Upping Your Digital Marketing Game: How to Utilize OTT to Your Advantage

With the increasing popularity of streaming services over traditional TV, over-the-top (OTT) advertising is becoming equally prevalent. By 2026, it's expected that OTT will have 12 million new users, with 4.2 million of them joining in 2022. OTT is a great way to do just that if you want to get the most from your ad budget and take your digital marketing to the next level. With today's OTT advertising capabilities, you can effectively target and connect with audiences of all types.

As you develop your campaigns, the following are some steps to take for utilizing OTT advertising.

Create a Plan That Aligns with Your Digital Marketing Goals

The key to developing a successful OTT campaign is an advertising plan that works seamlessly together. You need to do what you can to manage every aspect of the process. You can get started with OTT by identifying your audience, working with a media partner to help you produce and place your ads, choose a compelling call-to-action, select the right platforms, and develop appealing creative. Whether you want to increase brand awareness or drive sales, you should have clear goals in mind that inform your targeting, messaging, placement, and creative.

Keep in mind that OTT works best when your goals for these campaigns align with the rest of your marketing strategy. 

Choose Platforms with Your Audience's Preferences in Mind

Think about your audience's interests when selecting a platform to display your ads. For example, are you targeting parents with younger children? Advertising on popular streaming services like YouTube and Hulu is often ideal, but you may want to target programs for both adults and children, which parents are likely to watch. 

In other cases, you might be targeting college students, in which case you could target free streaming platforms that college students on a tight budget are likely to use, including Tubi for movies along with YouTube. Selecting the right programs from the start can help maximize the impact of your OTT advertising strategies.

Target Your Ads Accordingly

Unlike traditional TV advertising, OTT platforms offer unparalleled audience targeting capabilities. Through advanced audience targeting, you can choose target segments according to their specific interests. In turn, you get optimal control over who sees your ads, along with the times when your ads appear.

With highly targeted OTT ads, you can reach consumers based on the programs they enjoy, including specific topics and subtopics. When choosing subjects, you can even optimize reach based on "AND" and "OR" parameters. For instance, you can maximize visibility by choosing "business OR news" categories, while choosing "business AND news" helps hyper-target your reach to people solely interested in those two categories.

You'll also be able to choose specific timeframes when your ads appear, whether your audience is likely to be watching during the afternoons or late into the night. One key advantage here is that you don't need to worry about audiences catching scheduled air times, either, as ads only play when users are actively streaming.

Based on the audiences you're targeting, you can optimize creative elements to effectively speak to them, which can ensure your ads resonate and boost return on ad spend (ROAS).

Analyze Your Results and Adjust Accordingly

OTT advertising can easily change things in your campaigns that aren't working for you. With traditional TV ads, you would need to wait for reports to show you what's working and what isn't, followed by launching a new ad campaign if you choose to make any modifications. 

This can be time-consuming and frustrating, mainly if your ads are performing well below your expectations. However, with OTT, you can instantly change nearly any aspect while benefiting from real-time reporting that shows what's working and when. You'll no longer need to wait in anticipation before adjusting your campaigns.

If something isn't working in your campaigns, be it certain messaging that's not connecting or a call-to-action that's no longer relevant, you can quickly make the necessary changes and pivot. With the ability to track your OTT advertising ROI in real-time and make changes in no time, you'll be able to get the most from your campaigns without giving them a chance to fail.

Connect with a Digital Agency to Help Launch Your OTT Campaigns

If you aren't already using OTT advertising to your advantage, it's the best next step to take to stand apart. By launching an effective OTT ad campaign that builds brand awareness or boosts sales, you can complement the rest of your marketing efforts and achieve your goals. 

However, it's often best to avoid going it alone, particularly if you're unsure how to proceed with your campaigns. Working with a digital agency, you'll be able to benefit from the knowledge and experience required to help your campaigns succeed.