The advertising industry has used packaging to increase the appeal of the product for many years. In fact, when examining the four Ps of marketing - product, price, promotion, and place - product packaging has been widely discussed. Specifically, when talking about a product, the packaging is often an integral part of it.
Advertising can be very expensive and with brands moving online, it is imperative that every dollar counts when it comes to reaching customers. Packaging not only helps put your brand identity into tangible terms but also makes your ads more realistic and attractive. This way customers know how to identify your product and know what they will receive when they buy it.
With this blog post, we aim to present you with 3 ways your packaging in your paid advertising can benefit your sales while also giving you tips on how to achieve a killer ROI. So let’s dive in!
1 - A virtual unboxing experience
Including your custom-made boxes in advertisements is similar to offering your customers a virtual unboxing experience. Include a short unboxing gif in your visuals when working with Facebook or IG sponsored posts.
This gives the customers an idea of what exactly your brand is selling, how the product looks, and what the packaging holds. With this type of unboxing, you can even make normal, everyday products look fun and exciting. Even from a marketing perspective, only 28% of the total words published online are read by regular users, a gif makes the information you are trying to pass along to your customers digestible and retainable.
2 - A chance to experiment with new design ideas
Even before your customers see your new packaging designs, paid ads give you the opportunity to see how your new products and packaging are being received by your customers. Now, you’re probably thinking, why don’t I ask my customers what they think about it through surveys and organic reach on social media. While both methods have their own set of advantages, paid ads give you the reach neither of the two other methods does. You can choose the kind of customers you want to target instead of hoping they find you organically. In fact, 74% of brands in a survey said that PPC ads are a huge driver for their business.
For example, Rocksbox included their initial packaging design, a plain white rigid box with their logo, but changed their ad visuals when they rebranded. The pink bow is retained to keep some bits of its original brand identity. This way, customers who have purchased from them before are still able to identify the product.
3 - A chance for subscription box companies to showcase their products
Including your packaging in your paid ads is a must for subscription box companies. For such companies, the packaging is often the important part of the product. For eCommerce companies, the direct contact with your customers is limited and so your social media presence has to be top-notch. With your packaging, you are making a first impression on your clients as it is the first thing your customers will see.
Now that you have the reasons to try out or enhance your paid advertising, it’s time to figure out how. If you are trying out paid advertising for the first time, you need not set out a large budget for it. You can always start off with a small budget and increase it based on the growth rate your ads are bringing as well as your targets.
Here are some other tips to keep in mind when planning your ad design and schedule.
1 - Include relevant information to support your visuals
While your visuals are very important for ads, the content and copy are also important. You want your customers to get all the information from the ad without them having to google about your company.
Present your information in such a way that your customers’ next step would be to click on the shop now button or explore your website.
Le Tote gets to the point with their copies. It’s not very long so the reader doesn’t have to spend more than a few seconds understanding what the ad is about. They also give the reader all the information, for example, pricing and app ratings, so that the customers don’t have to go to the website and look for more information.
2 - Create a sense of urgency
Creating a sense of urgency makes people feel like they are missing out on something which encourages them to make a purchase as soon as possible. This has been proven to be a good way to drive sales. Include deadlines, limited offerings, and powerful time-limited subject lines. For example, Moo.com’s ad offers users 10% off on their products for a limited period of time.
Not all offers will attract all kinds of customers. Make sure to personalize the offering according to your customer personas. You can track landing pages or particular products that visitors view on your site, and offer discounts that are relevant to their interests.
3 - Show is always better than tell
Along with a creative copy, it is beneficial to include other visual elements in your ad. These need not necessarily be only images. You can use buttons and links to prompt consumers to click on them. Make sure the CTA is creative. Standard CTAs like “Shop now” and “Find out more” work well. Ensure not to make the CTA too long or confusing.
Additionally, you can also include visuals in a carousel format. This makes your ads more interactive. The carousel can be used to tell a visually appealing story. You can use it to show off multiple products or use it to explain the benefits of your best-selling product.
Your turn
It is now your turn to create Facebook and Instagram ads to get the best results. You need to understand what works for your brand and audience, create the right visuals and copy, and ensure you have the right budget allocations. We hope this article can help you get started on building a killer click-through rate and ROI on your paid advertisements.