How do you show clients the return on investment from advertising metrics?

1 Define the goals and objectives

Before you start any advertising campaign, you need to have a clear understanding of what your client wants to achieve and how you will measure it. This means setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals and objectives that align with your client's business strategy and vision. For example, if your client wants to increase sales, you need to define how much, by when, and through which channels. You also need to establish the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will track your progress towards these goals, such as conversion rate, average order value, and revenue.

2 Choose the right metrics

Once you have defined the goals and objectives, you need to choose the right metrics that will reflect the impact of your advertising efforts on them. Not all metrics are equally important or relevant for every campaign, so you need to select the ones that are most closely related to your KPIs and that can show a causal relationship between your ads and your outcomes. For example, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, you might focus on metrics such as reach, frequency, and recall. If your goal is to generate leads, you might focus on metrics such as click-through rate, cost per lead, and lead quality.

3 Analyze and interpret the data

Once you have collected the data from your advertising platforms and tools, you need to analyze and interpret it to find out what it means and what it tells you about your campaign performance. You need to look beyond the surface numbers and dig deeper into the patterns, trends, and correlations that reveal the strengths and weaknesses of your ads, as well as the opportunities and threats in your market. You also need to compare your results with your benchmarks, targets, and expectations, and identify the factors that influenced them, such as seasonality, competition, or external events.

4 Report and present the findings

Once you have analyzed and interpreted the data, you need to report and present your findings to your client in a clear, concise, and compelling way. You need to tailor your report and presentation to your client's needs and preferences, and use the appropriate format, language, and visuals to convey your message. You need to highlight the key takeaways and recommendations that show how your ads contributed to your client's goals and objectives, and how they delivered a positive ROI. You also need to address any challenges or limitations that you faced, and suggest ways to improve or optimize your campaign in the future.