What Are the Best Practices for Managing a Digital Marketing Budget?

Incorrect Budgets Have Serious Consequences

It is essential for businesses to try and get as much money as possible to align with their digital marketing budget management. Miscalculations can have serious consequences, including risking your personal reputation as a leader in your industry. 

Without the right budget in place and managed correctly, you are unlikely to reach your digital marketing goals. 

Tips for Budget Allocation and Management

There are some best practice and useful tips you can use to allocate and manage your digital marketing budget:

Outlining Sales Funnel

Before you dig into your budget, look at the bigger picture of your digital marketing funnel. What steps are important? How do your customer find you?

Operational Costs

You cannot negotiate operational costs. These need to be take care of and should be the first to be implemented in your budget. Operational costs include web hosting, platform costs, taxes and fees, along with SaaS subscriptions.

Review Previous Results

An important task to setting up your marketing budget is to look at the metrics and reports from previous years and quarters. Identify whether you digital marketing campaigns were successful and it you reached your goals, and enjoyed a good return on investment. 

Identify Marketing Goals

It is important to identify your marketing goals, allocating a budget for different activities. Having goals helps you understand what activities to include in your digital marketing budget, providing you with better management.

Choose Your Marketing Channels

There are a number of marketing channels you can use to promote your business and reach your target audience. You do not have to use all the channels, though it is important to identify the channels that will work best for your brand, along with identifying the costs associated with advertising on each channel.

Marketing Activity Costs

With a better understanding on what marketing channels to use, you can focus on the marketing activities within those channels. If you want to boost visibility on social media, determine how much pay per click advertising will cost, ensuring that your marketing works with your goals.

Develop a Marketing Plan

With a marketing plan in place, you will find it considerably easier to manage your marketing budget. You can create your marketing plan for a quarter or a year, outlining your initiatives, goals, and how much of your budget you want to allocate to each initiative. 

Digital Marketing Budget Estimation

Your marketing plan will make it easier to estimate the cost of your digital marketing budget. Ensure that any initiatives you choose provide a good return on investment.