No matter your size or scale of operations, digital marketing can support and enhance business growth for PLCs right through to start ups and one man bands. It can be a cost effective and valuable tool in any marketing strategy, helping to increase brand awareness, drive customer engagement, solidify brand loyalty, secure leads and drive return on investment (ROI). However, with marketing budgets already stretched and a saturation of the digital landscape, many people are left asking how best to allocate budget towards a digital marketing strategy.
What social media marketing platforms should I be utilising? How much money should I be spending on PPC? How can I achieve more leads on my website?
This conundrum isn’t uncommon. No matter the industry you work in, from retail and hospitality through to construction and professional services, digital marketing should play a crucial role in your marketing plans. However, if you’re not allocating appropriate budgets, you could actually be doing more harm than good.
As leading a digital marketing agency in Essex and the South East, Squarestar Digital’s team of experts have devised a checklist for business owners and marketeers to help guide you on how to allocate budget towards digital marketing tactics and tools.
Follow this process, and you should have a clearer indication on how to ensure your budget is spent on valuable tactics which will actually help you achieve your business goals.
- What are you looking to achieve?
What do you want to secure from your digital marketing strategy? This is the first question to ask yourself before embarking on budget allocation and defining your objectives should be top of your list.
For example, if your number one priority is to convert more leads into sales, then you need to have a digital marketing budget which reflects this. Investing in paid advertising is a proven way to help drive more traffic to your website, which in turn can lead to more enquiries…
On the flip side, perhaps you’re just looking to engage with more people and increase awareness of your brand. Social media platforms could be key to achieving this and as part of this, it’s important to understand your ideal customer and what platforms they regularly use. Afterall, there is no point investing in video content for TikTok if the majority of your ideal client base are actually found on Facebook.
- Plan ahead
Any marketing expert will tell you that it’s usually a good idea to have your marketing budget firmed up for the year ahead so you have clarity on where you will be investing over the course of the next 12 months.
There may be particular calendar hooks (such as Christmas), which you already know will be a prime time of the year for you. If this is the case, think about how your digital marketing budget may be allocated to maximise results throughout these times. For example, if you want to do a big push in the run up to the festive season, set aside a larger proportion of your budget in the months / weeks leading up to Christmas, and make sure you don’t spend it earlier in the year!
- Once you’ve allocated your budget, ensure you don’t lose any leads
So, you’ve confirmed where you’re spending your money and what tactics you’ll be investing in. However, you will also need to ensure that your website is fit for purpose so that any leads don’t get lost. Consider a CRM system and think about the customer journey. Is your website attractive and does it communicate effectively with your target audience? If not, it’s time to consider how this can be updated.
We see it time and time again where a business has spent good money on a digital marketing budget, only for it to be wasted when data isn’t captured correctly and leads aren’t followed up.
The team at Squarestar digital have years’ of experience supporting clients to make the most of their digital marketing budget. So if you’re still questioning how to allocate your digital marketing spend for the year ahead, please get in touch!
