Banners are not dead! We repeat, banners are not dead!
Online advertising may have gotten more sophisticated through the years, but banners are still being used in the digital marketing world.
Nowadays, the struggle marketers face is viewers ignoring display advertising because they have become too aware of the advertising being broadcasted. Generation Y and Z have been around technology for years, which means they know how to avoid “salesy” things online. A traditional banner will fall into that category of being “too salesy.”
So, after heading to the drawing board and discussing among the team, these are the characteristics we all agreed on that make for strong banners that should be used to bypass the younger generation’s possible objectives.
A picture is worth a thousand words
You’ll want to use eye-catching imagery when making a banner. The picture you choose will show your viewers what you’re offering and why they should use you. You can do this by using an up-to-date photo of whatever topic you’re advertising. Your picture needs to stand out from your competitors.
Design that bad boy
Yes, it would be nice if you naturally have an eye for design, but not all of us are fortunate to have that. That’s okay! You can still make your banner stand out with its design. Some of the best art pieces in the world of no static element of design to them. We recommend using dark and light contrasts in your banner. If you’re still having trouble deciding on color design, then check out this article- The Psychology of Color: How To Make Your Brand Stand Out.
CALL TO ACTION (CTA)
We cannot stress this enough. Your banner needs a clear call to action. It is not complete and will go unnoticed if your readers have no idea what you’re trying to get them to click on. There goes all your hard work on design and imagery if you can’t establish a clear CTA.
A/B Test
Finally, you need to A/B test your banners. Don’t even think about only using one banner and hoping it works. No way, Jose. You need a few banner designs to test out. And you’re going to need to test these again and again. Once you have a clear indication of which banner is performing the best, it’s time to burn the failures down. Just kidding no need to burn them, but you’ll need to toss them out.
When done correctly, banners will become your best friend in getting more traffic activity. Just give it a shot, and if you’re still struggling, ask your affiliate manager for some pointers- that’s what they’re there for.
