Even though there have been a few unfortunate incidences connected to programmatic advertisements (remember the Google and YouTube ad fiasco?), the approach is still widely used in digital advertising. Of course, not many reasons exist for not trying programmatic ads and seeing how well they work for your business.
With time, the method is being perfected, allowing marketers to put wrong ad placement worries aside. One of the first steps toward using programmatic advertising for your campaign is choosing a platform.
The right programmatic advertising buying platform caters to the needs of the business while providing the cost-efficient solutions. Let’s take a look at things to consider when choosing such a platform for your marketing campaign.
1. Default vs. Customizable
Ask yourself how many inventory providers you will be using. If you require access to numerous inventory sources then you need a customizable platform to deal with them. Bringing all of the inventory sources into one platform has numerous benefits. For example, you can get an overview of a customer across all digital media purchases.
If you don’t require highly detailed control over the inventory, you can settle with a turnkey platform. In many cases, for a small business, a turnkey programmatic advertising platform is a good place to start. It has a low learning curve and a satisfactory number of options. However, it only offers a general inventory pool.
2. Real-Time And Transparent Reporting
One of the most important parts of any marketing campaign is transparency. If something doesn’t go the way you planned, you need to be able to stop immediately and look for other options. Otherwise, a marketing campaign may turn out to be costly and useless.
Programmatic advertising experts advise that a high-quality programmatic ad platform should offer you an opportunity to get real-time reporting about the advertising process. You should be able to gather insights into your campaign at all times, thus having an opportunity to make quick changes.
Look for platforms equipped with budget monitoring feature, which doesn’t allow you to spend more than you are planning.
3. Quick Adjustments
Even if the platform offers real-time reporting, it may not allow making quick changes. Before choosing the best programmatic ad platform, you need to make sure that it gives you the freedom to make changes fast.
4. Simple Interface
Some platforms come with numerous options, which seem to be an advantage at first, but later turn into interface problems. A high-quality platform shouldn’t have a high learning curve. In fact, it should have such an option as ad buying through a single sign-on. The easier the platform is to use, the fewer problems you’ll have with it in the future.
5. Different Tools
Different platforms offer a different set of tools. Depending on your company’s needs, the tool variety may make you choose one platform over another while disregarding all of the above. While some of the platforms seem all-purpose, others have unique tools.
For example, local radius targeting designed for franchises is unnecessary for a B2B company with a single location. Useless options may make using the platform more complicated.
6. Support
Programmatic ads are rather new so many companies are trying the approach for the first time. That’s when extensive support is truly necessary. Does the platform allow you to access assistance round the clock? Will you have your own support manager or a faceless support@wearebusy e-mail address? Is the FAQ section strong?
When you are investing formidable amounts of money in such platforms, you deserve appropriate support.
Conclusion
Choosing the best programmatic advertising platform can be slightly confusing especially when you are doing it for the first time. However, a close study of the options and reviews can help you make the right choice quickly.