Traffic Channels: Find Your Clients and Share Your Message

Once you’ve finalized your Marketing Message, there’s still the issue of getting that message out into the world. 

Because, well, without some exposure even the best ads aren’t going to do you a whole lot of good.

Getting your messaging in front of the right people is a matter of choosing good traffic channels for your ads. You have many options to choose from, but in this day and age, you’ll do best by allocating the majority of your marketing budget to digital mediums.

The reason is simple: people are spending more and more time in front of screens. And as unbelievable as it may sound, the average amount of time Americans spend consuming digital media is over eight hours per day—so you’re wise to meet them where they’re at.

Of course, more traditional mediums like billboards and magazine/newspaper ads still work in the modern world. And there is something powerful in Brand Recognition when seeing your logo in various mediums—especially for the long-term. As you learn and grow, you’ll almost certainly be using a combination of digital and traditional marketing channels. With that said, if you have a small initial budget you’ll want to focus your marketing efforts to stretch your budget the furthest.

Here are some typical options:

• Search engine optimization
• Social media ads
• Email marketing
• Retargeting ads
• Per-per-click ads
• Print ads (magazines, papers, etc.)
• Postcards
• Fliers 
• Billboards, yard signs, murals
• Etc.

Getting Started with the Right Marketing Channels

Now while you have many advertising channels to choose from, there are a few that tend to work better than others—especially if you’re just getting started and have a limited budget.

On that front, here are a few stats for small business owners in 2024. 

• Email marketing returns an average of $36 for every $1 spent
• Email marketing tends to bring the highest ROI for small businesses
• 49% of businesses claim organic search results bring the greatest ROI
• Pay-per-click ads return an average 200% ROI on every dollar spent (double your money)
• Customers are 70% more likely to make a purchase from a retargeting ad

Those numbers point to one thing very clearly: digital marketing works. And the ROI is significant. However, they are general averages and the results do vary from one industry to the next. 

For instance, a typical construction company can expect:

• A 12-14% ROI on direct mail campaigns (traditional flyers and brochures still killing it in the digital age)
• Email marketing—average ROI of 38:1
• SEO and content marketing—returns of 14:1
• Social media advertising—5:1 ROI

Additionally, search engine optimization (SEO)—or how discoverable your business is through organic search results—tends to have a massive ROI across many different industries. 

• B2B SaaS—702% return
• Construction—681% return
• HVAC services—678% return
• Industrial loT—866% return
• Manufacturing—813% return

Remember, the above statistics are taken from a wide cross-section of companies in each industry. Ultimately, your returns will vary on your market and the effectiveness of your campaigns. (And with your marketing blueprint by your side, you can be sure your ads will be.) But while results do vary, one thing is certain.

Online marketing works.

And if you’re not taking advantage of this powerful revenue amplifier, you’re missing out. 

So read on to set up the best channels for your company.

Building Effective Marketing Channels

The key to making the most of your advertising strategy is building consistent traffic streams—this means figuring out what works and then building on that success.

To begin, start with a single channel until you figure it out. Then, add additional channels slowly, giving each the attention (and budget) required to make it work with a long-term goal of having five key traffic channels generating leads for your business.

How to Budget for Multiple Channels

As your marketing strategy becomes more sophisticated, you’ll have to learn how to budget more effectively. This can take some trial and error. To give you a rough idea of industry standards, the following stats show the typical cash allocation of an overall marketing budget across various channels and tasks.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): 15-25%
• Pay-per-click Advertising: 20-30%
• Social Media Marketing (ads, management tools, paid promotions, etc.): 15-25%
• Content Marketing (blog posts, infographics, videos, whitepapers): 10-15%
• Email Marketing: 10-15%

As you can see, SEO and pay-per-click are often the largest investments, with social media, content and email marketing requiring slightly less capital to be effective.

One other thing to be aware of is the combination of short-, long- and medium-term channels. The unique blend you choose will rely on your overall strategy and goals. Using the examples above, you’ll see each has its own strengths across different time lengths.

• SEO (long-term channel)
• PPC Ads (short-term channel)
• Social Media (short-term channel)
• Content Marketing (long-term channel)
• Email Marketing (medium-term channel)

Beyond these main channels, there are a few other things to consider, and each of the following marketing tactics—when used—generally require about 5-10% of a typical marketing budget.

• Influencer marketing
• Website maintenance and optimization
• Analytics and tools
• Testing of new channels and unexpected opportunities

Another thing to keep in mind is that when you’re first getting started, your expense ratio will likely be higher as you figure out what works. Similarly, if your brand isn’t well established in your area, you’ll have to ramp up spending to cut through the crowded marketplace.

That said, learning as you go you’re certain to find what works and what doesn’t. Then, use that information to decrease cost-per-lead and increase overall ROI.

So at this point, list out two or three channels that you think might work for your company—starting with SEO and email marketing. Then, focus on mastering one of those channels before moving on to the next.

Your Step-by-Step Marketing Blueprint:‍

Presale: Reaching Cold Prospects

1. Your Marketing Budget Guidelines

2. Your Target Audience

3. Your Message

4. Your Website

5. Your Traffic Channels

6. Your Nurture System

The Sale: Converting Customers

7. Your Sales Conversion Strategy

Post Sale: Creating Raving Fans

8. Your Customer Lifetime Value

9. Your Referral Program