When you spend money on a business expense, you want to know you’re getting something of value in return. With advertising, your value comes from an eventual boost in revenue, customer loyalty, and positive brand perception. Brainstorming an award-winning campaign is one thing, but industry recognition doesn’t always mean your advertising strategy is working.
What hits the mark with your peers may not be moving the needle that counts — audiences’ hearts, minds, and pocketbooks. Knowing whether your game plan is scoring points with your market is what comes after the fact. Once you’ve launched your campaigns, it’s time to measure up. Here are some key performance indicators to keep an eye on.
Content Engagement Levels Are Up
Not all advertising is “in-your-face.” Some of the best ads don’t look like ads at all. Instead, your marketing messages are embedded in content designed to inform, inspire, or entertain. Content marketing and native advertising can meet these objectives while also creating awareness.
However, you want your content to do more than create buzz. Your audiences need to engage with it, which often means taking action directly from your native advertising materials. It could be a click over to your online store or a signup form. It might even be a phone call to your inbound sales center.
Whatever your desired conversions are, it’s a good sign if those actions and engagement levels are up. Any native advertising agency worth its salt will tell you moving from awareness to action is the primary goal. If you’re not seeing conversions from your content, it’s a clear sign it’s not resonating with your audience. Experiment with different approaches, messages, design layouts, and online platforms. And don’t forget to test various versions to gain audience insights.
Sales Are Increasing
Ultimately, getting sales numbers up is what you’re after. Even if you’re running a branding campaign to boost perception, you’re attempting to drive long-term revenue. Increased sales are a measure of successful advertising campaigns, regardless of your timeline.
You could be going for a short-term lift to round out the year. Maybe you’re launching a new product line and want to see both short and long-term gains. Or, perhaps you’re in it for the long haul. Your goal is to slowly turn the ship around.
Considering the advertising industry is projected to spend $352 billion in 2023, you hope it’s not for nothing. Money wouldn’t be going in if brands weren’t getting money back. Granted, you will have a sales baseline and other influencing factors. What your competitors do and underlying product demand may be out of your control. But if you’re experiencing an increase in revenue streams, your ad strategy probably has something to do with it.
A Boost in Website Traffic
A surge in website traffic is a good indicator your ads are working for you. There are a couple of ways this happens. First, your audience has seen or heard your company’s name in an ad. They search for you online, find the link to your website, and voila! Your audience goes there to explore, hopefully taking some action eventually.
The other way is to click on links within your online ads. This action usually means the message was convincing enough to your audience. They’re hungry for more, even if it ends in a browse for now. Increased curiosity often goes hand in hand with boosted awareness. Your audience must know you exist and be curious enough to discover what you can offer.
Of course, you’ll want to look at your website traffic analytics to see what percentage is coming from paid sources. It doesn’t hurt to get a lift in organic traffic, though. A HubSpot survey shows most website traffic is either direct or from organic searches. Survey participants said 22% comes from direct hits while 17% is organic. Paid searches make up 9%, and display ads account for 12%.
If you’re measuring a campaign’s effectiveness, you need a way to discern how much website traffic is because of it. Using unique links and analytics tools are a few ways. Besides the number of clicks, look at how much time they spend on the page. Also, consider whether those visitors come back and if they’re converting.
Increased Demand for Human Resources
When your business is growing, you usually need to hire more people. An overall increase in demand for employees could be a sign your advertising strategy is working. Without steady revenue, you can’t grow. Plus, advertising and marketing are directly tied to sales results.
A need to expand your e-commerce, marketing, and sales teams are all positive indicators. It typically means customer loyalty is high enough to bring home the bacon. Other positive indicators are more leads and demand for information about your products.
If your current staff can’t handle the surge, it’s time to level up. Are grand openings of new divisions and locations on your radar? You can likely thank your advertising strategies. As long as you can sustain your company’s growth, you know there’s something about your campaign that’s working well.
Measuring Up
When you dream up a new ad campaign, you hope it’s brilliant enough to hit the mark. You want your audience to be moved enough to take the next step. While you sometimes have to be patient for the results, increased engagement and demand are what count. When your company sees these signs, you can rest assured your advertising strategies are on the right track.
