The Untapped Potential of Local PPC Ads in the UK Digital Entertainment Market

The Untapped Potential of Local PPC Ads in the UK Digital Entertainment Market

Within the last decade, the UK entertainment sector has seen significant growth, with the market estimated to be the largest in Europe in the next year. By 2028, the market is expected to have grown by £8.3 billion. This is a testament to the broad offerings found within this sector, including streaming, gaming, gambling, and music.

Despite this growth, however, many digital entertainment-based businesses still have trouble reaching their target audiences. Smaller, local, and niche groups may struggle to get their voices heard with the vast number of companies already catering to user needs.

A solution for this comes in the form of PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising that could significantly improve business ROI while reaching targeted audiences.

The Evolving Landscape of UK Digital Entertainment

As it stands, there are a handful of key sectors within the entertainment market that largely appeal to the UK audience. iGaming is a significant player as the UK gambling market is one of the largest in the world.

Naturally, this would mean there is a high number of consumers contributing to the annual revenue of such operators.

The Evolving Landscape of UK Digital Entertainment

However, this is a prime example of how convoluted the market is, as there are endless online gambling platforms wherein operators must try hard to stand out. Looking at online standalone UK casinos specifically, gambling expert Alex Hoffman mentions some of the innovative bonuses and unique designs these platforms offer.

The bonus and promotions, gaming variety, and payment flexibility offered by these online casinos also ensures player retention. This begs the question of how this could be better communicated to consumers.

The same can be said for video streaming, online gaming, and music distribution platforms, as these markets are oversaturated with competitors. While there is a rise in niche players that cater toward specific tastes and communities, there is also a rise in consumers looking for hyper-relevant content.

This creates an opportunity for these smaller businesses to break away from broader national offerings and take a targeted approach instead. Despite national campaigns being successful for bigger businesses (think Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, etc.), they will not have the same effect for smaller groups.

As a result, thinking about more targeted options to appeal to consumers could significantly boost local engagement and, in turn, increase overall ROI.

Why Traditional PPC Falls Short for Local Entertainment?

While national PPC and marketing campaigns may be an excellent option for bigger businesses, it might not be the best idea for small businesses for several reasons. This means the advertised product or service may reach audiences not interested in local or niche offerings.

More specifically, a Netflix ad will appeal to the masses as this is a global streaming platform, but an advertisement from a local content creator will most likely not pull in many clicks. Simply put, a small business using a national campaign will not reach the geographically relevant audience and market.

Additionally, these businesses would spend much more to advertise nationally, pulling in much less revenue. However, when taking a local approach, clicks are more likely to become conversions as consumers are closer.

Even more, larger-scale advertising means the content is often very generic and fails to appeal to local tastes and cultural preferences, even if local audiences also come across it.

As a result, the best way to stand out is by starting small and looking for targeted groups of audiences that will buy a service. Next, focus on bringing in this audience by attempting to keep marketing as nuanced, specific, and personalised as possible.

The Power of Precision: Unlocking Local PPC Potential

Unlocking Local PPC Potential

To unlock the full potential of PPC advertising, it is essential to consider factors such as the specific postcode, city, and target audience. Local PPC has geo-targeted capabilities, meaning consumers within the radius of choice can see advertisements for the service offered.

This is a guaranteed way to ensure that most of the views and clicks on these adverts are from the business’s targeted audience. A significant number of benefits come with using this type of marketing to drive digital entertainment.

  • Local engagement: It makes it easier for local events to reach audiences in the surrounding areas. For example, let’s say a new artist is releasing an album and would like local audiences to stream it. PPC is a good way to increase the number of streams the artist receives.
  • Niche audience discovery: PPC can help a business or platform discover its audience. A good example could be gaming niches, wherein creators or operators may stumble upon a niche local community.
  • Cost-effective advertising: Businesses could potentially cut their costs in half by spending less money marketing their services. Due to a shift in focus to local leads, funds would not need to be spent on huge marketing campaigns and could be used for other functions.
  • Improved conversion: As mentioned, larger campaigns usually attract fewer clicks. However, targeted campaigns have a higher conversion rate of customers who actually want to buy the service.
  • Local Partnerships: Local PPC campaigns are a great way to attract local consumers and connect with local businesses. Businesses can collaborate with other companies, especially in their approach to digital promotions.

While these are all excellent outcomes, it is also essential to consider how these PPC advertisements will be used.

For one, will they be used across social media platforms to get clicks from locals? Or will companies use platforms such as Google Ads to showcase service offerings across a multitude of different platforms locals may frequent? Perhaps even having PPC pop-ups on local streaming (or other digital entertainment) platforms might be a great idea.

Crafting Winning Local PPC Strategies for Digital Entertainment

To craft a compelling PPC advertisement, it is essential to ensure it is tailored, appealing, and will immediately entice potential customers. One way to ensure this is by localising the keywords used within these ads through researching local slang and being educated on the relevant entertainment niche.

Utilising geo-modified wording is also an essential part of keyword optimisation for this form of marketing. For example, if gaming niches were the focus of such a campaign, then using keywords such as “virtual reality arcade Manchester” and “indie games London” would be crucial.

Building on that, ensuring the creative copy has localised messaging and visual appeal is essential. If a consumer sees that an event or digital platform mentions physical places that are easily accessible to them, then there is a higher likelihood of the ad getting a click.

However, to get to this point, using attention-grabbing visuals alongside strong CTAs (Call-to-Actions) is paramount. Using relatable and familiar imagery is essential for visuals, whereas with CTAs, directly speaking to the audience is beneficial (i.e, “Stream now in London!”).

For businesses with dedicated websites, ensure the landing page is appealing and easy to navigate. Remember, most consumers will click from their mobile devices, so ensure it is optimised for smaller screens.

Additionally, giving a business a physical presence is crucial, as most netizens are sceptical of fully remote platforms. If consumers can find a physical store or business close by, this will increase trust tenfold and, in turn, increase conversion rates.

Lastly, audience segmentation and remarketing are a great way to bring in additional clicks and conversions. For one, custom audiences can be made based on past interactions and interest rates from local demographics.

This leads to an opportunity to expand further by prompting re-engagement with groups that may have initially shown interest in the service offering.

Additionally, bidding strategies and budget allocation will be a crucial part of the process, so it’s best to plan carefully.

Perhaps consider starting with smaller budgets focused on a specific group to test how well a particular PPC campaign will perform. This process can take trial and error, so planning finances strategically is the most innovative approach.

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Christy Bella
Christy Bella
Blogger by Passion | Contributor to many Business and Marketing Blogs in the United Kingdom | Fascinated with SEO and digital marketing and latest tech innovations |