We live in a time of advertising blindness. Experts defined this phenomenon as automatic self-defense against sponsored material.
How to encourage recipients to interact with the brand anyway? Performance marketing comes with the solution. It is based on conversion, i.e. measurable effectiveness of implemented campaigns. What else is behind performance marketing?
Let’s figure it out!
What is performance marketing all about?
It is a form of advertising communication based on planning, implementing, optimizing and analyzing activation in terms of conversion, i.e. a marketing effectiveness metric. It is especially important in digital activities.
Contrary to the image or CSR campaigns we wrote about here (LINK1), performance marketing does not focus on building brand awareness. It uses its previously established name to convince recipients to perform specific activities and interact. “Don’t interfere with what people are interested in. Be what interests them”. Craig Davis, co-founder of the American courier brand Sendle, emphasizes the importance of the company’s presence in the sphere of customer interest. If we have gained the trust of people in the past, now through the campaign we can attract their attention and – for example – encourage them to download a brand e-book. When they do, they’ll raise the KPIs. What does this hide?
What to look at when setting KPIs?
Performance marketing aims to achieve the planned KPIs (key performance indicators), i.e. indicators of the effectiveness of the activities undertaken. They analyze, for example, the number of people who downloaded the e-book, subscribed to the newsletter or clicked on an advertising banner. The better the conversion, the closer we are to the goal.
The indicators can be divided into several categories: lead gathering (potential customers who left their data in a survey or form), website traffic indicators (e.g. e-book download), SEO (optimization of activities in the context of search engine positioning, paid advertising and analysis social media.
Billing Models in Performance Marketing
The CPC (cost per click), CPV (cost per view for displaying advertising materials), and CPM (cost per mille, or cost to reach a thousand recipients) models are the most commonly encountered forms of settlement in performance marketing.
Among these, we also find CPA (cost per action), CPO (cost per order), CPL (cost per lead, which we mentioned earlier), and CPS (cost per sale, where the advertiser pays when a customer makes a purchase due to an online ad).
It is worth analyzing the forms of settlement in performance marketing. The effectiveness of campaigns in performance marketing depends on the decision of whether we care about communicating to the largest possible group of recipients, reaching those who have interacted with the brand in the past, or the number of reactions to a given publication.
We should remember that in each case, the most important issue of any activity within performance marketing is achieving the intended KPI. Of course, only by optimizing and sticking to the set budget for specific marketing activities can we achieve multi-dimensional success.
How to Effectively Implement Performance Marketing?
To effectively implement performance marketing, several key principles should be followed. Here are three important steps:
Defining Goals and Success Indicators – Before starting a performance marketing campaign, it is crucial to precisely define the goals you want to achieve, such as increasing sales by 20% within 3 months. Then, choose appropriate success indicators that will allow for monitoring progress and evaluating the campaign’s effectiveness.
Choosing the Right Tools and Platforms – Performance marketing relies on advanced tools and platforms. It is important to select those that best meet the needs and budget of the company. Tools such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or analytical platforms should be well integrated and enable precise tracking of campaign results.
Continuous Monitoring and Optimization of Campaigns – Performance marketing is a dynamic process that requires continuous monitoring and optimization. It is important to regularly analyze data, compare results, and take appropriate optimization actions. Only in this way can maximum results be achieved and campaign effectiveness increased.
Key Elements of Performance Marketing
To effectively implement performance marketing, understanding its key elements is essential. Here are three of the most important:
Data Measurement and Analysis – Performance marketing is data-driven. It is important to implement appropriate tools for measuring campaign results, such as Google Analytics or advertising platforms with built-in analytical tools. Data analysis allows for identifying weak points in the campaign and taking appropriate optimization actions.
Campaign Optimization – Continuous optimization is an integral part of performance marketing. Based on data and analysis, changes can be made in ad content, target groups, or distribution channels. A/B testing is one of the tools that allow for comparing different ad variants and choosing the most effective ones.
Utilizing Technological Tools – Performance marketing relies on advanced technological tools that enable automation and optimization of campaigns. Tools such as programmatic advertising or marketing automation allow for precise targeting, personalization, and automation of advertising processes.
Performance Marketing Strategies
There are many different strategies in performance marketing that can be applied depending on the goals and industry of the company. Here are three popular strategies:
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Campaigns – PPC campaigns are one of the most popular forms of performance marketing. They involve paying for each click on an ad. The most popular platform for conducting PPC campaigns is Google Ads. PPC campaigns can effectively reach potential customers and generate website traffic.
Affiliate Marketing – Affiliate marketing involves collaboration with partners, known as affiliates, who promote a company’s products or services in exchange for a commission from sales or other specified actions. An example of such activities could be dating portals collaborating with bloggers to acquire new users. This strategy allows companies to expand their reach and reach new audiences through an affiliate network.
Remarketing – Remarketing is a strategy that involves reaching back to people who have already had contact with the brand or visited the website. Using cookies and remarketing tools, ads can be displayed to these individuals on other websites or social media. Remarketing helps maintain customer interest and increases the chances of conversion.
Influencer Campaigns – In recent years, influencer campaigns have become a popular performance marketing strategy. They involve collaboration with influencers who have large reach in their communities and can promote a company’s products or services. Influencer campaigns can reach new audiences, gain consumer trust, and increase conversions.
Content Marketing – Content marketing is a strategy based on creating valuable content that engages and attracts users. In performance marketing, content marketing can be used to generate website traffic, build customer relationships, and increase conversions. Publishing regular articles, blogs, e-books, or infographics related to the company’s offer can contribute to achieving better results.
Social Media Advertising – Social media advertising is an effective performance marketing strategy. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn offer advertising tools that allow for precise targeting of ads based on demographics, interests, or user behaviors. Social media advertising enables effective targeting of the audience and generating conversions.
Email Marketing – Email marketing is another performance marketing strategy aimed at reaching customers through personalized email messages. By segmenting the database, sending personalized offers, newsletters, or promotional notifications, customer engagement and conversions can be increased. Key indicators such as open rate or click-through rate should be monitored to continuously refine email campaigns.
Creative Approaches to Performance Marketing
There are many opportunities for a creative approach in performance marketing that can bring additional benefits. Here are three such approaches:
Creating Effective Landing Pages – A landing page is a key element of performance marketing. It is on this destination page that the user takes a specific action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. It is important for the landing page to be convincing, clear, and provide intuitive navigation so that users can easily achieve the intended goal.
A/B Testing – A/B testing is a method of comparing two variants of an advertisement, website, or other campaign elements. This allows for determining which version yields better results and making decisions based on optimization. A/B testing enables continuous improvement of campaigns and increasing their effectiveness.
Content Personalization – Content personalization is one of the key trends in performance marketing. Through data analysis and audience segmentation, advertising content can be tailored to individual preferences and needs of users. Personalization increases campaign effectiveness and builds greater customer engagement.
Gamification – Gamification involves using game elements to engage users and increase engagement. In performance marketing, gamification can be used to create interactive campaigns, contests, or loyalty programs. This can increase customer engagement, encourage interaction with the brand, and convert that interaction into conversion.
User-Generated Content – User-generated content includes reviews, opinions, photos, or videos related to the brand or company’s product. Utilizing user-generated content in performance marketing can increase customer trust, build a community around the brand, and generate conversions. Customers are more likely to believe other users than the brand itself.
Internal Influencers – In addition to collaborating with external influencers, companies can utilize the potential of internal influencers. These are employees who are active on social media and have authentic knowledge about the company or industry. Utilizing internal influencers in performance marketing can increase employee engagement, build the company’s image, and promote the offer in an authentic and credible way.
Interactive Video – Interactive video is a form of video that engages users through interaction. It can be a video where the user has the option to choose a path, solve puzzles, or participate in simulations. In performance marketing, interactive video can attract users’ attention, increase engagement, and effectively convey the advertising message.
Performance Marketing. Pros and cons.
How to efficiently manage campaign expenses? Which ad format is the best? How to get to know your audience better?
Performance marketing is the answer. It allows you to optimize the budget, makes it easier to specify the target by analyzing the people who respond to the brand’s “teasing”, and it facilitates the assessment of which activities work better and which are worse. We see the effects in conversion, i.e. the implementation of KPIs.
Unfortunately, some indicators may not be reliable. Let’s imagine that we want to increase the sale of the product on the company’s social profile. The fact that the site gained 1,000 followers during the campaign is very beneficial, but it did not necessarily directly impact the amount of units purchased.
Let’s settle up!
CPC (cost per click), CPV (cost per view) or CPM (cost per mille, i.e. the cost of reaching a thousand recipients) are among the most popular settlements in performance marketing.
We should remember that in each case we focus on achieving the planned KPI. However, it is worth analyzing the forms of settlement. You should consider whether we care about recipients’ clicks on banners, displaying advertising videos, or playing messages by as many people as possible.
Performance Marketing x Neon
We are not afraid of performance marketing. We faced it with the ASUS ROG4Creators campaign. It is a cyclical competition that we co-create. Last year’s edition was based on two tasks: creating a song for a fragment of a game or writing its text. The ambassadors were Natalia Zamilska and RAU Performance. Our KPI was to get as many competition entries as possible. Due to the high entry threshold, we expected 200 of them, but with our joint efforts and a tailored digital communication strategy, we gathered over 400 volunteers! Do you want to know more?
Performance marketing in practice
As Bartosz Szeluga writes in an article for the webepartners.pl portal: “There is a growing awareness of marketers and companies who want to see specific results. They want to be effective”.
The task of the person preparing the performance campaign is to choose a strategy and adjust it to the appropriate reception channel, the touch-point.
The recipient can receive mailing, watch an advertisement in advance of a YouTube video, or read paid text at the top of the searches. There are many possibilities, but in order to achieve the best efficiency, it is worth analyzing them all and choosing a specific strategy. As a result, we will get the expected results – in black and white!
We can encounter many objectives from clients and brands with whom we collaborate on performance marketing campaigns. These include: building brand image, registering on a website, clicking on an advertisement, making a purchase, or filling out a form.
The task of the person preparing a campaign within performance marketing is to adopt a specific strategy, tailor it to the appropriate reception channel, touch-point, and constantly analyze whether the results meet the intentions of a given campaign.
Performance Marketing – Summary
Email marketing, affiliate programs, advertising banners on YouTube, visiting a website, or paid e-commerce industry texts at the top of the SERP (the page that appears after entering a phrase in Google) are some of the activities we can associate with performance marketing.
Although there are many possibilities, to achieve the best results, it is worth conducting continuous and detailed analysis of possible marketing actions to be taken.
The accompanying risk, benefits, and costs are our make or break.
What challenges to face in performance marketing?
What is its biggest advantage according to you?
Share in the comment!
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
How does performance marketing differ from traditional marketing?
Performance marketing differs from traditional marketing mainly in that payment for advertising in performance marketing occurs only when a specific result is achieved, such as a purchase or newsletter sign-up. In traditional marketing, payment is made for views or clicks, regardless of the results achieved.
What are the most important metrics in performance marketing?
In performance marketing, there are many metrics that can be monitored, depending on the goals of the campaign. Some of the most important metrics include the conversion rate, cost per acquisition (CPA), customer lifetime value (CLV), click-through rate (CTR), and return on investment (ROI).
Can every company benefit from performance marketing?
Performance marketing can be an effective strategy for most companies, regardless of industry and scale of operations. However, it is important to properly tailor the strategy and tools to the specific needs and goals of the company.
What are the key success factors in performance marketing?
The key success factors in performance marketing are the proper definition of goals and success indicators, selection of appropriate tools and platforms, continuous monitoring and optimization of campaigns, and a creative approach to advertising and content personalization.
How to measure the effectiveness of performance marketing campaigns?
To measure the effectiveness of performance marketing campaigns, analytical tools such as Google Analytics should be used, which allow tracking of key metrics such as conversion rate, CTR, and ROI. Additionally, conducting A/B tests is also important, as they allow comparing different campaign variants and choosing the most effective ones.
