Apart from last-minute Google algorithm changes and sudden drops in search rankings, few things truly scare marketers. Let's face it, they are usually a pretty hardy bunch! However, with Halloween around the corner, making silly mistakes will certainly send a shiver down their spines. Here are some down-right spooky performance marketing errors your team should avoid in the next few weeks—one of the best times of the year to capture targets.
1. Not Setting Clear KPIs
Is there anything more frightening than wasted ad spend? Definitely not in marketing circles! However, marketers can easily burn cash this Halloween if they don't set explicit key performance indicators.
Defining goals is essential in any line of work. But in marketing, it can make all the difference between a successful Halloween campaign and one that's scarier than "The Exorcist." So, marketers should take some time to determine what they want to track—and how they're going to do it.
Every campaign is different, and marketers need to define what KPIs provide the most value and reveal the most insights. For example, they might want to focus solely on tracking conversions, which demonstrates where sign-ups and purchases originated. That can result in a better understanding of campaign performance. Alternatively, marketers may want to monitor click-through rate (CTR), cost-per-acquisition (CPA), or a combination of different metrics.
2. Forgetting About Audience Segmentation for Ads
Generic ad campaigns that try to target too many people at once are rarely successful, including during Halloween. You could say that's a grave mistake! (See what we did there?)
Instead, marketers should segment audiences and create different ad campaigns for different types of individuals. They can divide audiences based on various criteria, such as location, age, gender, behaviors, and previous purchasing histories. Luckily, clever marketing automation software will do most of the hard work for them.
Creating broad, non-segmented campaigns without a focus is essentially like digging your own crave. This approach rarely works! Highly tailored segmented campaigns, on the other hand, can result in more effective targeting. It can also reduce wasted budgets, optimize overall campaign performance, and provide other treats this Halloween.
3. Not Optimizing Bidding
Manual ad bidding isn't just a waste of time—it can be seriously scary for your business. That's because it's so easy to make mistakes that can affect the entire trajectory of a Halloween campaign. Even the most seasoned of PPC managers can run into trouble.
Automated bidding is a much less terrifying option. It uses information about a bid's performance to inform future bidding strategies for paid ads and then adjusts them based on real-time auction dynamics. That can help your marketers increase ad clicks and conversions. Thankfully, most online advertising platforms offer automated bidding features.
4. Not Investing in Ad Copy Testing
There's still time to test different variations of ad copy and creative elements such as images and other graphics. Doing so can improve campaign performance significantly.
Consider A/B testing, which allows marketers to see which ad copy version performs better with a particular audience and drives more conversions. For example, you could compare the following ad headers: "Our Halloween savings are scarily good" and "Check out our spookiest deals."
Alternatively, you can test ads in a more conventional way. For instance, marketers can interview target audiences to see which version of an ad they prefer. If there's not enough time to do that now, they can send out surveys to gauge feedback.
5. Ignoring Conversion Tracking and Attribution
If you anticipate a sales surge this season, you'll want to know what's driving those sales. That's where conversion tracking and attribution come in. These performance marketing methods tell you the factors that make customers convert. As a result, you can further fine-time your campaigns.
Like ad bidding, consider automating conversion tracking and attribution for the best results. Tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, and Leadfeeder let you set up tracking and attribution models. So, you can generate all the insights you need during this high-traffic season.
Make Performance Marketing Less Scary This Halloween
With the holiday season approaching, performance marketing mistakes easily happen. So, making plans now will maximize campaign success. Automating ad bids, setting clear KPIs, testing ad copy, and other tasks can help marketers rest in peace!
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