For instance, I saw a product on Shark Tank recently that looked interesting – it’s a sports bra that adjusts in multiple ways to provide customizable support while exercising. If they hadn’t been on the show there probably wouldn’t be any substantial volume for their business name or the product that they’re selling. So let’s walk through some of the PPC strategies that they might have used initially to get their products in front women and bring in business:
Bid on Problem-Related Searches
This sports bra solves many problems:
- It contours to fit women of all shapes and sizes more effectively, eliminating the need for them to search through different sizes
- It doesn’t smoosh lady parts inside (the founder described this as “not creating uni-boob”)
- It has a removeable insert that allows you to add or remove padding as needed without having to commit to just one style
Advertise for Complementary Products
Some women wear sports bras when they work out, others just wear fitness tank tops that have built in bras. These tank tops are best suited for women with smaller busts that want less bulk when they’re exercising, which means that there’s a perfect opportunity to sneak some ads in for a sports bra that offers the same benefits. Advertising for a product that you don’t sell won’t work though unless you can prove that your product is a better substitute. Tout the benefits of your products (like that they last longer or are more comfortable) over their similar counterparts to attract shoppers and close sales.
Use Branded Terms
PPC doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it’s just one part of an overall marketing strategy. That means that you should be doing brand building elsewhere online and offline as well to supplement your PPC efforts. Using branded terms on PPC works in conjunction with your other marketing as brand awareness builds and people begin to search for your company and your buzz-worthy products/services online.
Target Searchers that Value What You Stand For
If your business donates a portion of each sale to charity or some other worthy cause, advertising for that can help to bring in sales as well. For instance, let’s say that the sports bra company contributed 25% of the proceeds from each sale to breast cancer research. They could advertise to people looking for breast cancer walks or breast cancer foundation funding and pitch their products and their mission. That would ensure that their ads would appear for people who support what their business values most.
Bid on Searches for Requirements
Some products or services have requirements for use. Those requirements might be technical in nature (like a certain make/model of car) or lifestyle-related (like owning your own home or having kids) or, in this case, biological. To wear a sports bra, you need breasts. (…Well, technically speaking, I guess you just need the desire to wear a sports bra, but let’s just pretend that that’s not true for the sake of simplicity.) Targeting women searching for bras and boob-related things is another way to get this sports bra in front of them. You could bid on terms like “comfortable postpartum bras” or “breathable bras” and then simply describe the product that you’re selling as bait to get them to your site where you can have rich media like videos, 360-degree zoomable product views, and customer testimonials.
Remember, these are interim PPC strategies that you can use until your target audience gets familiar enough with your brand name and offerings for you to advertise on those alone. At that point, you can transition your account to go after searchers directly.
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Business Blogging and Web Copywriting. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and son and enjoys cooking, watching sports, and spending time together as a family. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about current marketing trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!