Marketing isn't just a byword for showing off and hoping it works. Rather, it's a numbers game. Savvy designers and creatives habitually monitor the results their work has generated, and use that data to inform their future projects and drives.
Here's a quick introduction to four expert ways to keep tabs on your self-promo campaigns…
01. Google Analytics
Adding Google Analytics to your portfolio site is an easy way to start monitoring your campaign's potency. The process works by first adding some code to your site and setting up an Analytics account. It's not as difficult as it sounds and Google provides lots of help.
02. Facebook
Likewise, Facebook also provides analytics that will help you understand how people are interacting with your content and campaign.
You'll need to set up your account in a particular way to access the data (it's not available for personal accounts). But once you have, Page Insights will help you understand how visitors are engaging with your posts and when your audience is on Facebook.
03. Twitter
It's not quite as sophisticated as Facebook yet, but Twitter, too, provides analytics that will help you track the reach of your tweets. Using this functionality, you can find out which types of tweet earned the most impressions and encouraged the best engagement.
04. Bitly
If you're using print, you can still gather data. If you put a link to your portfolio on, say, a postcard, bitly.com lets you create a unique URL for each piece of marketing. That way you can see if postcards are performing better than business cards, for example.
The full version of this article first appeared inside Computer Arts issue 240, a self-promotion special. Get up to 55 per cent off a subscription to CA here.
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