The name of the game in business is return on investment (ROI). Simply put, does an initiative — whether building a new factory, upskilling employees or launching a marketing campaign — produce more revenue (or greater savings) than it costs? A positive ROI means growth, while a negative return is money wasted.
Determining the ROI of a digital marketing campaign begins even before the first sent email, designed website or posted social media message. Marketing professionals must align the campaign’s key performance indicators (KPIs), or metrics for success, to business goals and objectives.
Google Analytics, widely considered the most robust tool for tracking website performance, includes functionality that enables marketers to determine the return on website investment by tracking metrics such as page views, bounce rates, visitor locations and how visitors found the site.
“Choosing the right tools and finding the right numbers will help you reach an accurate return on investment value for your monthly marketing reports,” Smart Insights advises, recommending a half-dozen metrics tracking tools to its clients.
What Are the Key Metrics for Business Websites?
Some marketing gurus say there are as many as 16 essential KPIs for business websites. WebFX, a digital marketing solutions provider, lists eight metrics to track and measure success and deliver insights that support optimizing websites. Its list of eight significant metrics for websites includes the following:
- Tracking the number of visitors and how they interact with the website provides insights into content and design that will reinforce interest and encourage conversion.
- Acquisition: Understanding how business prospects find a website — whether by typing in the URL directly, by referral from another site or landing page or by organic search — supports optimization initiatives that drive business.
- Conversion rate: An e-commerce website can measure conversions simply by tracking sales, but other metrics that support business goals, such as signing up for a newsletter, requesting a quote or completing a contact form, are additional forms of conversion.
“One of the best aspects of digital marketing is the ability to track your success,” WebFX notes. “You can track and measure your success in granular detail. This lets you understand what’s working and what’s not, which enables you to make changes that improve your results.”
How Is Social Media Marketing ROI Calculated?
Hootsuite, a social media management platform, notes that making a case for investment in social media marketing (SMM) is tricky. Although 80% of small, mid-market and enterprise businesses say SMM is crucial, settling on how to measure ROI is complicated.
The problem lies in the fact that SMM does fit neatly into the traditional focus on revenue but makes other valuable contributions (often “top-of-funnel” marketing impacts) to achieving business goals. Social listening platforms, for instance, can measure share of voice (SOV) (the SMM equivalent of market share) and gauge brand visibility, provide insights into market challenges and inform growth strategies.
Sprout Social, a social media analytics provider, promotes social listening to:
- Identify trending topics among prospects and customers.
- Use SMM to raise market profile.
- Discover customer pain points and resolve them before they boil over.
“Consumer conversations are more transparent than ever in the age of social media. From call-outs to shout-outs, there are endless opportunities to learn about your audience,” it notes.
How Do Marketing Professionals Future-Proof Their Careers?
Advertising and marketing managers with advanced insights and expertise in data analytics, market research and digital communications are in high demand. Government economists predict 10% job growth in the profession — faster than the average for all positions — through 2031.
A Master of Business of Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Marketing program, such as the one offered online by Avila University, equips graduates for success through a curriculum that includes an in-depth exploration of:
- Processes, opportunities, regulations and application of digital marketing communication
- Core features of digital media technologies to strategically select the ideal channels
- Future opportunities and challenges in digital marketing
- Marketing analytics reports used to inform the decision-making processes
Graduates will learn to identify client needs and utilize various marketing tools as part of organizational strategy and the ultimate goal of achieving ROI. Without an understanding of marketing best practices and modern marketing tools, professionals will have difficulty proving the value of marketing efforts.
Learn more about Avila University’s online MBA with a concentration in Marketing program.
