Optimizing Digital Marketing: Leveraging Data Analytics in a Multi-Channel World

The past several years have accelerated the already speedy transformation of digital media. Ten years ago, digital media was primarily consumed on a desktop or laptop. Today, digital media is almost everywhere we look, with phones, tablets, laptops, connected TV, digital audio, and smart speakers. Consumers spend more time online than ever before, and new digital channels are constantly emerging to reach them better.

This continuous digital transformation means that as a marketer, you have an extraordinary amount of data available when measuring digital marketing effectiveness. It is reported that at least 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every day. While most marketers agree that there can never be too much data, the complexity of the data has become one of the top challenges when determining how to accurately measure digital marketing ROI.

With all of that in mind, it is safe to say that the digital media transformation has led and is continuing to lead the way for a data and analytics transformation. But as so many digital marketing trends are born and new opportunities are created every day, are you keeping up with the changing tides?

Understanding New Opportunities

Each new digital marketing channel brings new digital marketing metrics, new data, and different analytical practices to understand the success of these campaigns. Maintaining the tools, personnel, and technology required for this ever-changing landscape can be daunting. As a result, some advertisers avoid incorporating these new channels altogether, while others face confusion or apprehension.

Many advertisers analyze new data through the lens of old data, but most new digital marketing channels cannot be compared 1:1 with traditional channels. Instead, you must view the overall performance and impact of your digital marketing campaign metrics with a new mindset — one that considers the differences in KPI benchmarks. For example:

• CTV measures household views rather than individual views.
• DOOH measures foot traffic rather than CTR.
• Podcasts measure referral traffic rather than downloads (audience size).

Additionally, some advertisers assume that CTV, DOOH, and digital audio can only be used for awareness campaigns. In reality, these channels can support conversion- and consideration-based KPIs as well. Here are some tips for success to help you make the most of these new channels:

• Direct consumers to a landing page by including a QR code in DOOH advertisements.
• Track conversion metrics to DOOH ads through foot traffic and sales life studies.
• Incorporate “shake me” units into digital audio advertisements, which direct consumers to a landing page when they shake their phones during an ad placement.
• Utilize ACR technology to retarget consumers on thier mobile devices who already saw a CTV advertisement.

How to Accurately Measure Digital Marketing Metrics

Impressions, clicks, views, video completion rates, etc., are the backbone of digital advertising and continue to hold great value. However, with the vast amount of media consumers take in — including ads — simply getting and maintaining a consumer’s attention can be just as valuable. Quantifying that a consumer saw an ad and paid attention to it is an essential metric to ensure your digital marketing strategies are performing successfully.

In an environment where advertisers have to balance traditional metrics, consumer attention, and new emerging channels, we’ve outlined three tips to help take your KPI benchmarking, analytics, and data-tracking capabilities to the next level:

1. Consider benchmarks and goals.

Considering varying capabilities and KPI benchmarks is the first step, but knowing how to measure success and strategize new campaigns within these new channels is key.

New digital marketing channels offer insight into consumer behavior beyond traditional digital marketing methods. As such, there are more opportunities to utilize new metrics to reach a target audience. For example, you can now dig into digital marketing data that showcases which types of content your audience is most engaged with. This will further help you create a content strategy that continues to engage consumer interest and boost brand visibility.

2. Focus on specific measurements.

It is important to remember that new channels will continue to enter the digital landscape and that consumer behaviors will continue to evolve. As such, you shouldn’t completely shift your analytics strategy; instead, you should broaden the scope to focus on metrics where measurement is consistent: return on ad spend, cost per lead, and cost per acquisition.

• Return on ad spend:Revenue generated by the ad divided by the cost of the ad. This will help you visualize the amount of revenue generated from advertisements and which advertising campaigns are successful.
• Cost per lead:Total marketing spend divided by total new leads. This metric can help you determine how much money you need to spend to generate new customers.
• Cost per acquisition:Total marketing spend divided by total revenue. This measurement is similar to CPL in that it provides data to help you determine how much money you need to spend on advertising to promote purchases or other desired actions.

3. Perform regular data analysis.

A good data tracker should always be transparent and omnipresent. However, as an advertiser, it’s beneficial to return to the data monthly and check in on overall progress toward your chosen KPIs.

Day-to-day data collection can get confusing and convoluted, especially when you have multiple campaigns. Maintaining a regular check-in schedule is essential to ensure you have a complete understanding of which advertising efforts are working well and which campaigns need improvements.

Ready to Take the First Step?

To understand the influx of data and get the clearest ROI picture, you must have omnichannel data and analytics practices connecting all digital media channels. This requires having the tools and team in place to both analyze unique data points from every channel and act quickly to implement data sets and keep consumers moving through the funnel.

At Digilant, we’re here to help. Our team of experts knows the importance of measuring digital marketing KPIs, and we can help you determine the most beneficial metrics for your brand, too.

Connect with our team if you’re ready to begin measuring the effectiveness of your digital marketing.