Insights / Marketing Strategy
Where Should I Spend My Marketing Budget?
Once you've decided how much you're prepared to invest in marketing, the next question is where to spend it.
Google Ads?
Social media?
SEO?
Video?
Traditional advertising?
Your website?
The answer isn't the same for every business. Your marketing budget should follow your audience, objective and customer journey—not the latest marketing trend.
Start With the Objective.
Different objectives require different channels.
If you need to capture people already searching for your service, Google Ads and SEO may be important.
If you need to create awareness for something people aren't actively searching for, social, video, display or traditional advertising may play a larger role.
If customers need significant information before making a decision, content, search and your website become especially important.
Start with:
What are we trying to accomplish?
Then determine which channels give you the best opportunity to accomplish it.
Understand Where Your Customer Is.
Think about the customer journey in three broad stages.
1
Awareness
The customer may not know your business—or even realize they need what you offer.
Potential channels:
Social
Video
Display
Outdoor
Radio
Content
2
Consideration
They're researching options and trying to understand the problem.
Potential channels:
Search
SEO
AI Search
Content
Video
Social
Website
3
Action
They're ready to contact, visit, book or buy.
Potential channels:
Google Ads
Local Search
Website
E-commerce
Remarketing
The strongest marketing plans often use different channels at different stages.
Don't Spread the Budget Too Thin.
Being everywhere isn't necessarily a strategy.
A limited marketing budget divided between Google, Meta, LinkedIn, YouTube, radio, outdoor, SEO and content may leave every channel underfunded.
It's often better to identify the channels most likely to influence your audience and do fewer things properly.
You can expand as the results justify it.
Don't Forget the Destination.
Advertising generates attention. But where are you sending people?
If the website is confusing, the offer isn't clear or the next step is difficult, increasing the media budget may simply send more people into a poor experience.
Sometimes the smartest place to spend the next marketing dollar isn't media. It might be:
A better landing page.
Stronger creative.
Better photography or video.
More useful content.
A better website.
Paid, Owned and Earned Visibility Should Work Together.
Marketing investment doesn't have to sit entirely in one bucket.
2
Owned
Assets you control—your website, content, email, photography, video and knowledge resources.
3
Search & Discovery
SEO, local search and AI Answer Optimization that help customers discover your expertise when they're actively looking for information.
The right mix depends on the business.
What Comes Next?
Once you've identified where your audience is and what role different channels might play, the next question is:
Which marketing channels should I actually use?
That's where we compare the strengths of search, social, content, video, traditional media and other options against the objective.
Have a marketing question?
Not sure where your marketing budget should go?
PLAY can help you determine where the opportunity is, which channels deserve investment and how the pieces should work together.