When looking at your marketing plan and all the different avenues you have available to reach your customers, the term “demand-side platform” is sure to enter the conversation at one point or another. But what is a demand-side platform? A demand-side platform (DSP) works to place your ads online across different websites and apps. This offering isn’t a new one and as such there are many DSPs to choose from. When it comes to evaluating DSPs and deciding if one is right for your business, it’s important to consider a few different factors.
The first step when evaluating any DSP is to ask yourself what’s your end goal and look at what you’re currently doing to advertise your business. Are you focused on increasing direct sales, or building brand awareness? Email marketing and social media advertising might be great at helping pull in direct sales, but a DSP could be a good option for increasing your reach in market. You should remember that programmatic is an enhancement to your marketing strategy and not a replacement. Other forms of advertising should be used in conjunction even though the goal for each advertising campaign could vary.
Once you’ve decided if a DSP makes sense for your business, you should examine the minimum required spend to run a campaign. Not all DSPs are easily accessible to small businesses. Some providers may have minimums greater than $2,500. At Awarity, we make advertising affordable with programmatic campaigns starting from $299 a month.
No matter what you decide to spend, your programmatic media campaigns will include several tactics that your budget will be spread out against. Different tactics will need different levels of spend depending on how granular they are. Some DSPs and programmatic vendors can weigh as much as 50% of a client’s budget against remarketing without them knowing. An effective programmatic vendor will take your goals into account and weigh various prospecting and remarketing tactics in a way that suits your needs and budget.
Finally, a good Demand Side Platform should be easy to use. Starting a programmatic campaign should be simple and require low oversight on your end. A good DSP or programmatic vendor should serve as a partner who you can trust to run your campaigns efficiently and effectively. Additionally, campaign management tools like Awarity Campaign Central can help you keep track of strategy, creative, and campaign performance all in one easy-to-use platform.
