What type of advertising is this?

We know that the change from traditional, analog advertising to digital can be confusing and even a bit scary for some small businesses. It's a new world.

With regard to video viewing habits, most Americans now get their TV content from streaming, followed by cable and broadcast television, in that order. There are pluses and minuses to this trend. In the old days, a business could run a series of television ads and reach a ton of people. For advertisers whose products or services were available across a large geographic region, this made good business sense. What you lacked in the ability to target was made up for in the vast reach that television advertising offered.

Of course, for smaller businesses or those that catered to a niche market, the value proposition offered by traditional television advertising just wasn't there.

Now, we get our video content from dozens of sources. Whereas before a person watching Sports Center on ESPN was forced to access that programming through either their local cable provider or a satellite service, now the options for accessing this content are vast across various multichannel video services, ESPN's own streaming service, mobile, and more.

So, the bad news is that media has never been more fragmented, and it has never been more difficult to reach a vast audience affordably.

However, the good news is that, while audiences are indeed fragmented across many services and platforms, we have the ability to target like never before. Instead of paying to reach viewers that are not likely customers, ad placements can be highly targeted to audiences based upon geography, gender, homeownership, buying habits and more.

All campaigns run on digital platforms and not via traditional cable, satellite, or broadcast -- although almost all of these traditional outlets now have digital versions of their products that reach the same audience.

How many people will my ad reach?

Audience sizes are almost impossible to predict accurately. We know how many targeted ads are served, of course, but the number of people watching is usually derived based on averages. Surveys indicate that about 50% of all streamed ads reach multiple viewers at once.

So how many people will see my ad?

The size of your potential audience reach depends on the targeting criteria you assign to your campaign. Obviously, a campaign targeting all individuals 18 years of age or greater will have a greater potential audience than a campaign targeting only, say, moms in their 30s. While reach is still an important factor in the advertising equation, advanced targeting has shifted much of the focus away from reach to frequency -- with the objective of reaching the most number of actual potential customers as many times as possible.

Ads can be run where you want them to run, by DMA - Designated Market Area, Cities, or Zip Codes you wish to reach. A DMA is a region where the population can receive the same offerings, such as TV, radio, newspapers, Internet content, etc. There are currently 210 DMA's in the USA.

Your ads will only be scheduled to run where and when a significant number of people are watching based on your selection. This means your ads will only run when your choice of people are watching.  

What should I expect to get out of a campaign?

We often hear from people who say they have tried advertising, but it did not work for them. Of course, we all know that advertising does actually work and that our own purchasing decisions have been greatly influenced by advertising. So where is the disconnect?

Usually, the answer lies in too little advertising for too short a period of time. The average person must be exposed to an advertising message seven to 10 times before he/she will act on it. We often describe this process as being like climbing a mountain. Getting to the summit takes some effort, patience, and diligence.

But the other factor that usually limits response is a lack of consistency in advertising. For the vast majority of companies, advertising is not something you can turn on and off like a faucet and expect to get measurable results. While the options for advertising are indeed vast, the best advertising is always going to be consistent advertising.

To be sure, your actual advertising message also plays an important role. Ads should be creative, but concise since the average ad length now is trending downward to 15 seconds to accommodate shorter attention spans.

A properly placed and executed advertising strategy is a smart move for your business. Just be patient and consistent in order to achieve results.

Will I receive a schedule of when my ad will run? 

No. Advance schedules dates back to the days of traditional media outlets that operated on a log basis, broadcast television and radio still operate this way for their over-the-air products, for the most part. Digital ads are served on a 1:1 basis based on the targeting criteria of the campaign. As a result, not everyone sees the same ad at the same time and it would be impossible to know in advance exactly who is tuning in and when.