If you want to compete against other brands in your sector and be able to scale your online marketing strategy, maximising your ROI is a no-brainer—but it’s easier said than done.
One common issue brands usually face is failing to secure a positive ROI from their digital marketing efforts.
But, that’s not to say it can’t be done. With almost two decades of digital marketing experience, here are our 7 essential tips for maximising ROI from your digital marketing.
Digital marketing ROI: Conclusive or elusive?
Gone are the days of TV adverts and billboards, which are ruthlessly expensive and usually only available for brands with a huge budget—and hello to the era of digital marketing, where small businesses can hold their own.
Cost-effective, impactful, and scalable, it’s easy to see why digital marketing is integral to online promotion and business success.
However, when you see success stories about brands succeeding with digital marketing, it’s easy to get disheartened when your strategy doesn’t seem to be paying off. The fact is, digital marketing is one of the best ways to futureproof your brand and prepare for sustainable growth – but that doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing all the way.
Many businesses – especially SMEs – struggle to consistently achieve a positive ROI; even the most seasoned marketers find it challenging to measure it effectively (Business Wire). However, these statistics show that digital marketing can – and does – offer brands a sustainable way to grow and scale.
Businesses using digital marketing in 2021 experienced an average ROI of 122% (Zipdo), and 89% of marketers who focus on personalisation say it pays off (The Social Shepherd).
With that in mind, let’s dive into our top tips for maximising your ROI and transforming your digital marketing strategy.
Tip 1: Know your goals
There’s no point worrying about ROI if you don’t have clear goals. Having key objectives in place can help key stakeholders understand their responsibilities and outline a clear roadmap to achieving the expected ROI.
We recommend using the SMART system when defining objectives:
- Specific: Vagueness doesn’t work with digital marketing, so make each goal specific. For example, instead of saying, “We want to get more website visitors”, your goal could be “Increase organic traffic by 30%”.
- Measurable: How will you measure your success? Having analytics tools in place ensures everyone can track their progress.
- Achievable: The go big or go home mentality doesn’t work with SMART goals. Instead, think about what you can realistically achieve.
- Relevant: Each goal should align with your overall objective. Think about how it fits into the big picture.
- Time-bound: Lastly, your goals should have clear time limits. Not only does this keep people on track, but it also motivates your team to work together.
Tracking SMART goals
SMART goal tracking is easy when you have the right tools and know which metrics to measure.
For example, if your main objective is to build relationships with your target audience, you can track email conversions, while sales tracking helps you monitor whether you’re attracting new customers.
Once you set up Google Analytics, it’s easy to get a clear idea of whether you’re on target.
Tip 2: Choose the right channels
Unless you’re a global brand with a budget that would make Donald Trump jealous, the chances are you can’t focus on EVERY marketing channel. Or, maybe you use a multi-pronged approach but cannot unlock the benefits of each channel.
Understanding how to spend your marketing budget is integral to ensuring a positive ROI. What works for another brand might not suit your needs. The good news is there are so many digital marketing channels to choose between.
We turned to Statista and found the following channels offer the highest ROI:
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Measure your ROI for each channel
If you’re using multiple channels, it’s essential to measure your ROI for each and decide which are giving you the best results. Understanding this will ensure you focus more on what’s working and why other channels aren’t.
Tip 3: Never forget the importance of content quality
Google is focused on content that offers true value and original perspectives. Writing a generic 500-word blog post with a few keywords thrown in is no longer enough because the Helpful Content Update clearly states that user experience comes first.
Whether creating written content, infographics or making videos, remember to retain your brand’s unique identity and focus on your audience above everything else.
Effective forms of content include:
- Blogs: Yes, blog posts are still highly popular and offer an excellent opportunity to inform, educate, and entertain your target audience.
- Videos: We all know the value of video marketing, and technology means it’s now more accessible.
- Infographics: Highlighting important information visually can maintain your audience’s attention.
- Case studies: Creating high-quality case studies with testimonials can eliminate doubts from prospective clients/customers and instil trust in your brand.
- UGC: User-generated content refers to anything created by your customers. It works similarly to case studies and can be highly effective.
- Interactive content: Whether it’s polls, quizzes or involving your audience in decisions, people love content that consistently entertains them.
Tip 4: Get to grips with SEO (and be careful with PPC)
If you’re not focusing on search engine optimisation, you’re missing out on massive increases in organic traffic. The marketing method is effective on its own but often goes hand in hand with content creation.
A common issue with SEO is Google’s ever-evolving algorithms. While SEO might seem like an ongoing headache, organic rankings secure 73% of all clicks, which shows how essential it is for growth.
If you’re struggling to develop a consistent strategy, a UK SEO agency can manage everything, enabling you to focus on other areas of your business.
Know your paid search limits
PPC and SEO can be the perfect pair, with paid search offering immediate traffic and SEO providing long-term results. PPC has numerous benefits, but brands in competitive niches might find it expensive.
To make PPC work for you, it’s essential to understand the technical elements and learn how to bid on keywords. If you have an in-depth knowledge of Google Ads and other platforms, a surge in ROI is possible—but you could also lose money without PPC expertise.
Tip 5: Embrace email marketing
Email marketing is so powerful, and the initial efforts to set up campaigns pay off in terms of ROI. You can directly communicate with your target audience and offer a degree of personalisation, which can boost loyalty.
Campaigns can also be cost-effective; automation tools allow small businesses to manage their email marketing strategy efficiently.
Promotions are great ways to engage your audience through emails – but remember to also focus on offering actionable tips and advice. Audiences increasingly want to see brands that value them instead of constantly trying to sell products or services.
Build your email list with lead magnets
Perhaps the most challenging component of email marketing is putting a list together. Once you have this piece of the puzzle, connecting with your target audience is much easier – and lead magnets lead to 50% more conversions (Justono).
The most popular lead magnets include:
- Checklists and cheat sheets
- Whitepapers and eBooks
- Infographics
- Webinars
- Access to tools
- Free audits
- Quizzes
- Demos and free trials
- Email courses
Tip 6: Unlock powerful data
When measuring your progress and tracking SMART goals, the insights you get from analytics tools should define your future decisions.
If your marketing channels drive people to your website but are not securing conversions, it’s time to put your data to good use. Conversion rate optimisation is about looking at what’s not working and making changes to improve your results.
Research shows that 92% of first-time visitors don’t make a purchase from a website, but repeat visitors are more likely to convert (The Drum).
So maybe it’s OK to sit back and wait for them to return, right? No. You should do everything possible to make your offering irresistible for prospective customers/clients.
Leverage these conversion optimisation tactics:
- Personalisation: If you have website visitors’ email addresses or phone numbers, you can send them personalised offers or make recommendations.
- Remarketing: Using remarketing campaigns means targeting previous visitors and reminding them of your website.
- Experience: Make sure your visitors have a seamless browsing experience on all devices.
- Checkout: Don’t turn the checkout process into a test of patience. Make it as quick as possible to prevent cart abandonment.
Tip 7: Know your competition
Knowing what your competitors are doing can transform your marketing strategy. Are they using different channels? Is their content better than yours? Can you surpass their efforts? These questions are something you should constantly be asking yourself.
Understanding what makes the competition successful allows you to make intelligent decisions based on your goals.
Falling behind and failing to innovate means your brand will always be left in the dust. Competitor monitoring can be challenging, but automating other processes can give you more time to focus on differentiating your brand.
Automate to dominate
Marketing automation is like having a dedicated virtual assistant who’s always there for you. According to Colorlib, 70% of the most successful brands implement automation into their marketing campaigns, saving valuable time and resources.
Whether it’s scheduling social media posts or setting up automated email marketing, you can save a lot of time and focus on other areas of your business.
The bottom line
Maximising your ROI allows you to continue growing your brand and justifying the amount you’re spending on various channels.
With technology levelling the playing field between smaller businesses and international giants, securing a positive ROI is no longer an ongoing headache.
Remember to assess your goals, make data-driven decisions to enhance your conversion rates, and stand tall against the competition.
If you’d like some help, Assertive offers bespoke digital marketing services tailored to your needs. Contact us for a zero-obligation quote today.