What all factors should be taken into account before starting a Digital Marketing Campaign to achieve the best ROI?

Obviously there are a lot of factors that should be considered before running a digital marketing campaign, however by taking into account the following and committing to follow-through, you can create a cost effective campaign with a significant return on investment.

1.       What are your goals? - You have to clearly and concisely identify what you are ultimately trying to achieve. In my opinion this is the most important factor. Having specific targeted goals simplifies the process of creating a plan to achieve them. Always be sure to set SMART objectives.

2.       Identify your target audience’s demography- again this is another very important factor to your campaign’s success. Who do you intend to communicate to? How applicable/relevant is your product or service to them?

3.       Conduct your Research and identify the platforms you would like to use. These are internet channels where your target audience or prospects are already on or are likely to use. Preferably create a channel Plan-This will help run your campaign smoothly. Also, you should highly consider mobile friendly designs as most people within Qatar use their mobile devices on these channels.

4.       Set a realistic budget-most small businesses overlook budgeting for their digital marketing campaigns while we know campaigns like Google campaigns need money to run. A good budget grants your campaign some freedom eg it allows you to bid for high-ranking keywords, which can improve the ad rank of your ads.

5.       Have a team of people who are subject-matter experts in your brand. Digital Marketing needs a dedicated team with clear understanding of what’s going on, and most importantly they should understand your brand very well.

6.       Be authentic in your content/message and customize for each target audience-basically avoid the one size fits all approach. Create your campaign message to communicate value/benefits rather than trying to sell. Educate your prospects how your offering will solve their problems. Ultimately, your audience wants you to answer “why you, not your competitors”. This will encourage your audience to click-through and engage with your brand, and eventually get the buy-in. Prior to message development, work on brand positioning. This is how you want your brand to be perceived by your target audience in relation to competitors. Basically, this is for internal guidance.

7.       Develop a Communication Strategy Plan- identify all the internet touch points your customers, and prospects, come in contact with. Here, a customer journey will help you pinpoint all the points-of-contact your customers engage with.

8.       Create a timeline- How long will the campaign run? When will each item be executed once the campaign is launched? Does everyone working on the team know their responsibility and when they are expected to deliver?

9.       Decide exactly how you will measure results and track the campaign’s progress- tracking is key as it will help you identify the ads that are performing well and those that are not allowing you to tweak the ads content. This can only be achieved if you have a reliable campaign analytics tools.