Marketers often find themselves debating which channels bring about the best leads, offer the most analytics insights or gain the most traction with loyal customers. At the end of the day, however, most directors just want to know the most effective, bottom-line marketing strategies. In other words, which channels yield the greatest return on investment?
Research has shown that there are indeed certain channels that deliver a bigger bang for the modern marketing buck, and it’s up to brand leaders to determine how to best allocate their precious funds in accordance with these findings. Here’s a look at the most impactful marketing channels of the day, and some tips on how to maximize their yields across the board.
Begin with email
For years now, email has sat at the top of the digital marketing totem pole as the most effective channel for pure ROI, and recent surveys show that this remains true. A blog from eConsultancy revealed that more than two-thirds (68 percent) of marketing executives rate the channel as “good” or “excellent” in terms of overall return.
Furthermore, companies stated that almost a quarter (23 percent) of their total sales were directly attributed to email marketing efforts, proving that these initiatives pave the way to conversions on a consistent basis. With these facts in mind, it’s clear that email should be the main channel of choice when operating in today’s marketing arena.
Move onto social
While it has yet to reach its full potential, social media is certainly climbing the ranks as far as marketing ROI is concerned. Research from StrongView recently showed that nearly half (49 percent) of organizations are boosting their social media marketing budgets with high hopes for bigger returns.
Of course, marketing pros are not entering the social frenzy without plenty of support from data-centric tool sets such as Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics and LinkedIn Groups. Curated content is also a great way to bring about big results on the cheap, as material can be reframed and repurposed across various channels without losing value.
“Once you have created content that appeals to specific personas and to different stages of the buying journey, consider sharing across different channels based on your particular business,” explained Business2Community contributor Larisa Bedgood.
Mobile on the rise
The dark horse of digital marketing is ready to make its grand entrance in the form of mobile advertising and email, which means that all brands should prepare for this inevitable shift. In her piece for Business2Community, Bedgood pointed to a report from US Consumer Device Preference stating that nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of emails are opened on mobile devices – a burgeoning market not to be missed.
While channel variety is necessary for success in today’s marketing field, the basics still apply. Brands need to monitor their campaigns with a high level of scrutiny and willingness to change tack when required. With the fundamentals down pat and an eye on the horizon of marketing trends, brands should surely find success in this changing landscape.
