The online marketing mix depends on the goals

Which path leads to the target? In online marketing, advertisers are spoiled for choice.Display advertising, SEO, Adwords, social media, video ads, mobile - and each of these in turn has different and growing subsectors: The forest of online marketing channels is becoming denser and more confusing. The challenge of making the right choice is thus increasing. However, the expert survey clarifies the first step: formulate and record goals and conduct an analysis of how the various channels interact.Primary goal decisiveAndi Hess, Head of Online & Mobile at Publicitas, starts by saying: "Just because the digital market comes up with completely new marketing formats, the principles of classic advertising and marketing consulting are far from invalid. Thus, for Publicitas, the most important question to the customer is still: Remo Prinz, partner at Mediahead, points to the interaction of the individual channels: "This is the great challenge of digital marketing, since the reach on digital channels is completely fragmented. Only software is still able to pull together the different data sources and map results in such a way that marketing professionals can draw the right conclusions. Right now, you can more or less only measure success in isolation per channel." Branding and performance goals would need to be pursued when choosing the right online marketing mix: "In any case, I would encourage my client to take advantage of programmatic buying. It lowers costs and increases advertising efficiency."Branding and performance goalsAccording to Andi Hess, awareness is about generating as many impressions as possible within the intended target group. "Our audience targeting approach via PMP and programmatic trading is suitable for this. Optimization within targeting is based on the cost/number of impressions ratio," he explains. If sales promotion is the primary goal, Hess advises: "Since the tracking goal is only in the third or fourth process step here, we initially use all available channels, including newsletters or fixed placements. We continuously optimize campaign management for playouts with the lowest CPL, regardless of the payment model of the respective advertising medium. To do this, we use appropriately specialized tools such as Medialution." In addition, he says, the duration of the campaign must be of sufficient length. When aiming for direct sales, Andi Hess recommends relying on an affiliate program for a certain basic volume.There is no patent remedyHendrik van Dyck doesn't pull a patent remedy for choosing the right mix out of his hat either: "There are suitable deployment methods for every channel that, in the right combination, lead to campaign success. For example, display banner advertising can help to make a brand known on the one hand, but on the other hand it can also be a valuable tool when it comes to sales." Campaign planning, therefore, looks at what goals are to be achieved, he said. "A sufficient branding effect cannot be achieved with every format or placement. If, on the other hand, the goal is sales, you plan suitable placements for this and design the advertising media accordingly," says van Dyck. "We therefore recommend that our customers formulate a campaign goal and, together with us, consider how the campaign goal can be achieved in the best possible way. However, all long-term measures such as SEO, email marketing or social media should be urgently anchored with the client as a strategic marketing component." In order to use these channels correctly, online should be understood as an important medium and the topics and issues should be dealt with specifically within the company.Real time response"The right online mix is first and foremost also a question of how the entire communications and media mix is presented and which overarching strategy is used as the basis for market development," also emphasizes Andreas Jorgella from The House Agency. "We know of few clients and cases where search is not a top performer per se due to its pull character - which means that a central question is always aimed at maximizing this channel or increasing its demand." In addition, Jorgella argues that in the other digital channels such as display, the push marketing legislation is similar to that of traditional media - except that response can be optimized in almost real time. In addition, he says, "We divide the social networks into 2 categories: First, as an advertising platform, where they are to be evaluated 1:1 with other online titles according to KPI's. On the other hand, as a social media feedback channel with the opportunity to conduct the dialog with the user visibly at eye level."Allocate advertising budget sensiblyAccording to Worldsites Managing Director Beat Z'graggen, various factors determine how high a proportion of the budget should flow into online marketing and which resources are combined in what way: "Important factors include the profile of the target group, costs per impression, reach of the various online media among the target group, saturation point of the traditional media, the desired effect - whether short-term or long-term, and the campaign budget". Coca Cola has been using the 70/20/10 formula for some time, he said. 70 percent of the campaign budget went to traditional channels. 20 percent in search engine marketing and social media, 10 percent in viral campaigns and other higher-risk opportunities. "Online controlling tools like Google Analytics allow you to allocate the advertising budget most wisely to the channels where they generate the most revenue," Z'graggen adds, "It's always exciting to see how even something that comes on TV can be measured online." Since every market is different, it pays to set up multi-channel tracking tailored to your needs, he says: "A good way to do this is to study the people who have made conversions that align with the campaign goals. Investigations into which media these people were in contact with at what time help to understand what one's own customer journey looks like, which marketing measures work, and what is of no use," Beat Z'graggen explains further.Multi-channel tracking"Various studies show that no campaign should be made without search engine marketing," says Z'graggen, "prospects get information online either way, and those who can't be found via Google help their competitors to generate more sales." Google advertising offers exciting opportunities, he says, but for the terms that really bring in sales, hardly anyone wants to reach only the roughly 10 proeznt of searchers who click on the ads. SEO absolutely has to be done, especially for the high-revenue terms, he said.Social media, on the other hand, is rarely useful for directly acquiring new customers, but is primarily used for customer care and building a relationship with prospects. "Mobile is very important or currently still negligible, depending on the industry," is his assessment. Here, too, it is necessary to consult appropriate controlling to find out how great the importance of mobile is for one's own company. Author: Gregor Waser