The importance of asking the right questions
Getting a marketing campaign right on the first try is a rarity. Too many factors are at play to accurately predict the result of their combined forces. And even if you’ve managed a solid effort on the first try, you can always do better! That’s where the optimization process begins. If you start building on your strengths while battling your weaknesses, you will see your results gradually improving. So, time to get the optimization ball rolling!
Get to know the three biggest parts of your campaign
In marketing, it’s all about balance. You want to reach your audience without overwhelming them, to present an attractive package without taking the focus off the product and so on. But how do you find that balance? It is arguably one of the hardest things to master for a digital marketer.
To get a good footing, it is important to understand the three key elements of creating a powerful campaign:
- CONTEXT: What do you have to offer? What makes you a valuable partner for your audience?
- CONCEPT: Are you presenting your product attractively? Does your communication style match that of your audience?
- TACTICS: How are you getting your content to your audience? What budget, channels and other tools are you using?
Let’s put it very simply: creating valuable content is all about juggling context, concept and tactics. Drop one of them and the rhythm of the whole chain gets interrupted. Storytelling is a great strategy, but without a solid message, what is there to tell? And what is the point of telling an amazing story if no one is listening?
After getting a good understanding of these three elements, the next step is to perfect them into a powerful campaign.
KPIs: the driving force behind optimization
The context, concept and tactics come into play at different points throughout the customer journey. By cross-referencing the KPIs in that journey with the key elements of your campaign, finding out where to start optimizing becomes significantly easier.
Let’s take a look at some of the steps your audience goes through in a digital campaign. They are influenced by the context, concept and tactics:
- REACH: The first step of a solid campaign is making sure it reaches your target audience. This is where your tactics are of the utmost importance. To get your message out there, you need to have the right budget and use the correct channels.
- VIEWS: Having people come across your ad is great, but having them actually look at it is the goal. In order to convince someone to stop scrolling, your concept needs to be appealing.
- CLICKS: You’ve managed to catch your audience’s attention. Combining a great concept with an even better context, you will see your CTR increasing.
- CONVERSION: Once your audience has reached the place you wanted them to, you’ll have to rely on a strong context and attractive concept to convince them to stay. Only then will your audience take the time to read what you have to say.
- LEAD GENERATION: In the end, your context is the reason your audience chooses you over a different brand. Put emphasis on what differentiates you from the pack and you’ll generate successful marketing and sales leads.
Getting your audience to that last step isn’t always straightforward. There are multiple factors at play in different phases throughout your customer journey, which can complicate the optimization process. By isolating each element and fine-tuning one thing at a time, you can improve your campaign step by step.
But how do you start the optimization process? By asking the right questions!
Ask the why to get to the how
Your KPIs offer valuable insights into what is or isn’t working. You’ll need to figure out the reason why you are getting those results, however, to find the right balance between your context, concept and tactics. Only then will you be able to effectively optimize your campaign.
Instead of immediately asking yourself how to get a higher CTR, for example, try finding out why you are not seeing the results you were aiming for. Maybe your concept was right all along, but you were getting noticed by the wrong audience or the other way around.
Even within the three areas – context, concept and tactics – you’ll find a bunch of different elements that influence their effect. That’s why it’s important not to be afraid to dig deep. In case you’re not sure how to get started, think of questions like the following:
My context is not working…
- Is your product innovative?
- Are you offering your audience something they cannot find elsewhere?
- Can your audience trust you?
- …
My concept is not working…
- Are you matching your audience’s tone of voice?
- Does your creative idea match the content?
- Do your visuals have a professional feel to them?
- …
My tactical approach is not working…
- Are you using the right channels to reach your audience?
- Are you pushing your content too much or too little?
- Is the timing logical?
After analyzing the different components of your campaign, it’s time to try new things. By gradually fine-tuning the different areas, you can tackle the optimization process much more efficiently and, eventually, you’ll see your results increasing exponentially. After all, you’re improving an optimized version of an optimized version of an optimized version and so on. Good luck!
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