Fly-fishing is an outdoor activity that I have enjoyed since I was 12.  It’s a great way to get out into nature and relax. The sport can be immensely challenging and rewarding!

The challenge comes in presenting the fish with something they want, enticing them to see your lure, and make the effort to swim up to it and bite it. It’s thrilling to artfully sling your line and artificial fly out on the water and watch in eager anticipation as a hungry fish quickly glides to the lure and inhales it. Landing a fish, especially a “big-one”, is incredibly satisfying.

The most successful fly-fishermen carefully prepare for a fishing trip by researching the lakes and rivers they are headed to. They find out where the hotspots are. They find out what insects and other foods are being eaten by the fish they’re after. Many other factors such as climate, time of day, time of year, etc., can significantly contribute to a successful trip.

When it comes to online advertising, achieving a successful ad campaign can be a similar challenge. Knowing your audience, their demographic info, geographic location, what they are “biting on” (analytics), and other information will greatly enhance your success.

The web is a complex convolution of proverbial lakes and rivers and knowing where to cast your advertising “lures” can be a daunting task. Fortunately there are many technologies that make it easy for everyone from the small business owner to the major enterprise get their products out there on the water, in front of the fish they are after.

Some of the technologies available to help you find those specific targets include:

–  Retargeting & Behavioral Retargeting: when people visit certain sites, or view certain items, information is gathered that can be used to later send them ads with similar products/services.

–  Geographic Targeting or Geo-Targeting: algorithms figure out the geographic location of a site visitor and return ads that may be more relevant to them based on that information.

–  Site Targeting: allows marketers to select specific sites or networks where they want their ads to display.

–  Demographic Targeting: uses data sources like cookies and browser history to determine interests and demographic information and uses that to serve relevant ads to those users.

–  Keywords: ads are sent out in response to specific words or phrases.

Much like fly-fishing, getting the attention of web users can be a challenge. You can use the technologies that are out there to increase your advantage and help you lure them to your products or services.  The technology available today for online advertising allows for very efficient campaigns. You don’t have to blanket everyone’s space with irrelevant generic ads, you can target them with precision, and wisely choose your audience, sending them messages that they find valuable. When sales go up, and budgets are met, much like landing the big fish, it is very thrilling and satisfying.

At Jibe, we can help you utilize the latest technologies to help get you started advertising on the web.  Give us a call at 801.433.5423 or email us at info@jibemedia.com.