It’s no secret that marketing has taken a positive turn toward the digital realm in the last decade or so.
Marketing budgets have continued to change with this trend, with most experts saying that spending between 6-20% of total revenue on marketing efforts is advisable for businesses looking to keep up in their industry.
Spend too much, and you’ll put your budget at risk in other areas. Spend too little, and your business will be limping along on a measly marketing budget, effectively stunting your own growth in the long run.
We’re not here to tell you how much to spend on digital marketing efforts this year (although if you give us a call we would be glad to talk things through with you). But we can at least answer the question that led you to this article…
Here are 4 things you need to prioritize in your digital marketing budget.
1. Optimizing your website
Your website should be the top priority for your digital marketing. Everyone and their grandmother has a homepage these days, and you should too. Here’s a secret that’s not-so-secret – any company, business, or organization without even the simplest of websites will look like one of three things:
- A scam
- Outdated
- Unofficial/unprofessional
If your customer can’t find your product or service information online, it’s highly likely that they’ll get frustrated or lose interest and move on to a competitor. We recommend that you allocate the largest portion of your digital budget toward creating a polished and user-friendly website, even if it’s just a homepage.
Aside from creating your website, you should make sure that it’s clear, consistently updated, and SEO-optimized.
For clarity, keep your copy to the point and craft a concise CTA (call to action, like Shop or Register Now). To avoid becoming outdated, stay on top of updating copy, dates, and other information, and freshen up imagery every so often. As for SEO, well – more on that later.
2. Digital and search ads
This should be your budget’s second priority. It comes in many forms – two of the most important are email marketing and PPC (pay-per-click) advertising.
Email marketing is still the king of digital ads, with most companies reporting that it yielded the highest ROI (i.e. return on investment, meaning it resulted in revenue that exceeded its expense). Its value lies in the low production cost and direct line of communication to leads and potential or current customers.
With PPC ads – also known as search ads – you can generate leads through ads placed above organic listings in search engine results. We’ve all seen them: they’re the first handful of Google results at the top of the page, labeled as “ad” or “sponsored.”
They do cost more, as they are paid ads, but they still generate an astonishing amount of leads. On average, about 65% of searchers click on a PPC ad, so you should allocate funds accordingly.
3. Social media
In the age of social media, it should come as no surprise that having an online presence on social platforms made it on this list. After you’ve invested in your website and digital or search ads, spend the majority of what’s remaining in your budget on socials – i.e. hiring a social media manager, funding research on the latest social trends, and even securing paid partnerships and influencer endorsements.
The average business investment in social media marketing has increased 24.6% in the U.S. between 2017 and 2022. Clearly, this avenue of digital marketing has taken off and won’t slow down any time soon.
As your target audience shifts between generations (and as your current target audience gets more and more involved with social media), you’ll need to engage with them on these platforms – which means you’d be wise to build your presence on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
4. SEO integration
What is SEO, again? It stands for search engine optimization. If you want any results from your digital marketing, you need to integrate SEO into every aspect of your marketing, including the three priorities we’ve covered above.
To optimize all your marketing efforts, devote some time and funds toward SEO research and integration. You need to identify your keywords and produce website copy and backlinks, search ad copy, social media captions, product descriptions, and all other content with those essential keywords.
Without SEO, your digital marketing just won’t be as effective, so don’t neglect it in your marketing process or your budget.
Need help building your digital marketing budget?
Book a free 15-minute discovery call with TwoTone Creative and together we’ll optimize your digital marketing for maximum results.
