How confident are you that your digital marketing budget is delivering the maximum ROI? If you’re not asking this question regularly, you could be missing out on substantial value – or worse, spending more for less impact.
Many businesses unknowingly lose impact (and money) by overlooking some digital marketing fundamentals. For instance, Google rewards sites that maintain compliance, have up-to-date policies and handle data accurately. Neglect these, and your costs might rise while your results diminish.
Digital marketing isn’t just about flashy ads and trending content, it’s also about getting the basics right. If you’re not vigilant, some foundational elements could be slipping through the cracks, quietly draining your budget.
Take Google, for instance. The search giant isn’t just interested in what you’re selling, it cares about how you’re running your digital ship. Are your privacy policies updated? Is your data handling compliant with current regulations? Are you transparent with your users? Google’s algorithms favour sites that tick all these boxes. Failing to comply doesn’t just mean missing out on a few SEO points, it could lead to increased costs and reduced visibility. In plain terms, paying more for clicks that convert less or, worse, paying for ads that never reach your intended audience. The result? A higher spend for a lower return – a client and a marketeer’s worst nightmare.
Digital marketing is often thought of as a series of independent tactics, a social media post here, an email campaign there, and maybe some Google Ads thrown in for good measure. However, the best results come from a holistic approach where all parts work together seamlessly.
Enter the Performance Max and Advantage Plus campaigns. These are more than just new names for old dogs from Google and Facebook; they represent a shift towards connected, AI-driven strategies that learn from themselves and adapt in real-time. Instead of having your social ads, search campaigns, and display banners working in isolation, these systems pool data across channels to understand what’s working and what isn’t. They learn from every interaction, every click, and every conversion. They then use that data to refine and enhance future efforts. This means better targeting, more relevant content, and, ultimately, greater ROI. In a nutshell, effective digital marketing isn’t just about isolated efforts, it’s about creating a cohesive, interconnected strategy. Whatever the platform you use, sharing data, learning, and adapting are key to spending less and gaining more.
AI is no longer just a freakish toy we all love to create silly pictures with; it’s an essential part of any robust marketing strategy. From automating routine tasks to providing insights and personalisation at scale, AI can help optimise performance and deliver more targeted results.
While AI offers incredible advantages, it’s essential to strike a balance. Using AI to handle repetitive tasks and data analysis is incredibly valuable. However, its important to rely on human creativity and emotional intelligence to plan compelling narratives, build authentic relationships, and make strategic decisions that require a human touch. Remember, AI is a tool to enhance your marketing – not replace the human element that makes your brand unique.
And all that lovely data!! Automated reports can give you numbers, but professional analysis provides the context to transform those numbers into actionable insights. Data alone won’t make your strategy successful, understanding and acting on it will.
The real question is, what do you do with all that information? Reports and results are only as valuable as the actions they inspire. Whether tweaking a campaign in real time or refining your overall strategy, consistent evaluation and adaptation based on solid data are key to staying ahead.
….The salesey bit! For over 20 years, the team at TCB have been researching and keeping pace with the changing trends and demands of digital marketing. For us, it’s not just a task on the to-do, its our geeky passion and (perhaps sadly) our weekend hobby as well. So if you’d like an independent review of your current strategy, drop us a line.
