Digital Marketing can be compared to a science. What do we mean by that? Well, science is rooted in data and your digital marketing decisions should be too. Going off your gut feeling is not how to get the most out of your marketing campaigns. That means you have to take the time to really read into the numbers to optimize your tactics. Luckily, there are some amazing tools out there to help you get the ROI you’re looking for. Today, we’re going to talk about the best way to use numbers and data to get the results you desire.
Trust Data, Not Your Gut
A lot of business owners today like to rely on their instincts when it comes to their digital marketing moves. While, in theory, it makes sense to have the more experienced member making the ultimate call, they shouldn’t be relying solely on pasts experiences (i.e. “When we had this same problem a few years ago, we took this approach and it worked. So, let’s take the same approach again”).
The problem with this way of thinking is that it is not based on hard evidence and numbers, but merely a past success that has nothing to do with the current issue at hand. That’s because consumers and digital trends change. A lot. Not just from year-to-year, but month-to-month and even week-to-week. Whether it’s customers’ preferences or buying tendencies, the marketing environment is always evolving. Just because a marketing initiative worked in the past does not mean it is still the best solution for today.
Sure, it may actually be the best option. But the only way to know that for sure is to use data. Data allows you to understand trends and make educated predictions based on these trends. You can look at the data to find out why consumers are buying which brands and when. And which mediums reach which demographics most effectively? Based on panel testing data, which colors work best for your logo? What aspects of your product/service do your consumers care most about? What can your business improve on? You could speculate on questions and arrive at your own conclusion, but why not let the data do the thinking for you?
Testing, Testing… 1, 2, 3
Whether it’s digital or traditional marketing, before launching a new campaign, you should always be sure to test it first. That means everything and anything, including your name, colors, logo, or products. Use focus groups to gain new insights on your brand from the consumers’ perspective.
If you’re unrolling a new logo but can’t decide which ones to go with, bring in members of your target demographic and ask which logo resonates with them. Tests like these are associated with qualitative data, which is information that can’t be measured but rather gives you approximations.
Surveys would be one way to collect quantitative data because you can get hardline numbers on each individual response. One of the best ways to gather quantitative data is to conduct A/B testing. To illustrate this type of test, let’s look at a banner ad campaign. Let’s say you’re having trouble picking between two different colors and copy for the ad. One way to test to see which would be more fruitful in garnering clicks would be to run both of these ads for a short amount of time and collect data to see which one attracted the most users per impression.
As you can guess, this type of testing works especially well for digital marketing campaigns that can be easily altered with little cost or effort. Testing your campaigns may take a little more time, but you will feel much more confident about your decisions when they are backed by cold, hard facts.
Tools to Use
Lucky for you, there is a plentiful amount of free or inexpensive tools to use when conducting your testing. A great tool for conducting surveys is Google Surveys. Creative name; we know. It’s highly customizable in terms of the design and questions you can ask and allows you to get responses in real time that can easily be translated into graphs and charts.
Google Analytics is great for auditing and testing features on your website, as you can set up goals, easily organize your campaigns, and test where your online shoppers are coming from through ecommerce tracking. Google Analytics is a one-stop shop for optimizing your digital campaigns. Social analytics tools are great for keeping tabs on your social media marketing strategies.
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all have in-house tools that can help you figure out how your social media posts are doing in terms of engagement, as well as how your ads are fairing on their sites as well.
Ready to Start Using Data to Optimize Your Digital Performance?
At Snap, data is our backbone. We understand the value that data can provide to your digital marketing needs. Whether you need to focus on content marketing, SEO, or conversion rate optimization, we’ll look at your needs from a data-driven perspective to accomplish your business needs.