It’s 2022 and digital marketing buzzwords are in full force: ‘position zero’, ‘omnichannel’, ‘algorithm’, ‘contextual commerce’. But when it comes down to it, there’s nothing more important than return on investment (ROI). But how exactly can you boost that revenue?
As a marketer, your return on investment should be your north star. As you very well know, having a robust and growing ROI is what brands strive for. It’s the best way to ensure that you’re investing your marketing budget in the right places, reaching the right people, and not just screaming into the void online.
Here are 5 ways to improve your marketing ROI
From tapping into influencers and content Creators to refreshing old content, these are some simple things you can do to improve marketing ROI.
1. Lighten your load with automation and marketing software platforms
Transformation is a good thing, and technological transformation is a godsend. Gone are the days of manually implementing every step of your marketing strategy. Simply put: it’s a waste of your time; time that is better spent creating and innovating. Automation is the future thanks to various software, online tools, and app plugins.
Here are some tools that’ll help you automate the mundane:
• Deploy email sequences at the correct times try HubSpot or MailChimp
• Facebook’s Campaign Planner can help you adjust your social media ad spending and campaigns based on performance
• Capture and store data about audience and engagement with Google Analytics
And don’t forget the power of A/B testing — it’ll help you determine what resonates best with your audience.
Even simple automation tools like social media schedulers will save you more time than you know.
2. Keep it simple
At times, marketing can feel like you’re just constantly trying to keep your head above water. There are so many platforms, channels, accounts, data points, analytics charts, hashtags and formats that it’s often hard to ensure you’re covering all your bases.
Sit back and review your priorities. Make sure you aren't making your sales workflow too long or complicated. While it can be a good thing to have your finger in a lot of pies, so to speak, if you stretch yourself too thin, then your strategy as a whole will suffer.
Use historical and audience data to determine the most important place to spend your money and energy.
3. Update the existing and repurpose the evergreen
Yes, creating new content for 2022 is essential, but that doesn’t mean it has to be difficult. Why not lighten the load just a little by optimising your existing pool of content? It’s about working smarter, not harder.
Do you have a stack of old blog posts or landing pages that could be spruced up and re-published as new content? Google automatically re-labels updated blog posts as ‘new content’, and the more recent your page, the better your SEO.
Don’t worry, updating a blog post doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking. Sometimes, it just needs a new introduction and a shift from one keyword to another, perhaps with a relevant hook for the year ahead.
Then go comb through the post to keep an eye out for:
• Broken links
• Outdated data and statistics (if you’re quoting studies, it’s best to stick to sources from after 2020)
• Places where keywords and subheadings can be naturally added
• Outdated metadata (like: author, publish date, the category, tags)
• Outdated CTAs and social links
4. Decide what to measure and keep track of the metrics
Taking a data-driven marketing approach is your best bet for success. But sometimes, all the insights you have access to can be overwhelming. Identify which metrics matter most for your business, and ensure to measure those regularly.
Is it more important to focus on audience growth and engagement or should you be focused on leads and SEO traffic? This will differ case by case, so figuring out what’s right for your brand is half the job done.
Don’t waste time tracking hundreds of different metrics, logging data into endless spreadsheets and creating intelligence that you’re never going to use. It’s all about knowing what your brand needs and the data you need to get it there.
5. Branch out beyond traditional channels
Facebook and Instagram are no-brainers for modern marketing strategies, however often thinking outside the box will make the biggest impact on your marketing ROI.
If you’re a small, local business, maybe direct mail is an option. Otherwise SMS marketing or Facebook Messenger bots for retention, or email drip campaigns for acquisition are strong candidates.
Branching out and trying new channels is a great way to remain fresh, mix up your strategy and win new customers. And there are plenty of ways to do that in the social media space.
Short-form videos
While video has dominated the online landscape for nearly a decade, users are now shunning long-form content and favouring short, bite-sized videos. Vine and Snapchat led the way, then TikTok came along and totally dominated the space. Now, we’ve also got Instagram Reels (read our beginner’s guide) and YouTube Shorts to consider.
From an advertising and native content standpoint, short-form video is the place to be. In fact, Instagram Reels drive around 22% more engagement than standard post videos on the platform.
Influencer marketing
It can be normal for brands to hesitate when it comes to trying out new formats as it is challenging to know if you’re nailing the content or falling short. That’s why so many brands are turning to influencer marketing. Studies show that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from influencers more than messages directly from the brand.
These Creators have spent years honing their skills and building loyal audiences, which is why brands who partner with influencers in their niche can see these three main ROIs, particularly on smaller campaigns involving micro influencers.
If you’d like to learn more about influencer marketing and how it can improve your brand’s ROI, it might be time to try out TRIBE. Simplifying the process of working with influencers, TRIBE connects brands and Creators for branded content that performs, and offers subscriptions for marketing teams of all sizes.
Request a demo today to have one of our Client Partners run you through the platform.
