified leads, and drive conversions among small business owners for a startup offering digital marketing and software engineering solutions.
Strategy Overview
- Target Audience: Small business owners, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers seeking affordable, user-friendly digital marketing tools or software solutions.
- Goals: Achieve a 2-3% click-through rate (CTR), 10% conversion rate on landing pages, and 100+ qualified leads per campaign.
- Budget: Allocate $1,000-$3,000/month, focusing on high-ROI platforms.
Action Plan
1. Platform Selection and Setup (1-2 Weeks)
- Choose Platforms:
- Google Ads: For search and display ads targeting keywords like "small business marketing tools" or "software for small businesses."
- Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram): For visually engaging ads targeting small business owners by industry, location, or interests.
- LinkedIn Ads: For B2B targeting of small business decision-makers or niche industries.
- X Ads: For real-time engagement with small business communities using hashtags like #SmallBiz or #DigitalMarketing.
- Account Setup: Create accounts, set up tracking (e.g., Google Analytics, Meta Pixel), and integrate with CRM (e.g., HubSpot).
2. Audience Targeting and Segmentation
- Demographics: Target small business owners aged 25-55, in industries like retail, hospitality, or professional services.
- Geographics: Focus on regions with high small business density (e.g., urban areas or specific countries).
- Interests/Behaviors: Target users interested in digital marketing, SaaS, or business growth tools.
- Retargeting: Create audiences for website visitors, email subscribers, or trade show leads who didn't convert.
3. Ad Creation (2-3 Weeks per Campaign)
- Ad Types:
- Search Ads (Google): Text ads for keywords like "affordable marketing software" (e.g., "Grow Your Business with Our AI Marketing Tool -- Free Trial").
- Display/Video Ads (Google/Meta): Showcase software dashboards or customer testimonials.
- Carousel/Sponsored Posts (Meta/LinkedIn/X): Highlight features like "Easy Integration" or "Cost-Effective Marketing."
- Content Guidelines:
- Copy: Short (50-100 words), emphasizing benefits (e.g., "Save Time & Boost Sales with Our Marketing Platform").
- Visuals: Use branded images, software screenshots, or short demo videos (created via Canva or Adobe Express).
- CTA: Clear calls-to-action like "Start Free Trial," "Book a Demo," or "Download Guide."
- Landing Pages: Create mobile-optimized landing pages with forms for lead capture, aligned with ad messaging.
4. Campaign Execution and Optimization (Ongoing)
- Launch: Start with small budgets ($50-$100/day) to test ad performance.
- A/B Testing: Test headlines, visuals, CTAs, or audience segments to identify top performers.
- Budget Allocation: Shift budget to high-performing ads/platforms based on CTR and conversions.
- Timing: Run ads during peak small business activity (e.g., weekdays, 9 AM-5 PM).
5. Promotion and Integration
- Cross-Channel Synergy: Align ads with email blasts, X posts, or journal articles for consistent messaging.
- Example X post: "Struggling with small business marketing? Our AI tools make it easy. Try free today! [ad link] #SmallBiz"
- Retargeting: Use pixel-based retargeting to re-engage website visitors or email openers.
- Event Tie-Ins: Promote trade show appearances or webinars via ads to drive attendance.
6. Measurement and Reporting (Weekly/Monthly)
- Track Metrics:
- Impressions, CTR, and cost-per-click (CPC) via ad platforms.
- Conversion rates and cost-per-lead via Google Analytics or CRM.
- ROI based on lead-to-customer conversions.
- Optimize: Pause underperforming ads, refine targeting, or adjust bids based on data.
- Report: Share insights with the team to align with broader marketing/PR goals.
Tools and Resources
- Ad Platforms: Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, X Ads.
- Analytics: Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Hotjar for heatmaps.
- Design: Canva, Adobe Express for ad creatives.
- CRM: HubSpot, Salesforce for lead tracking.
Key Considerations
- Budget Efficiency: Start with small budgets, scaling up based on performance.
- Relevance: Tailor ads to small business pain points (e.g., affordability, simplicity).
- Compliance: Ensure ads meet platform guidelines and include clear disclosures for promotions.
- Testing: Continuously test and iterate to maximize ROI.
Selling the Advertising Campaign Service
How are you currently marketing your business and getting new customers?
Are you happy with the results you’re getting right now from your marketing?
Do you think your results could be better?
Do you use a current provider for your website and online marketing? (If Yes Who)
How much would you say you’re spending on marketing right now per month?
https://admob.google.com/home/
Understand current situation
My data says you're spending $XXX on ads per month, does this sound right to you?
Are you happy with the results you're getting from that?
Does all the traffic from your ads go to the same website or is there a number of different "landing pages" built out especially to suit different Ads?
Do you know how many sales are coming from Adwords at the moment?
Do you use an agency or are you managing it yourself?(If Yes Who)
State The Problem
OK, so it's great that you're using Adwords, this puts you 10 steps ahead of any of the competition who don't use it but for the amount of money your spending you should be getting a lot more customers than you are.
Adwords is designed to be a win win for consumers and advertisers. When someone clicks your ad, they should end up on a site that offers a clear call to action for the thing they initially searched for. For that to happen, different web pages should be displayed for different ads, and different ads should be displayed for different search terms. ...This is best practice recognised by google, get it right, and they reward you with a lower cost per click and better positioning of your ads. Get it wrong and you end up paying for someone to have a negative experience with your company and your brand.
Do you get what Im saying here?
These are very basic problems but the impact on your bottom line is significant. Resolving them will guarantee marked results, but they're generally a symptom of much bigger problems inside the actual account.
What I've found is that a lot of the agency's out there are SEO agency's that offer PPC management as a secondary service due to demand by their clients. Many of them don't even know they got it wrong. The fact is that results don't come without experience and focus.
As I said before, I help companies like yours generate more sales from Adwords by fixing these problems and I can guarantee 20-30% improvements just from fixing the problems I've identified already within 30 days and beyond that I'm sure we can get your company "coasting" which is when you have all the customers you can handle...
Ask for the appointment
Do you see any reason why you wouldn’t want to sit down and discuss this in more detail?
Awesome, how does [time and date] sound at your office?
Would there be any reason you wouldn't be able to make that time. Social media followup
Personal visit followup
Video followup
Email followup
Steps
- Ready to send qualifying email
- Qualifying email Sent
- Hit list: Prepare Mailer
- Ready to send
- Followup call 1
- Followup call 2
- Followup call 3
- Followup call 4
- Followup call 5
- Followup call 6
- Followup call 7
- Prepare for consultation
- Adwords consultation
- Won
- Adwords contractor call
- Lost
Basic
Number of Campaigns 1-5 (or more for large accounts) Number of Adgroups 10-50 (or more for large accounts) Number of Keywords 3,000 - 50,000 Conversion tracking Multiple conversion goals Google Analytics setup Professional Ad Copy Ad Testing - Ongoing Ad Coverage Insight Monthly Reporting Account Manager Email Support Advertising Cash back Minimum duration First Month Ongoing
Gold
$2,500 + GST
What Do You Get As A Gold Client?
Strategic Online Marketing Plan, customised to your requirements. A dedicated account manager with high-level strategic marketing skills and experience delivering results for clients.
Monthly in-depth consulting calls to review progress, results and upcoming plans.
Monthly customised management reports and analysis, containing sections on Google AdWords, search-engine rankings, other traffic sources, conversion rates, inbound phone calls, lead volume, cost per lead and other KPIs.
Weekly email updates indicating work done, interim results and next steps, so you’re always kept in the loop about what’s happening on your account. Sophisticated analysis of your website statistics to reveal new opportunities and plug the costly conversion leaks that are letting visitors slip away without opting in, enquiring or buying.
Weekly implementation of new and improved online marketing initiatives – over the course of a year this equates to 52 rounds of incremental improvements to your online marketing process. Your competitors will never be able to keep up.
Weekly implementation deliverables are decided on a mutually agreed basis and may include a combination of:
Pay per click management: Advanced Google AdWords and Facebook pay per click management and optimisation (more clicks, enquiries and sales for less cost).
Landing page design: Customised specifically for maximum conversion rates. Search engine optimisation: Higher rankings on Google.
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) and A/B split testing: Testing website copy and other page elements to deliver higher returns with the same or less marketing budget!
Direct-response copywriting: crafting high-quality, response-oriented website content that drives enquiries and sales.
Website updates: Updating your website with fresh content and the latest tools in order to maximise performance.
Customer relationship management (CRM): Integrating your website with your CRM system to make all your sales and customer-service efforts more effective.
Marketing automation: Building automated communication sequences designed to nurture prospects and client relationships.
Gold Client deliverables, benefits and investment
The key aim of the Gold Client Program is to generate a super-profitable stream of leads and sales for your business by improving the traffic, conversion and lead nurturing capability of your website.
Your investment is only $2,500 + GST per month in order to start proactively driving more leads and sales with lower marketing costs, so you can focus on what you do best – delivering your product or service.
To look at it another way, for around half the cost of a junior marketing person with limited skills and experience, you get access to your own team of experts including a web strategist, copywriter, web designer, web developer, as well as Google AdWords, Facebook advertising and SEO specialists – all aligned around the same goal: increasing your profit.
There are no lock-in contracts – all we ask is that as a new client, you commit to an initial pilot engagement of three months to allow enough time for our strategies to flow through to your bottom line. Following a successful trial, we normally partner with clients on a long-term basis to achieve short, medium and long-range marketing objectives.
You are free to end our partnership at any time with 30 days’ notice, giving you maximum flexibility and putting the onus squarely on us to consistently perform and deliver results.
If you are cash-strapped and on your last legs, this program is not for you. If you don’t have a solid business model and are looking for a “magic pill” to create cash flow and wealth, this program is not for you.
This is only for companies and organisations that are already enjoying some success, have at least a few customers or clients, and are looking to maximise and multiply their results in partnership with an online marketing team who “get it”.
Tap into “the power of multiplied testing”: Across the Gold Client Program and our higher-end Platinum Client Program, we work with scores of companies across multiple industries. We have deliberately adopted this structure to allow insights and results from one industry to be cross-fertilised into another. This effectively allows you to test new approaches up to 10 times faster than your competitors, increasing profits and avoiding costly mistakes in the process.
New clients are admitted gradually into the program to ensure we maintain the highest levels of service. There are several periods every year in which we are unable to accept new clients. During these periods, a waiting list is established until further capacity is available. We will advise what waiting period(s) may apply upon receiving your enquiry.
What does a Platinum Client engagement look like?
Each Platinum Client engagement is bespoke in nature. Exact deliverables depend on your goals and what you need. However, there are some common elements. Here are a few:
Periodic Strategy Sessions with me personallyThese session are held with you and/or your senior team every 3 or 6 months, usually face-to-face. The focus of our time together is highly strategic. We examine where you are now, where you want to be, and how to get there. We consider new opportunities, key initiatives and emerging threats and devise a plan for dealing with each one.
You emerge from the session with a prioritised Action Plan for the next 90 or 180 days, including roles and accountabilities.
Strategy, copywriting and marketing delivery by me personally At the risk of blowing my own trumpet… skilled marketing strategists and copywriters with over 10,000 hours under their belts…. and more than 10 years’ experience ‘in the game’… who have personally seen the inner workings of hundreds of businesses… and with a proven record of delivering bottom line results to scores of clients across a wide range of industries… do not grow on trees. In fact, they’re as rare as hens’ teeth… possibly rarer!My skillset is simply not available on the open employment market via SEEK.com or similar, at any price, simply because anyone who genuinely possesses these skills and experience is typically not interested in, or available for, full-time employment.I will work personally on your projects, creating compelling copy and co-ordinating our team to deliver the results you’re after.
Technical implementation of web and CRM strategies For our joint initiatives to be a success, you need the services of a crack technical team to handle the implementation side. You get comprehensive, highest-priority access to our in-house team of designers and programmers. This team is responsible for translating new and improved marketing initiatives into reality.
Marketing automation SYSTEMS installed in your business Cutting-edge technology makes it easier than ever to automate many of your marketing processes. This includes both online AND offline marketing tools. Wherever possible, we aim to set up automated marketing systems that make your sales and marketing processes run as much as possible on autopilot. This frees up your best people to perform only high-value selling, delivery and customer service functions.
Online AND offline marketing integration Marketing Results is perhaps best known as an online marketing and lead generation company. But at the Platinum level, there is scope to combine your online lead generation with extensive direct mail prospecting and lead nurturing activity. By combining online and offline marketing tools under one integrated strategy, you give yourself a formidable competitive advantage.
Part-time ‘Chief Marketing Officer’ There may be some related activities such as in-house social media… or newsletter production… that can be largely handled and run by your internal people. Where I can add value, is in acting as a strategist and sounding board for these activities, to ensure your whole team is pulling in the right direction.