Performance marketing is part of digital marketing that is becoming more effective day by day because we humans spend so much time on mobile or desktop. With marketing, we try to reach these humans who spend time online. There are various channels where people spend time these days but it’s difficult to choose which medium for advertising. Performance marketing channels depend on many things such as it’s advertising cost, audience, and more. Choosing a channel is tricky, but it depends on your marketing goals.
Top Performance Marketing Channels
Performance marketing channels are marketing channels that focus on measurable and trackable results, typically tied to specific actions or conversions. These channels allow advertisers to pay for marketing efforts based on the performance and outcomes of their campaigns.
Here are the Top performance marketing channels:
1. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Search Engine Marketing is demand fulfilling performance marketing channel. Simply put, Google, Yahoo, and Bing are the platforms where people came and searched for the thing they want to buy. So your work here is to give them exactly what they are searching for with performance marketing.
SEM primarily operates through a performance marketing model, where advertisers pay for specific actions or outcomes, such as clicks, impressions, or conversions. The most common platform for SEM is Google Ads, which allows advertisers to display ads on Google’s search engine results pages as well as partner websites.
Here’s how SEM works as a performance marketing channel:
- Keyword Research
- Ad Campaign Creation
- Ad Auction
- Ad Display and Clicks
- Landing Pages and Conversions
- Tracking and Optimization
2. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing model where advertisers (merchants) partner with affiliates (publishers) to promote their products or services. Affiliates earn a commission for each successful action or conversion they generate for the advertiser, such as a sale, lead, or click.
Affiliate marketing as a performance marketing channel offers benefits to both merchants and affiliates. Merchants benefit from gaining broader exposure and paying for results rather than upfront advertising costs. Affiliates can monetize their online presence and earn income by promoting products or services that resonate with their audience.
Here’s how affiliate marketing works as a performance marketing channel:
- Merchant Setup
- Affiliate Recruitment
- Affiliate Promotion
- Tracking and Attribution
- User Actions and Conversions
- Commission and Payments
- Performance Optimization
3. Native advertising
Native advertising is a form of online advertising that seamlessly blends with the user experience of a website or platform where it appears. It mimics the design and format of the surrounding content, making it less intrusive and more engaging for users. Native ads are often found within articles, social media feeds, or search engine results, and they can take various forms such as sponsored articles, promoted videos, or recommended content widgets.
As a performance marketing channel, native advertising aims to drive specific actions or conversions from users. This can include actions such as clicks, sign-ups, purchases, or any other predefined goals. Native ads leverage the inherent advantages of blending with the platform’s content to increase user engagement and improve conversion rates.
It includes a few steps so here they are:
- Targeting
- Ad Creation
- Placement
- Engagement and Conversion
- Tracking and Optimization
4. Social media marketing
Social media marketing refers to the practice of using social media platforms to promote products, services, or brands and engage with target audiences. It involves creating and sharing content, running paid advertising campaigns, and fostering community engagement to achieve marketing goals. As a performance marketing channel, social media marketing aims to drive specific actions, conversions, or measurable outcomes from users.
Social media marketing as a performance marketing channel offers several benefits. It provides a platform for targeted advertising and allows advertisers to reach a vast audience with precise targeting capabilities. Social media platforms provide sophisticated ad targeting options, detailed analytics, and robust optimization tools to enhance campaign performance. Facebook ads are one of the best social media advertising examples.
Here’s how social media marketing works as a performance marketing channel:
- Platform Selection
- Targeting and Audience Segmentation
- Content Creation and Distribution
- Community Engagement
- Paid Advertising
- Tracking and Analytics
- Optimization and Iteration
5. Display advertising
Display advertising refers to the practice of using visual and interactive ads to promote products, services, or brands across websites, mobile apps, and other digital platforms. Display ads typically consist of images, graphics, videos, or rich media elements and are placed in designated ad spaces on publishers’ websites or within mobile apps. As a performance marketing channel, display advertising aims to drive specific actions, conversions, or measurable outcomes from users.
Display advertising as a performance marketing channel provides advertisers with wide reach and visibility across a network of websites and apps. It offers opportunities to target specific audiences, track campaign performance, and optimize based on data insights.
Here’s how display advertising works as a performance marketing channel:
- Ad Creation
- Ad Network or Programmatic Advertising
- Targeting and Audience Segmentation
- Ad Placement and Bidding
- Ad Display and User Engagement
- Tracking and Conversion Measurement
- Optimization and Retargeting
6. Email marketing
Email marketing is a digital marketing strategy that involves sending targeted messages, offers, or information to a group of individuals via email. It allows businesses to directly communicate with their subscribers or customers and build relationships, promote products or services, and drive desired actions. As a performance marketing channel, email marketing aims to generate specific outcomes, such as clicks, conversions, or revenue, while offering measurable results.
Here’s how email marketing works as a performance marketing channel:
- Building a Subscriber List
- Segmentation and Targeting
- Email Campaign Creation
- Automation and Personalization
- Delivery and Tracking
- Conversion and Action
- Analysis and Optimization
Conclusion
Performance marketing channels provide a highly measurable and results-driven approach to advertising and promoting products or services. These channels focus on driving specific actions, conversions, or outcomes from users, allowing advertisers to optimize their campaigns based on data insights and maximize their return on investment.
Performance marketing channels provide the flexibility to allocate budgets based on campaign performance, allowing advertisers to focus resources on the channels and strategies that yield the best results. By embracing performance marketing, businesses can leverage data-driven decision-making, target specific audiences, and maximize the effectiveness of their marketing efforts in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.
