It is difficult to calculate the return on your marketing investment (ROMI). Marketing investments are not like capital investments which have a fixed upfront cost and clear results. They evolve over time and can produce both empirical and intangible results.

It may seem daunting, but by creating a solid strategy for long-term growth that you stick to, you will have the best chance at increasing your ROMI.

The strategy and the process you use can make or break your marketing efforts. You can achieve a high return on investment (ROI), if you execute your marketing campaigns well.

Quick Takeaways

• You can create measures for your ROMI in either a qualitative or quantitative way. Both have their benefits.
• Content media can be used to increase your ROMI. This can produce both qualitative and quantitative results.
• Diverse strategies can help you determine what works and what doesn’t.

These five strategies will help you transform your efforts into results and guarantee a positive return for marketing investments.

1. Define your ROI Measures

The first step in understanding what works is to follow the formulas to calculate your ROMI. You must understand where your marketing efforts are making money to improve lead generation.

It is important to remember that measuring your return on investment doesn't only have to do with the tangible returns and formulas. But it also has to consider the intangible benefits. You can be a thought leader, or improve long-term online growth.

You can gain insight into the intangibles such as public perception and long-term growth by defining the ROI metrics of your content marketing.

2. Publish keyword-driven content

Keyword research is a great way to increase site traffic. You will attract more customers to your site if you use informed SEO practices.

You will rank higher in the SERPs if you create content that is optimized for high-volume, low-difficulty terms. This means that more people will find their way to you site.

This content can be further enhanced by making sure it targets prospects who are more likely to make a purchase. Further “down the funnel.”

This will allow you to market to prospects who are easy to reach and most likely to convert into clients.

3. Use social marketing

You are missing out on many opportunities and influence if you don't use social media as a primary marketing channel.

HubSpot defines Social Marketing as “the creation of content for social media platforms in order to promote your products or services, build community and drive traffic to your company.”

Many companies now use social media to source leads directly. These leads are qualified based on their interests, firmographic information, and communication history. They have a higher chance of converting than traditional outbound marketing (telemarketing/print, batch email, radio, etc.).

Do you need a refresher course on the role of social media in your digital marketing strategy? No problem – we've got you! Check out these 10 digital marketing tips and tricks from top brands for more information.

4. Use A/B testing

No matter what medium you are working in, certain tactics work better than others. Split testing, also known as A/B testing, is the process of comparing different versions of an asset to determine which one yields the best results.

Marketers can conduct A/B testing on everything, from web layouts to titles and subject lines to blog posts and emails. Although it may seem simple, incremental returns on marketing investments can add up to a lot.

Image source: BrillMark.com

5. Get rid of the competition

Know your enemy! This tactic, while more reactive than other tactics, will allow you to siphon traffic back onto the site and into your lead generation programs.

Research your competitors. These are companies that clients prefer to work with, which can often mean they have the same target market. What are their strategies for managing their social media image? What type of paid advertising do they pursue? What is the UI of their website?

Learn from your competition about their marketing strategies, and then do it better. You'll get the idea.

6. Invest in the Right Technology

There are many software options for marketers such as email marketing, content management, social analytics, web tracker, and web tracking. Marketing automation software is a good choice if you want to combine all these functions into one system.

Marketing automation software that is best for B2B companies is often built around lead generation. It allows you to run programs across multiple channels and create triggers and rules to send more qualified leads to sales.

Marketing automation platforms can provide insight into campaign effectiveness via diagnostic tools and reporting (closed loop reporting, visitor tracking, surveys and content engagement metrics). This constant monitoring of your programs' success and failures allows you to make small adjustments and reassess your overall strategy.

The right tools are needed for ROMI

A skilled handyman will know which tool is best for the job. A marketing specialist will also know which medium is best to maximize the return on their marketing investment.

PPC has created this chart to show what companies consider their ROMI money-makers. SEO ranked the highest with 28% of respondents stating that SEO provided them with the best ROMI.

It is not surprising that 80% of marketers struggle to prove the business value of their campaigns, spending, and activities. Since its inception, the problem of marketing ROI has been hard to solve.

Even if there isn't a single formula for ROMI yet, you should base your investment decisions on whether they can produce positive results. We are referring to investments in either traditional marketing programs (email nurturing, inbound, paid media) or newer technology such as marketing automation platforms.

Consider the value that an investment in your brand could bring to you. Is it direct profit (leads or conversions)?

These are the two basic questions you will likely face if you follow the logic.

• Which marketing investments are more likely pay off?
• What adjustments can I make to my marketing investments if they are already in decline?

Give it some elbow grease

If your projects aren't performing well, it is not enough to simply spend more money or time on them. It's like putting your foot on the accelerator while your car is stuck in mud.

It also simplifies prospect behavior. People don't want to just be engaged for the sake, they want to engage in meaningful, timely and personalized ways. They don't want the account that republishes information every single day. They want the account that interacts with them and sounds like a person.

Clients will benefit from a more personal approach to their content media. This can help them build trust and build relationships. It's hard not to love being noticed by your favorite brand.

If you are lucky, prospects will convert after many meaningful interactions with your brand through multiple channels (emails, social, SERP and mobile). Marketers are always looking to hack the process in order to get a competitive edge. After all, time is money. It's not a bad instinct to want to learn the best ways to convert prospects into leads and leads into contracts.

It's all about making money from investments.

Do you want to convert new customers and engage them using the most important trend in digital marketing: consistent, quality content? Get a free consultation or check out our weekly blog content service. Get started today to generate more leads and traffic for your business.

Carter Grimm, a contributor writer for Marketing Investment Group, is currently pursuing an M.A. Currently pursuing a Master's degree in Media & Communication Studies at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Get in touch with him via LinkedIn