Consumers spend 5.9 hours per day engaging with digital media.
It’s difficult to pull common consumers away from their phones. Even if you don’t see someone looking at their phone, there’s a good chance it’s not far away. There’s an even better chance their social media notifications are turned on.
It would be a shame if your business wasn’t taking advantage of this! There’s a good chance you’ve explored the world of digital marketing, but have you considered investing in performance marketing?
Below is a guide to 12 things you need to know right now about digital performance marketing. Keep reading because you can’t afford to miss out on this information.
What Is Performance Marketing?
This form of marketing differs from other types of marketing because it’s power-driven by visible results instead of empty promises.
In the case of performance marketing, a business pays a marketing company when its intended results are met. Intended results might look like increased ad clicks, higher sales numbers, greater site traffic, etc.
This type of marketing is common in a B2B format. Advertisers typically reach out to brands in hopes of creating content the company will use. If the content is used, the company will pay the advertiser based on the results.
When specifically looking at digital performance marketing, we’re focusing on performance marketing taking place within the digital world. Digital marketing strategies include social media ads, video marketing, and Search Engine Optimization.
1. Invest in Content Marketing
Your audience members have burning questions, and you have the answers. Give the people what they want in a quick and appealing manner through content marketing!
Any good performance marketing agency is ready to create high-quality content for your business. They’ll brainstorm ways to deliver answers to your audience in a way that attracts and generates leads.
Chat with your performance marketing team about ways in which to deliver content. Do they think you’ll have better luck generating leads with a compelling blog post, or will you get more site traffic with a staged photo campaign?
If your business has never tried content marketing, it’ll take a few tries to gain traction within the digital space. Keep yourself and your team encouraged as you approach things from a few different angles.
2. Understand Cost Per…
As you explore your options in brand performance marketing, you’re going to see a lot of “cost per _____” terms. It’s important to understand these when moving forward in your decisions.
Some of the important terms to recognize include:
- Cost per sale
- Cost per click
- Cost per lead
- Cost per acquisition
Cost Per Sales
You’ve seen this strategy in affiliate marketing. In a cost-per-sale (CPS) agreement, the agency only pays the advertiser when a sale is driven by a created ad.
Cost Per Click
An excellent way to drive traffic to your website is by investing in a cost-per-click (CPC) strategy. The advertiser will create special ads for your business, and you’ll pay them each time someone clicks on the ad.
Cost Per Leads
A CPL (cost per lead) strategy is ideal when your company wants to generate and follow up with strong leads. Your company would pay the advertiser each time you gain a lead through things like an email list sign-up.
Cost Per Acquisition
A cost-per-acquisition (CPA) approach is a more generic approach than the others. Instead of focusing on something specific like clicks or sales, you would simply pay the advertiser anytime an action is taken as a result of an ad.
3. Set Standards
Regardless of your business goals or agreements, it’s critical to set your brand’s standards. Brand cohesiveness and consistency are important parts of improving your company’s reputation.
Work with an internal design team to decide on basic fonts, colors, and emotional tones to use for future content creation. Communicate these standards to any advertising firm you decide to work with.
Many companies create guidebooks or digital presentations to forward along to advertising agencies. These curated guides act as reference material during content creation.
4. Don’t Underestimate Social Media
There are still too many businesses that see social media as juvenile or near useless. This isn’t the case at all.
Social media is a powerful tool every company and brand should execute in lead generation. You never know who might be seeing your ads on their Instagram or Tik Tok feed!
Over 2 billion people use Instagram per month. These people might be casual users but they’re also business owners, local influential figures, and ideal future customers.
Before agreeing to work with a performance marketing agency, ask about their approach to social media. Inquire about the past success they’ve had on popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tik Tok.
5. Email is Still a Powerful Tool
With all the talk of social media and influencers, you might be worried that email is a way of the past. We’re here to bust that myth!
As of 2020, there were 4 billion global email users. Email marketing is a strong marketing strategy to utilize when announcing company news, generating leads, launching products, and offering exclusive deals.
Guarantee all of the email marketing campaigns you’re investing in include convincing call-to-action statements. A CTA is a firm statement instructing a reader to complete a certain action that’s beneficial for your business.
For example, a CTA might look like, “Check out new exciting products on our site now by clicking the link below.” The link you include can lead to your ‘new arrivals’ page or some of your seasonal best sellers.
Before launching an email campaign, always ask the advertising agency to test an email. All links should lead to the correct place, and all of the included images must be mobile-friendly.
6. Look for Influential Figures
Did you know there are people getting paid thousands of dollars per month off of brand deals alone? These figures are referred to as influencers.
Influencers aren’t celebrities, but they sure have created their own category on the top of the social ladder. The everyday consumer looks to influencers for advice on what products to buy and what companies to trust.
Capture the attention of strong leads by working with influential figures. An influential figure doesn’t have to be someone with thousands of Instagram followers.
They might be:
- Professionals in a targeted field
- Well-experienced sources of information
- Local community leaders
- Up-and-coming researchers
A Realistic Example
Let’s say you want to advertise your insurance company. Consider reaching out to a key local figure that’s comfortable with speaking about how your insurance has helped him/her keep afloat during hard times.
Without your company keeping them afloat, they wouldn’t be where they are today! Showcase this fact to your audience through the lens of the influential figure.
7. Go Mobile
We’re a world on the move. Keep up with the times by guaranteeing your marketing initiatives are mobile-friendly.
Work with a digital performance marketing agency to create ads that can be enjoyed on the go. Users should be able to access email graphics on cellular devices and watch video marketing ads while waiting in line at the bus stop.
Once you take the time to invest in a more mobile-friendly approach, you’ll notice a sharp increase in website visitors.
8. Encourage Honest Reviews
Have you ever heard of WOM marketing? This stands for word-of-mouth marketing. It’s a powerful tool that’s as old as time.
Encourage clients to give honest reviews regarding your products and services. Ask them about their experience from the time they first saw your ad to the moment they received their package in the mail.
How was your customer service? Did they enjoy how efficient your website layout is? Were any concerns handled in an appropriate manner?
Incorporate client testimonials into your digital marketing strategies. Show others what they’re missing out on by not investing in your company. Jealousy is a strong tool in the business world.
You might feel silly constantly asking customers for reviews, but you’ll be shocked at the effect reviews can have on lead generation.
9. Consider Audio Marketing
We’ve talked a lot about visual marketing strategies. Companies visually appeal to the masses through videos, photo campaigns, website design, and emails. But what about audio marketing?
At least once per month, 32% of Americans listen to podcasts. Some enjoy listening to podcasts about true crime, current events, or relationship advice.
No matter the niche they tune into, they’re real human beings with typical life issues. They may be in need of health insurance or a new medical provider. (Hint: This is where you step in.)
Invest in the world of audio marketing by paying podcast hosts to read off advertisement scripts for your company. Many podcast hosts offer exclusive promo codes to listeners, allowing new customers to unlock exciting deals.
10. Work on Your Website
Don’t let all of your efforts go to waste on a poor website. Lead your clicks to a website worth showing off!
Create a site with an easy-to-use, attractive interface. Include enticing content that communicates the tone your company wishes to portray.
On the side or top of your page, provide a menu of options. Allow visitors to explore the history of your company, best-selling products, and entire inventory with a few quick clicks.
Unfortunately, many small business owners and teams don’t have the time to create a site from scratch. This is where outsourcing comes in handy!
Hire a website designer to create a powerful site. And don’t forget to send them that brand guidebook we mentioned above.
Accessibility
It’s important every performance marketing agency and company takes accessibility into account when building sites and creating ads. There are thousands of online consumers who may experience difficulty seeing, hearing, etc.
Include alt text under captions and photographs. Use voice-to-text features on your site. Avoid hard-to-read fonts and colors that appear to faint.
11. Believe in the Power of SEO
Have you been struggling to get your company’s name to the top of the list? Attract the leads you want on search engines with SEO (search engine optimization).
In very simple terms, SEO is the use of things like blog posts with buzzy keywords and customer reviews with the intent to bump up a site’s visibility in search engine results. The end goal is to increase clicks leading to your company site.
You can’t deny people tend to show more trust towards companies high up on the list in a Google search. Get an edge on the competition by investing in SEO services.
12. Analyze the Data
Whether you’re starting or ending a campaign, take the time to look at the numbers. Data offers important clues and facts that are essential to a business’s success.
Any good performance marketing agency will use data from former campaigns to shape how they approach future ones. They’ll note what worked and what didn’t while paying attention to what strategies weren’t utilized enough.
Once a campaign or ad is launched, record how it’s affected your website traffic and sales. Jot down the numbers of daily ad clicks and always take a peek at customer engagement.
Generate Leads: Investing in Digital Performance Marketing
Elevate your marketing strategies by investing in digital performance marketing. In performance marketing, you pay for results when you see results.
Utilize diverse marketing strategies for your business that include video, content, and audio ad creation. Chat with a performance marketing team about which routes to explore. The possibilities are endless!
You can trust RPM to drive strong leads and convert people’s intent into action. Turn interactions into transactions by contacting us today.