How to Properly Track Campaigns
Here we are, in the middle of Q4. You've set up your marketing campaigns (hopefully) and you're either about to launch or have already done so. If you're lucky enough to have an ecommerce site, then tracking shouldn't be an issue because you can see every step people take on your website and you can see sales in real time. It's super exciting. However, if you're like many businesses, you are online, but you don't have an online store. So how do you properly attribute online campaigns to offline events? Let's dig in.
GOALS
First, let's start with the basics. If there is no specific goal set in place for your campaign, then how will you be able to track its effectiveness? Your goal could be to increase foot traffic by 10% during the holidays, reach 500,000 impressions within your target audience, or increase sales 5% Y/Y. If there is no tangible goal set in place, then you'll never know the bump your campaign truly brought to your business.
CHANNELS
From there we can create goals per channel. If you've run similar campaigns in the past, you can measure click-through ratio and conversion rates from prior campaigns. It's also incredibly helpful to select channels that are easily tracked such as email, social media, and Google Ads. Picking different channels can help you know where your leads are coming from.
UTM CODES
The best way to know where your leads or sales are coming from is using UTM codes. We use an automation system that lets us create our own UTM codes which will produce a tracking code that won't affect the user experience. You can create UTM codes in Google Analytics, Hubspot, and many other marketing platforms. If you can, I recommend creating your own rather than having one produced for you by your platform of choice. It's important to create a UTM code per channel, even if you're driving people to the same landing page. If someone contacts you on your website, using a UTM code will allow you to truly know where your lead came from, if that lead came from your tracked channels.
REPORT
Now that we're using UTM codes, we can track the effectiveness of each channel. In addition to tracking leads, I recommend looking at website traffic. More specifically, look at your behavior flow. This allows you to see what people are doing on your site. Where they enter, where they go, and where they leave. You can break this down by channel as well. So, what we can see are the leads that came in per channel and what they did on the site before completing a form. Exciting.
ATTRIBUTION
I realize not everyone is savvy with Google Analytics and UTM codes. If you're in that boat then I recommend using good old fashion attribution models. If there is an uptick in foot traffic while your campaign is running, you can attribute that to your marketing campaign. You can break down attribution models per channel as well. There are a number of articles on attribution, so if you're in a position where you cannot properly track campaigns, I highly recommend reading up on attribution.
THE PROBLEM WITH A SEPARATE PHONE LINE
I've seen many of my Mom and Pop shop clients try to track campaigns with a separate phone line. In theory, it makes a ton of sense. If someone sees my ad/content with a specific phone number, then he or she will call me on that number. That way you can track the number of calls coming in and sales from those calls. Here's the problem: Do you have any idea how many different places your regular phone number is? Your website, Google, Yelp, Trip Advisor...the list goes on.What tends to happen is that people will see your ad and remember your brand but won't call at that moment. At a later time they will Google or go to your site, and find your original phone number. Your marketing hack has been hacked. This brings me back to attribution. If you see an uptick in phone calls while your campaign is running, odds are your campaign is working.
GOOD LUCK
I hope you have the ability to track your campaigns this holiday season! There are 100 different ways you can track, but the ones I've provided are tried and true. Good luck this holiday season and happy campaigning!
Beau Baumbach is our Marketing and Social Media Strategist for TIV Branding–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––TIV Branding is a boutique branding firm in Sonoma County, California. We specialize in building brands by using traditional, social and digital channels in unison. If you would like to discuss a project or find out more about how we do what we do, please email us at info@TIVbranding.com.