Free posting only reaches some of the people who follow a page, and growing an audience from nothing takes time. Paid advertising lets a business pay a platform such as Meta, TikTok or Google to show its message to chosen people beyond its followers. Ghanaian adverts for digital marketers often mention Meta Ads and Google Ads, and Google Ads is one of the DMP specialisations. Handling a client's ad money carefully is a big responsibility, so this section starts with the basics.
How online ads work
Most ad platforms run an auction. Many advertisers want to show ads to the same people. Each time there is space for an ad, the platform picks which one to show, based on how much advertisers are willing to pay and how relevant and useful their ad seems. That means a clear, relevant ad can sometimes beat a bigger budget.
Advertisers usually pay in one of a few ways:
- Per thousand views (impressions). Common for awareness campaigns.
- Per click. Common on search ads.
- Per result. The platform optimises toward an action you choose, such as messages or sign ups, and reports what each one cost.
The building blocks
Whichever platform you use, every campaign needs the same decisions:
- Goal. What should happen? Awareness, website visits, WhatsApp messages, sign ups or sales.