Data has been at the heart of many marketing departments for a number of years. We monitor and measure and feed that intelligence back into our marketing plans, and the cycle goes round and round. That’s all great, and it works really well. But it leaves out one very important factor: we don’t know what we don’t know. We’re using all the data we do know about to fuel our activities. But what about the bottom part of that iceberg that is hiding a huge amount of potential that we’ve not considered before?

Finding a brand new audience

If you’re like a lot of marketing departments, you’ve probably been focusing a great deal of your efforts on converting known audiences. But have you ever considered marketing to the people who may want to buy your product or service but aren’t open and ready?

This isn’t a particularly easy task to do and it does take a bit of trial and error, especially considering the fact that you’re trying out new things that rely on human logic to define the targeting parameters.

For example, what do people do as hobbies that you might have not considered before? The more you can explore different aspects of your target audience, the more you’ll be able to speak to them. We all have many layers to our interests and personalities, so don’t be afraid to dig deep and find new twists on how you can reach your potential customers.

Another advantageous task would be to explore what alternative uses for your product there are. How much have you really thought about this and how much have you considered unusual angles that could open up more opportunities for you?

As much as we’ve all grown accustomed to relying on computers to aid our activities, a computer can’t tell you what might work. As people we tend to have a complex mix of interests, so there is likely to be more applications or considerations for your product or service than first meets the eye. Try broadening your thinking in terms of the pain points that people could have that your product or service could help with.

Where science meets guesswork – getting your ad to work

As much as logic and gut instinct has to play an important part of this process, don’t forget to apply some science. What works really well is if you brainstorm some different ideas and then produce a hypothesis based on what you think is the strongest.

From here, focus on brand awareness. Remember, you are talking to a passive audience that is very new to what you are offering. You need to take it step by step and work at the top of the funnel first.

Measure impressions and website traffic, and keep a track of whether your hypothesis is working. It can take time to get it right, so don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t work straight away and be ready to tweak things to improve traction.

Why does display advertising work best for this activity?

This activity focuses on your passive audience over your active one. It is very different to tactics like Google Search or pay-per-click, because a passive audience simply isn’t looking for you right now. Display targeting allows you to reach this passive audience outside of a competitive auction. You could use search tactics, but it's likely to be more costly.

Ultimately, the power of display advertising is that it offers a wider reach, that allows people to learn about you, before they even think to search for you. It plants the seeds of interest, expanding your audience and finding brand new markets, ultimately laying down powerful foundations that will grow your brand. If you haven’t considered it before, maybe it’s time to explore just what it could do for your marketing?

Next steps:

If you're still a bit hesitant, then what about dipping your toe in the water with a pilot campaign? Find out more.