Published by Programme B
Some of the biggest brands in the world spend billions of dollars on advertising each year. And within that budget, there is money set aside specifically for tracking marketing analytics.
If you don’t know what marketing analytics is, you might not see the benefit of tracking those numbers. And since your marketing budget most likely isn’t a billion dollars, you might even be concerned about whether or not you can even afford to do so.
The good news? We can help you answer all of your questions right now.
In this article, we’ll breakdown exactly what marketing analytics is. We’ll tell you why those numbers matter, how to track them, as well as what you can do with that information.
We’ll also tell you about tons of useful tools that exist that help you get the job done, as well as what numbers are the most important ones to track. That way you can start tracking your marketing strategies, and the numbers associated with them, more carefully.
What Are Marketing Analytics?
If you’re new to marketing, you might not have a good idea of what marketing analytics even is. That confusion can lead to you not believing in the hype, and thus, not feeling like tracking your marketing numbers is even necessary.
So, what are marketing analytics? Well, marketing analytics is the processes and technologies that marketers use to track the success of their marketing strategies.
Simply put, they’re the stats that you can use to determine if your marketing ideas are actually working or not. That way you can decide if continuing to invest in a certain marketing strategy is a good idea, or if a change is needed.
What Can Marketing Analytics Do for You?
Now that you know what marketing analytics is, it’s time to discuss in further detail what it can do for you and your brand or business. Like we previously mentioned, marketing analytics will help you determine if your marketing strategies are working.
They’ll also tell you how well they’re working, and how much success you’ve had, too. That information can be valuable when planning out future marketing campaigns for your brand or business.
With marketing analytics, you can also find out if something isn’t working for you marketing-wise. That way you can stop investing in that strategy, and pivot to something else, helping you reach your biggest goals.
On top of all of that, marketing analytics can help you forecast your future. You’ll be able to compare your success rate to the overall growth of your business. Then, you can use that information to get a good idea of what your business could look like, size-wise, in a few years.
What Marketing Analytics Do You Need to Track?
Another downside to being new to marketing, and marketing analytics, is trying to figure out what analytics to track. After all, there are tons of options to go with. And depending on what you do for a living, some analytics may be more important to track than others.
We’ll be honest. This part of the process is often easier said than done. Again, all businesses are different. So leaning on the help of a marketing professional to help you decide what you need to be tracking is recommended.
With that in mind, there are a handful of analytical categories that we recommend all businesses track. Below we’ve listed them, so you can start tracking your own numbers today.
- Sales Revenue
- Cost Per Lead
- Customer Lifetime Value
- Inbound Marketing ROI
- Traffic-to-Lead Ratio (New Contact Rate)
- Lead-to-Customer RatioLanding Page Conversion Rates
- Organic Traffic
- Social Media Traffic (and Conversion Rates)
- Social Media Engagement
- Mobile Traffic, Leads and Conversion Rates
- Content Strategies and Imaging
Marketing Analytics Tools to Use
One of the biggest reasons why you should track marketing analytics is, thanks to technology, it’s not that hard to do. There are tons of tools out there for you to use, many of them free, that can help you watch your numbers more closely.
Again, depending on what you do for a living, some of these tools may be more beneficial than others. With that in mind, the few that we’ve chosen to discuss are valuable for almost any kind of business.
If your brand or business is like most, you most likely have a website in place already. Using Google Analytics, you can track your website’s traffic closely and get tons of useful and helpful information.
Most social media platforms come with built-in analytics features, too. Simply finding where they’re located on your specific platforms, and then tracking them yourself, is all you need to do to get the job done.
Finally, we recommend that you get some personalized tools that fit you and your brand’s needs a bit better. Of course, you need to know what it is you need first to get this done. But chatting with an analytics expert, like the folks at Decibel, can help you do just that.
Still Not Sold on the Idea?
If you’re still not sold on the idea of tracking your marketing analytics, consider chatting with an expert today for more information. They’ll be able to better describe how marketing analytics could help your business more specifically.
That will allow you to get a more clear idea of how analytics can help you grow your marketing strategies, and as a result of that, your business.
Want to grow your brand awareness the right way? Looking for more marketing tips and tricks? Check back with our blog often for tons of useful ideas and information.