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Marketing metrics play a crucial role in driving marketing strategies, especially in the digital age where devices and social media dominate. In the past, sales were the only metric that mattered in traditional marketing mediums like billboards, commercials, and print. However, with the advent of the internet and the ability to gather data from every user interaction, the metrics that drive marketing have become more diverse and comprehensive.
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Understanding Marketing Metrics and KPIs
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Marketing metrics are used to measure the success of campaigns by tracking specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These KPIs help identify campaign goals and determine how well those goals are being reached.
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Metrics are generally consistent across different channels. For example, email marketing metrics focus on opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes, regardless of the type of email campaign. These metrics remain the same throughout various campaigns.
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On the other hand, KPIs can vary depending on which stage of the marketing funnel you’re in. For instance, goal completion KPIs track the sales cycle by identifying activities that lead to sales goals. To calculate goal completion, you divide the total number of visitors who completed a specific component of the sales cycle by the total number of visitors.
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For example, if 100 users visited your site and 30 of them clicked through to the Contact Us page, you would have a 30 percent goal completion rate.
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The Three Types of Marketing Metrics
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To understand marketing metrics, it’s important to differentiate between impressions, reach, and engagement.
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1. Impressions
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Impressions represent the number of times marketing content is shown to the target audience. In traditional marketing, impressions can be measured by the number of times a commercial rotates during a television season or a week of radio. The impact of the commercial depends on both the frequency of rotation and the size of the audience.
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In the digital environment, banner ads are a common way to generate impressions. Placing a banner ad in regular rotation on a high-traffic website can result in a significant number of views. Additionally, social media platforms are increasingly gaining attention, with ad impressions on social media up 20% year over year.
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2. Reach
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While related to impressions, reach refers to the total number of people who have actually seen your ad or content. If your content is displayed on a user’s screen three times while they scroll, it counts as three impressions but only as a reach of one.
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In traditional marketing, reach can be measured by the number of people who drive by a billboard. A billboard on a country road in Iowa would have a smaller reach compared to one on the I-5 in Los Angeles.
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Digital marketers measure reach in various ways, especially on social media platforms. Organic reach refers to the number of people who view your content for free, such as scrolling through a Facebook news feed. Paid reach involves someone viewing an ad that has been given top placement in their feed due to payment. Viral reach occurs when a viewer watches content shared by someone on their friend list.
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3. Engagement
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Engagement measures the number of interactions users have with your content. It is the next step after reach, as it indicates whether the content is inspiring action, such as making a purchase or progressing through the marketing funnel.
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In traditional marketing, grocery stores provide examples of engagement-boosting strategies. For instance, displaying holiday-themed cookies on a standalone endcap may entice shoppers to purchase something they hadn’t planned on buying.
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In the digital world, engagement encompasses a wide range of interactions. It can be as simple as a user liking and commenting on your Facebook page or pressing the play button on a video. Engagement can occur at different stages of the marketing funnel, from clicking on a banner ad to scrolling to the bottom of a product page. Ultimately, filling in a form and making a purchase constitutes a form of engagement.
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Multichannel engagement refers to customers interacting with a company through various channels like phone, email, or chat. Each channel is managed separately, but omnichannel engagement combines two or more channels through a unified console. For example, a cellular provider may use omnichannel engagement to offer customers the option of chatting with a representative instead of waiting on hold.
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A Modern, Expanded View of Marketing Metrics
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Digital marketing has expanded on traditional measuring systems by quantifying and measuring a vast number of user interactions. This provides marketers with a multi-dimensional picture of customer engagement.
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Digital marketing hasn’t abandoned traditional metrics but has built upon them. Metrics help identify the most important aspects of your digital marketing strategy and answer crucial questions for your business.
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To create content that meets and exceeds your content marketing metrics, consider working with a content specialist who can help you develop high-quality blog posts, eBooks, social media content, and more. This will ensure you achieve your goals throughout the year.
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Bold tag: marketing metrics
