Articles
A freelance digital ads specialist can
By Carsten Bjerregaard, Marketingcapacity.dk (Link to the article. Copying/publishing without agreement is not allowed)
A digital advertising specialist can help a company optimize its Return On Marketing investment on paid media. This includes Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and a myriad of other digital media. By using a wide range of tools, the specialist can overview the possibilities, set up campaigns, measure the effect and adjust investments in a perpetual optimization.
View Digital Ads specialist profiles
What are digital ads?
Digital ads are paid advertisements on the web. This includes banner ads, pre-rolls (videos), videos within YouTube videos, sponsored posts on social platforms, display ads in various media, etc. New forms and formats are constantly being developed. A digital advertising specialist needs to be on their toes to stay up to date – and take advantage of the opportunities while they still work. Because the nature of all advertising is that, in isolation, it loses impact over time. They lose newsworthiness and users themselves become better at avoiding them.
How does a digital advertising specialist create value?
The digital advertising specialist creates value by delivering the highest possible impact within the budget allocated to the company’s objectives. Be it:
- Attention to detail
- Knowledge
- Purchase intent
- Commitment
- Click here
- Browsing (of videos)
- Likes
- Sharing material
- Ordering material
- Trial purchase
- Purchase
- Sign-ups for newsletters
… or whatever it may be.
What does a digital advertising specialist need to know?
The requirements for a digital advertising specialist change overnight. Because the internet is an ever-expanding universe in all areas. But there are, of course, some key areas:
Knowledge of the major media platforms
Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Google, LinkedIn, newspapers etc. The digital advertising specialist must know the different platforms in terms of:
- Users
- How – and for what – they use the platform
- How – and for what – they use advertising
- Advertising options of the platform or medium
- Platform analytics tools
Know how to buy exposure and impact
There are many different buying options online:
- Auction systems
- Fixed prices
- Negotiable prices
- Prices for different formats
- Prices at different times
- Discount systems
- Bonus
- Exposure pricing
- Power pricing
The ability to work with target groups and audits
It’s far from always the case that a company’s target audience definitions are 100% congruent with which audit you can buy exposure for on various digital media. Therefore, finding the best compromise is a major task. A task that requires both creative and analytical skills.
Understanding communication
- What can different types of communication do?
- What can different formats do? For example, movies? Carousels? Anything else?
- What does this execution communicate?
- Which framework requirements should the communication in a given media be designed according to? Pixels? Movie formats?
How do you work with creatives?
- Communication strategy
- Briefing on assets
- Approval processes
Advertising practice
- What formats and forms should you deliver campaign material in?
- What deadlines need to be met?
- Developing campaign plans
Monitoring and tracking
The different media and platforms each have their own monitoring and tracking tools that digital advertising specialists can use to activate, adjust and stop campaigns. The better you can use these systems, the more impact you can squeeze out of your marketing investments.
Budget accountability and financial overview
Depending on how responsibilities are divided, the digital advertising specialist needs to have control of – and an overview of – the finances.
Tools & Tools
There are plenty of tools for the digital advertising specialist to use. Be it Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Search Console, Facebook Ads Manager, Facebook Business Suite, Tag, Google Optimize, Hotjar, Shopify, Hubspot, Semrush and more.
A ready knowledge of legislation and boundaries in general
The internet will increasingly be subject to legislation to protect users of, for example, social media. You only have to say GDPR, Cookies and Permission. So a digital advertising specialist needs to know where the boundaries are. And if you also think about the legal measures you can take, but which can still cause problems in the form of shitstorms or boycotts, then there is good reason for people with hands-on experience in digital marketing to have both intuition and knowledge of the legislation.
What personal qualities should you look for?
If you’re talking to different candidates for a digital advertising specialist role, you need to form an impression like any other position. In addition to being a friendly and likeable person, it’s probably a good idea to look for things like
- Results-oriented
- Analytical bordering on geeky
- Commercially minded
- Curious
- Opportunistic
The internet is complex. And it offers great opportunities for those who can find them. Which you can only do if you are curious, analytical and results-oriented. It’s a tough discipline that borders on the scientific, and there’s no free lunch.
Why a freelance digital ads specialist?
In the past, most people might have thought of freelancers for one-off projects. However, many companies have now realized the benefits of working with freelancers on a long-term basis:
- You can cover needs that don’t justify a permanent position
- In periods when you don’t need it, you don’t pay for the skill
- In a long-term relationship, the freelancer gets to know the company almost as well as a permanent employee
- Compared to buying the desired skill set from an agency – such as an advertising agency – working with freelancers is usually much cheaper
- You have the flexibility to rethink the overall competency profile of the person responsible for an area
- More and more really talented people prefer to work freelance
- A freelancer can still look at your business ‘from the outside’ – which is a valuable thing when thinking about creative
- Freelancers can bring fresh, outside inspiration to your business
How do you find a good freelance digital specialist?
Finding the right freelancer can be difficult. And above all, it can be time-consuming. Because there are many freelancers in the same field, and even if they boast the same skills, there can be a big difference when it comes to the way they work and the work they deliver. When you ask Marketingcapacity.dk to help you find a freelancer to work with, the process is simple:
- You describe your needs to us (either in writing or verbally – we’ll confirm in an email)
- We screen the thousands of profiles on Marketingcapacity.dk and, if necessary, the market through our channels
- We nominate a list of candidates and talk to them according to your needs
- You will be presented with 3 candidates that seem to meet your needs
- During the 3 meetings (at your location or digitally) you can ask questions and see examples of their work
- You choose the freelancer you would like to start working with
- We set it up in our systems with time tracking etc. so you have an overview and full control
In other words: After describing your needs, simply set aside 2 hours to meet with 3 hand-picked and screened candidates. That’s your guarantee of a good result with reasonable effort.
