If you’re wondering how to measure the effectiveness of your online marketing efforts, then you’re in the right place. With so many platforms and metrics out there, it can be difficult to understand what elements are responsible for the successes and failures of your digital marketing campaigns. The answer is complex yet – it’s all about your analytics. In this article, we will walk you through the steps to take to set up your analytics correctly and effectively so you can pinpoint the key performance indicators that matter most to your business.
Pro-Tip: If you do not have analytics set up correctly, then you’re limiting your capacity to understand how your campaigns are performing. Even if you think you’re getting good results from a marketing campaign, without proper analytics you’ll never truly know.
Step 1: Set Up Your Goals And Metrics
Setting your marketing goals and measuring your progress toward those goals using the right metrics is essential to determining the success of your campaign. You’ll want to keep these goals in mind as you navigate through the rest of the steps. It’s also important to note that not all metrics are created equal. There are several common types of metrics that you’ll want to keep in mind, which we will discuss shortly.
Pro-Tip: Take some time to set up a metrics library on a sheet of paper. One simple way to keep track of your key metrics is to use a simple spreadsheet. Having all of your key metrics in one place is a great reference point as you move through the rest of the process.
Step 2: Create Multi-Channel Funnels
Your goal in setting up your analytics is to understand your online marketing efforts. To this end, you’ll want to set up a multi-channel funnel that follows the progress of a lead from initial engagement through to conversion and finally to the top of the funnel – and hopefully, a sale.
Even if you’re just measuring the success of a single channel – such as Facebook ads – you’ll want to set up a funnel that follows the progress of a lead through to conversion. This way, you’ll be able to determine the elements effective in driving a lead to conversion.
Pro Tip: Once you’ve set up multiple channels, you can begin to understand how your marketing efforts compare across different platforms. Doing this will require a bit of research into which platforms are most effective in which situations. For example, display ads on LinkedIn are highly effective when targeting B2B consumers, whereas display ads on YouTube are more effective when targeting consumers overall.
Step 3: Identify Your Top Performance Indicators
Once you’ve set up your goals and metrics, it’s time to start figuring out which areas of your operation are effective and which ones need work. To start, you’ll want to look at the metrics that represent the most significant results for your business. These will be the metrics you work with to improve your effectiveness and determine the direction of your future campaigns.
There are several key performance indicators that you’ll want to keep in mind as you make this determination. These include:
- Leads/Clients/Customers
- Conversions
- Revenue
- Avg. order value
- Clicks
- Demographics
You’ll also want to identify the type of users that are effective in converting and which ones you should be focusing on to increase your conversion rates.
Pro-Tip: Use an analytics tool that allows you to view your top performing metrics on a dashboard. Having all of your key metrics in one place makes it much easier to track and monitor trends as you move through the rest of the process. Remember: the more you can measure, the better you’ll be able to improve your operation!
Step 4: Identify Your Key Performance Indicators By Mode
Once you’ve set up your goals and metrics, you’re in a position to begin comparing the results of your ads in different settings. To this end, you’ll want to separate your results into bit modes, such as display ads on mobile versus desktop and digital signage versus social media ads.
It would be best to create a spreadsheet that contains a row for each of the devices and/or channels you’ve set up for your campaign. Within each row, you’ll want to have a header that contains the name of the device or channel. Beneath this header, you’ll want to enter the metrics that represent the key performance indicators for your operation.
Pro Tip: Create additional columns for different scenarios, such as compare mobile display ads to desktop display ads or compare Facebook ads to Google ads.
Step 5: Identify The Best-Performing Content
After you’ve entered the metrics for each channel, it’s time to start looking at the content that drives the most engagement. To this end, you’ll want to create content maps that show the outlets that your target audience interacts with most frequently. From here, you can develop a strategy for increasing that audience’s engagement with your content.
As you navigate through the content on your site or social platforms, you’ll want to keep track of the specific interactions you have. For example, if you notice that your videos get the most views on TikTok, then you know you’re engaging with your audience there. This is critical, as you can then replicate or improve upon this content to get even more engagement.
Pro-Tip: The content on your site and social platforms will vary depending on your industry and target audience. To determine the most effective content for your business, you’ll have to do some research into the devices and platforms your audience interacts with the most frequently. For example, if you notice that your audience spends the most time on TikTok, then you know developing content for that platform will be the best move to make.
Step 6: Identify The Best-Performing Platforms For Specific Groups
Once you’ve determined the most effective content for your business, it’s time to dive into the data and pinpoint which platforms your target audience uses the most frequently. From here, you can determine what channels you’ll want to focus on to increase your engagement. If you notice that your target audience spends the most time on TikTok and YouTube, then you know developing content for these platforms will be the best move to make.
Pro-Tip: Look at which platforms your existing customers are using to contact you – either through your website or social media accounts.
Step 7: Evaluate Your Progress
Once you’ve set up your analytics and determined the elements that contribute to your success, it’s time to review your performance and determine whether you should alter your strategies or continue with the approach that’s served you well so far.
It’s important to note that just because a metric is important to your business, it does not mean it’s the only metric you should be working with. For instance, if you notice that your videos receive the most views when published at 9 a.m., but you’re aware that your target audience is most engaged with content published at 5 p.m., then you know it’s time to adjust your strategy and work on increasing your video’s views at a different time of day. On the other hand, if your video receives the same amount of views at all times, then you know you’re on the right track and should continue to promote the video with the same strategy.
Pro-Tip: Look at how your performance varies by day, week, and month to get a sense of the trends that are moving your metrics in the right direction. This way, you’ll know if your strategy is effective or if you should switch gears and work on a different set of performance indicators.
Step 8: Adjust Your Strategy
Once you’ve pinpointed the key performance indicators that matter to your business and determined whether these metrics are moving in the right direction, it’s time to make adjustments to your strategy. Depending on your findings, you may decide to target a different audience or work on improving the effectiveness of your current campaigns.
You can continue to optimize your strategy as you move forward. Make sure to revisit this step when new performance metrics come in.
Pro-Tip: Keep in mind that the more you know, the better you’ll be able to improve your operation. Once you’re aware of the performance indicators that matter the most, you can begin to see where you’re making the most impact – and what areas need more work.
The above steps will get you started effectively measuring the results of your online marketing campaigns. From here, you can determine what changes you need to make to continue improving your operation and serving your audience more effectively.