However, investing in brand campaign can actually be more fruitful in the long run. But how do you know that what you do is really working? Here are some tips for accurately measuring the success of your brand campaign.
Set your goals
Before embarking on a brand campaign, determine what you want to it to achieve. Following SMART goals is usually a good place to start. Ask yourself:
- What do I want to get out of this campaign?
- Do I just want to raise awareness about my brand?
- Do I want the audience to follow a specific action?
Keep these questions front-of-mind as you define your goals and benchmarks. It’s also a good idea to revisit them before the campaign starts, as your strategy might have changed after exploring different outcomes and parameters.
Leverage analytics
In the digital age, you have a wealth of weapons at your disposal to measure whether or not your campaign is a winner. It's all about harnessing the power of data. Take into account insights like audience demographics, their interest levels and how aware of your brand they are before and after your campaign.
A/B testing is also a popular method that can allow you to tweak the campaign as you go. It’s also important to define your key performance indicators (KPIs), such as website visits, shares/comments on social media, number of downloads, etc. This helps you ensure you’re measuring what you want.
Listen
Listening online can reveal whether there's been a spike in brand mentions since the start of your campaign. Also, have you watched the number of direct messages, comments, likes and shares rise significantly? Are your business pages climbing the Google search ladder? All these are positive indicators of a good campaign.
With 87% of shoppers researching products and services online before making a purchase, you’ll want to monitor what the public is saying about your company to ensure your brand campaign is on the right track.
Measure web traffic
Measuring web traffic is an easy way to see whether your investment is paying off. Google Analytics has a direct channel that shows how many people:
- Searched your URL
- Visited via a bookmark
- Clicked a link in an email or document, and more
If you want to know more about your search volume, both Google Trends and Keyword Planner let you type in your business name and reveal the volume of searches. It’s more of a surface metric, but over time it can show you how your brand's impact on search is changing.
Seek direct feedback
Last but not least: ask your customers. They are a fount of knowledge, so take advantage of that. A quick email survey, asking how they found your business or encouraging them to submit an online review can help you determine whether, and to what extent, they may have been influenced by your campaign.
Thanks to digitisation, brand campaigns are now easier to measure than ever. With some preparation, a solid strategy and the tools to monitor relevant metrics, you can now get a detailed picture of your campaign efforts and get ready to reap the rewards.