Marketing has always played a significant role in business. Not only does it prime the pump for sales, but it also enhances branding and helps companies build a brand that resonates with audiences in highly specific and productive ways. Unfortunately, many firms spend way too much money on marketing without monitoring precisely what they’re getting in return. Performance marketing can fix all of this.
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What Is Performance Marketing?
“Performance marketing is a comprehensive term that refers to online marketing and advertising programs in which advertisers and marketing companies are paid when a specific action is completed; such as a sale, lead or click.” That’s the official definition according to the Performance Marketing Association.
In other words, performance marketing enables you to pay for what brings value to your business and not for wasteful advertising efforts that toss money down the drain. It’s the direct rebuttal to businessman John Wanamaker’s famous quote in which he said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.
Performance marketing was once believed to be impossible. But it grew into a niche of the digital advertising world. Now it’s regarded as a best practice. It’s what you’ll see on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and any other major ad platform.
In fact, performance marketing is now used heavily in native advertising, sponsored advertising, affiliate marketing, social media advertising, and search engine marketing. We’re even experiencing a surge in performance video, which was once thought to be impossible to monetize consistently and profitably, never mind at a reasonable rate.
The Five Big Benefits Of Performance Marketing
Why do companies use performance marketing today? The simple answer is that it works. The more detailed answer is that it can yield the following perks and benefits:
1. Transparent
The advertising field used to be a little shady … and there are still some unsavory pockets mixed among the industry leaders. Performance marketing has a way of ripping off any disguises and masks and making everything fairly transparent.
It shows precisely how much value you are getting in return for the money you spend. There are no questions about where your money is going, who is clicking, which ads are performing, and which ones are not. It’s all right there.
2. Measurable
Measuring your results is no longer like trying to pull teeth. You don’t have to make wild guesses, round up numbers, or use vague estimates. All the data are there for you to see and digest. Most ad platforms will even interpret the raw data for you and provide a visually pleasing dashboard so you can quickly evaluate how you’re doing.
3. Maximum Reach
When you have a performance marketing strategy in hand, you’re able to attain a more substantial and more diversified audience than you’d otherwise reach with a traditional advertising plan. In essence, every website or advertising platform that hosts your content has a stake in helping you convert (because if you don’t convert, they don’t get paid.) As a result, they’ll do everything they possibly can to put your brand in front of their readers, members, or viewers.
4. Greater Flexibility
Performance advertising offers so much versatility. You never get stuck spending money on something that doesn’t work. The worst thing that can happen is that you get a few erroneous clicks or you waste your time using an ineffective advertisement. If one strategy doesn’t work, just turn around and try something else. Eventually, the numbers will either support your approach or convince you to pivot in another direction.
5. Low-Risk
When it’s all said and done, performance advertising doesn’t create nearly the same level of risk that traditional advertising does. You can watch results in real-time, tweak your budget, and even put stops in place to avoid overpaying. In a world of questionable strategies, it’s a no-brainer!
Getting Started With Performance Marketing
Thanks to all the powerful performance-based platforms that are available today — such as Google AdWords or Facebook Advertising — it doesn’t take a whole lot of work or effort to get started with performance marketing.
The main thing is to determine your goals upfront and to figure out what performance you want to see. (Are you looking for clicks? Purchases? Email opt-ins? Social media followers?) From there, it’s all about measuring your results, optimizing, and repeating the process until you get exactly what you want.
If you are interested in even more business-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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