Digital marketing dominates media investments today, accounting for 60-70% of the global ad spend. And that’s hardly surprising. Digital channels offer many advantages in the form of smart targeting and measurement of results. Rightly used, eg combining brand and conversion messages, it’s a powerful tool in the media mix.
One challenge with digital marketing is that the mechanics metrics often are so logical and efficient that it’s easy to forget the message itself. But as with all other media, a good creative communication solution delivers significantly more impact than a mediocre one.
So, what is a good communication solution? That’s not easy to say – not even for those of us who do nothing but develop solutions. That’s why A/B testing is a simple and cost-effective way to optimize results. The principle is straightforward: a campaign starts with two or more different ads that are shown randomly. The system then identifies which ad is most effective and shifts the impressions more to that one.
And the difference can be substantial. Two ads looking alike can differ with a 10 potential in result.
This technology can also be used as a simple marketing survey, but with true result. If you have two offerings, or are targeting two different industries, run the ads A/B and you will get an instant insight in what your potential customers prefer. And the clicks never lies.
Optimization increases conversion radically
Even with extensive experience, it’s impossible to determine in advance which channels and messages will perform best based on your objectives. We have seen examples where goal completions have increased by over 500% when the media mix has been optimized.
And sometimes this is non-logical too. In one campaign we were running for a large global company the key objective was leads. We started out with multiple channels to test the effect. After a while we moved most budget from YouTube and Display to Search, since Search normally has a higher conversion rate. But the number of leads decreased… We put the budget back into YouTube and Display, and the number of leads increased again. Not logical, but probably an example of a synergy effect, ie that 1+1+1 = 4.
And if you want to discuss effective communication, you are always welcome to contact ulf.vanselius@sfinxagency.se
