The process of presenting a marketing report has changed quite a bit in the last few years. We used to sit in a boardroom to present digital marketing reports to our clients, but now the trend is to send online reports without a word more. Find out what we’re missing in 2021 reporting in this blog.
What We Have Lost With Online Digital Marketing Reporting
The process of presenting a marketing report has changed quite a bit in the last few decades. Where we used to sit in a boardroom with a presentation or report print out and discuss KPI’s and figures from a marketing campaign, we now have bypassed the communication aspect in favor of delivering instant and to the point reports via online sharing, usually from a digital marketing reporting tool.
While reporting on digital marketing has improved immensely in the form of automation, presentation, time-saving, and much more, what we have lost is the opportunity to easily sit down with a client and discuss what all this data means!
It is easy to assume that our clients know enough about digital marketing in order to understand what KPI’s mean and what growth and reductions mean in line with digital marketing objectives and efforts.
What Reports Without Insights & Media Are Missing
I won’t blame you for thinking that this is a really minor issue to be making a fuss about, but it is important not to undervalue the importance of insights and even media in combination with data in your digital marketing reports. Let’s take a look why:
Insights
Forbes categorizes insights as the missing link between data and value. This says a lot about the importance of taking the time to explain data and even personify it so that it can be understood by your clients, and they can see the value that the data is displaying.
Think of it like this, data could be a language completely foreign to your client, as with many people who are new to digital marketing, or just wish to remove their own headache and pass it on to someone else (you). With quality insights to complement data in a report, you are essentially providing a translation of a foreign language into one that your client can understand.
An example of how this presents itself in 2021 is with the release of Google Analytics 4 which has really rattled the digital marketing industry and confused even the most experienced of Google Analytics veterans. If you are providing your client with a GA4 Overview Report that includes terms such as ARPPU, Engaged Sessions, and User Acquired Campaign ID it is no wonder that they may be feeling a little lost in translation.
Media
Now I have a feeling that you may be thinking that I am going to recommend that you add your favorite meme to your digital marketing report, but report media is much more important than that!
Since marketing is moving more and more online, mainly because of a change in the industry and a necessity for many digital marketing agencies because of the Covid pandemic, clients have lost the human touch that they may have previously experienced when being presented with their latest digital marketing report.
Where many clients would be used to sitting in a boardroom, being taken through slides, explanation,s and discussion for each and every aspect of an agency’s digital marketing efforts, they are now instead just sent a report that has a bunch of graphs and numbers on it. For most clients, that just doesn’t work!
Obviously there will be many of your clients that prefer the short and straight-to-the-point option, but in order to keep all of your clients happy, it is important to provide them with a choice in how they want their reports presented to them.
Keep reading to find out how we fix this problem!
The Solution!
Insights
Okay, gameplan:
Start off your report by providing your clients with a quick summary of what they can expect to see in their report by highlighting some of the KPIs that you know are important to their marketing targets.
After the summary page, you can break up your report into sections that display different categories of data. At the beginning of each section this is another opportunity for you to highlight any interesting trends you may have noticed from your marketing efforts, that may be of interest to your clients.
Lastly, at the end of your report provide your clients with a conclusion that once again highlights some important KPIs and trends noticed in this reporting period and provide recommendations and solutions that could improve the performance of your digital marketing efforts.
Media
In order to solve the impersonal nature that many reports have today, add a video of yourself to your report so that you have the opportunity to explain the data and add a personal touch to the report too.
A little too out of your comfort zone? Report media can also be used to show your client how your marketing efforts stack up against targets or even compared to performance a year or two prior, via the use of screenshot images. This will allow you to compare data across date ranges and even from different software with ease.
So How Does This Work On Oviond?
We’ve got you covered with an easy-to-use text box, including formatting options, and a media uploader that allows you to add both videos and images from your device.
It’s a breeze, right?
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