As the holidays are quickly approaching and economic uncertainty weighs heavy on the minds of many, marketers are under even more pressure than usual to retain a spot in the marketplace and ensure solid returns throughout the rest of the year. This tricky balancing act means that now is the time to reassess how to maximize ROI and establish wise digital marketing habits that will ultimately generate success, revenue, and stability.
Before diving headfirst into new digital marketing strategies, it’s important to understand that the way consumers are interacting with advertisements in the digital age is different from years past. Cable television has been swapped for streaming services, radio has lost popularity to digital audio, and as more people get outside, they are more likely to interact with OOH advertising. Marketers are facing not only economic uncertainty but a shifting landscape. As such, advertisers must begin making strategic decisions when it comes to budgeting, brand partnerships, and advertising strategies.
The Importance of Data in Your Digital Marketing Strategies
Fortunately, even in the face of economic uncertainty, advertisers can still take risks to get significant returns. You must make data-driven, strategic decisions to invest in new opportunities where your audience is spending time and will most likely interact with your brand. In the face of economic uncertainty, it is imperative to back all decisions with well-researched data if your goal is to maximize ROI.
As a marketer, you must ask questions of yourself, your business, and your audience to produce a successful advertising campaign. The data you collect in responses will drive your budget allocation and ultimately help you maximize ROI. Here are just some of the questions you should answer before building any new digital marketing strategies:
- Where is our business currently standing in the market?
- How do we offer value to consumers?
- How much value do we offer compared to our competitors?
- Where are we losing consumers?
- What types of ads receive the most interaction from consumers?
- What is the most important factor in ensuring our success through the end of the year?
Rather than cutting your advertising budget, you should be spending it more wisely. Learn how to speak to your customer’s needs. Adjusting your budget so that you spend on your best-performing tactics, data-driven strategies, and product offerings will bring the most success. In the face of economic uncertainty, data is key. It will allow you to make confident decisions and play into your strengths.
How to Maximize the ROI of your Digital Marketing Strategies
The world of digital media is fast-changing, and it’s easy to get caught up in the ebbs and flows. To stay grounded, it is best to have regular check-ups on your strategies. Consider the following three tips to help you understand the fluctuation of your ROI and give you more confidence for the future.
1.Look to a conversion rate rather than your ROI.
As a marketer, it would be ineffective to completely move away from using ROI as a baseline indicator for the success of specific marketing campaigns. However, conversion rates offer unbiased data-driven insight, plus several other analytic and attribution metrics. Conversion rates can tell you how much money you are spending on an advertising campaign versus how many consumers are converting on an investment.
The bottom line is clear when it comes to conversion rates. Additionally, looking at the data collected by conversion rates allows you to more easily identify which campaigns are succeeding. With ROI numbers, you may be fooled into thinking all efforts are hitting the bottom line. Switching to conversion rates helps your digital marketing strategies remain successful and provides clarity so that you know where to allocate your advertising budget.
2. Don’t get bogged down by brand sentiment.
Just like ROI might not tell the whole story when it comes to conversions, brand sentiment doesn’t directly tie into the ROI calculation, either. However, brand sentiment can have a considerable impact on the overall reputation of your business. Even if you have an excellent advertising strategy, consumers still may not resonate with your brand or not trust your messaging if your brand sentiment doesn’t align with their personal values. In such cases, your campaigns will not be as effective as possible. Unfortunately, simply calculating ROI won’t tell you why this is happening.
Instead, consider implementing a social monitoring tool to understand several key pieces of data: any chatter concerning your brand, the sentiment consumers have toward it, potential red flags, and how you stack up against your competition. An analytic tool like this can tell you a lot about the success of your brand and its place in the market. Additionally, any data derived will help you inadvertently maximize ROI.
3. Reevaluate frequently for optimal results.
The world of digital media and advertising moves quickly. Because of this, goals, KPIs, and ROI are essential to maintain a linear way of calculating the success of your campaigns over a longer period. However, because of the rapidly changing environment, you can’t get caught up if your ROI drops below what you were expecting. Similarly, it’s important not to get too attached to a high ROI, as this may not stick around forever, either.
More importantly, you should analyze why these trends are happening and where you can make improvements in your digital marketing strategies to help you hit your goals. To do so, set up a regular cadence to reevaluate your strategy. This scheduled time will help you analyze the data and better understand why your ROI may be changing.
Every marketer wants to wring maximum ROI out of their digital marketing strategies. But in the face of an uncertain economy, it’s more important than ever to spend wisely and reevaluate often for the success of your advertising campaigns.
If you’re ready to learn how to maximize ROI in digital marketing, contact us here, and we will help set up your personalized business strategy.