How Should I Spend My Marketing Budget?
While the answer can vary between industries, I think the below can be applied to the majority of businesses, especially in the B2C eCommerce and B2B space.
70%: SEO
Search engine optimization and thought leadership content for blog posts on the website, emails, and social media posts. There is a huge Venn Diagram overlap with Demand Generation here.
While SEO doesn't directly provide new interested prospects immediately, after 6-12 months, more quality prospects will find your business. With that said, having that relevant, timely content will help support other communications strategies (like email and social media)
10%: A Quality Email Marketing Platform (like Klaviyo).
Email automation and consistent campaigns that highlight thought leadership and the benefits for prospective clients will go a long way. Bonus points for lead scoring based on email and website activities. More bonus points for segmenting your audience into Hot, Warm and Cold prospects and communicating appropriately.
The goal is to own communications with your prospects and clients and not rely solely on social media platforms.
20%: Lead generation
Paid media, like Meta/Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, and TikTok will help to distribute content and acquire new prospects.
This is the faucet that introduces prospects to your brand and services.
Plus, since paid media is almost always performance-based and revenue can be tied back to costs, the profit dollars can roll in after the foundation is set up.
In closing, focus on the fundamentals first, then move on to the shiny object.
What do you think, do you agree?