How To Assess the Success of Your Digital Marketing Strategy (And What To Do if It’s Not Performing)

While there’s no denying the allure of a billboard or the power of a print ad, marketing is so much more than that. In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, a digital marketing strategy (DMS) is the guiding force that helps businesses coordinate their online efforts to connect with their target audience. 

But what is a digital marketing strategy? And how can we tell if it’s performing…or…*gulp*…if it’s not? Let’s take it from the top.

What Is a Digital Marketing Strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is a carefully crafted approach to leveraging your online channels for effective engagement and conversions with your target audience. 

It’s also a mouthful…so for both the readers’ and this writer’s sake…we’ll be referring to it as DMS from here on out. Ok? Ok. Nice.

The goals of a DMS are varied based on your brand’s or business’ needs. For example, they can include increasing social media following, driving website traffic, securing newsletter sign-ups and more.

Your DMS is a strategic framework encompassing various elements, including email campaigns, SEO efforts, social media (both paid and organic) and website optimization. These components form a cohesive funnel, leading audiences toward specific actions like those mentioned above.

How To Tell If Your Strategy Is Performing

The digital work offers a treasure trove of data. On one hand, this makes it very easy to see just how well your campaign is performing and what specific pieces are or aren’t. The downside? Sometimes, you can have too much of a good thing.

With all this available data, the challenge lies in deciphering which pieces are helping or hindering your campaign’s performance. A comprehensive evaluation will help you identify key metrics across the DMS’ many channels:

• Email: Delve into open rates and click-through rates. These metrics will show if your message resonates with customers and if it is compelling them to engage/act.
• SEO: Is your website ranking? Scrutinize keyword strength. Tools such as Moz (our preferred) help identify ideal keywords and which keywords need some extra love in your copy. Your ultimate goal will be to secure that #1 position in search engine results. Of course, there’s more to SEO than this…read our blog on local SEO and citations.
• Social Media: Are you running paid social ads? Is your organic content enticing? Adding a “How did you hear about us?” section on your contact forms can help you better understand which clients converted from these digital efforts.
• Website: Examine the number of active monthly users, conversion rates and session durations. These metrics provide valuable insights into the user experience (UX) and how your current content performs.

Of course, your return on investment (ROI) is a key indicator of your strategy’s success. Your marketing efforts exist to create awareness AND profit. If your DMS isn’t delivering the desired results, it may be time to consider reassessing your investment and refining your strategy.

What To Do If Your DMS Is Not Performing

If you’ve noticed that your strategy is not bringing results, don’t panic! Marketing is all about evolution. There is always room and ways to improve your efforts. Identifying underperforming aspects of your DMS is pivotal, and strategic fixes are essential for course correction. Here are tailored suggestions for each key channel:

If email is not performing:

• Conduct a thorough review of email content to ensure relevance and resonance with the target audience.
• Experiment with different subject lines and calls to action.
• Implement audience segmentation for more targeted and personalized communication.

If SEO is not performing:

• Undertake a comprehensive keyword analysis, refining your strategy based on current search trends.
• Optimize website content to align with search engine algorithms, ensuring visibility and relevance.
• Prioritize an ADA-compliant/user-centric website experience to improve search rankings.

If social media is not performing:

• Revise ad content and targeting strategies based on performance data, ensuring alignment with audience preferences.
• Increase engagement by incorporating interactive and shareable content into your social media strategy.
• Explore influencer marketing to extend your brand reach and connect with a broader audience.

If the website/landing page is not performing:

• Optimize website speed and ensure compatibility with mobile devices to enhance UX.
• Refine calls-to-action on landing pages for clarity and effectiveness.
• Conduct A/B testing on landing page variations to identify the most conversion-friendly design.

And if you don’t have time, don’t know how or simply don’t want to mess with any of that…enlist the expertise of a digital marketing specialist. These experts are invaluable in further streamlining data analysis and enhancing the overall efficiency of your DMS, providing valuable insights for continuous improvement.

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