4 principles to create an effective full-funnel measurement strategy
Partner content
The attribution models advertisers currently use to prove campaign effectiveness are outdated in our multi-touchpoint digital landscape, writes TikTok’s UK head of client measurement.
As TikTok’s UK & Ireland general manager Kris Boger said on the The Media Leader‘s Year Ahead stage earlier this year, proving campaign return-on-investment will be top on the list of marketers’ priorities in 2024.
In our current macro-environment, where budgets are tight and KPIs are high, proving advertising impact is increasingly important.
However, the attribution models advertisers currently use to prove campaign effectiveness are outdated in our multi-touchpoint digital landscape, and when it comes to measuring the impact of creative, conversion-driving channels like TikTok, we have a problem. Traditional last-click measurement falls short of grasping the complexities of modern consumer behaviour and fails to provide a holistic and accurate understanding of campaign effectiveness. In fact, recent research identified that 79% of all conversions attributed to TikTok by users themselves were missed by last-click attribution models.
It’s virtually impossible to think of any scenario where a significant outcome is exclusively influenced by the latest event that preceded it. It surely has to be time to say goodbye to last-click measurement. But what’s the alternative?
The future of measurement is outcome-based
At TikTok, we believe in outcome-based measurement that helps understand the user decision journey holistically and drives business outcomes — no matter the sales channel. TikTok was built in a privacy-first world, so its solutions were all created with safety and privacy at its core. Any information shared with TikTok is securely encrypted and hashed.
These are the four principles you need to know about to create an effective full-funnel measurement strategy.
1. Establishing robust data connections
The bedrock of a successful performance campaign on TikTok relies on putting safe and reliable data connections in place. Our Pixel and Events API with Advanced Matching are able to futureproof businesses and to further optimise towards the KPIs that matter most for their business.
2. Understanding incrementality
Incrementality refers to an uplift in sales or any other additional impact that a specific ad, campaign or a channel caused. Through TikTok Conversion Lift Studies and Sales Lift Studies, we’ve helped the likes of Bolt revealing a staggering +1,977% relative lift in app installs, and Coca-Cola uncover a notable lift in sales following an upper-funnel TikTok campaign.
3. Uncovering impact across channels
We also know that cross-channel analysis helps understand each channel’s role in the media mix and its impact on business outcomes. Through Multi-Touch Attribution or Media Mix Modelling, we’re seeing advertisers choose reliable and advanced attribution partners and right attribution models to understand which digital channel, campaign or ad contributed to their conversion.
4. Calibrating across solutions to achieve truer ROI
Calibration across measurement solutions helps to understand the roles channels play and the outcomes they are driving. Continuous iteration and a test and learn approach brings advertisers closer to a more realistic marketing ROI and uncover opportunities for growth.
Go beyond last click with performance you can measure
Measurement of outcomes will never come as a one-size-fits-all approach and there’s a lot of work to be done before advertisers feel confident beyond the cookie. We believe these four outcome-based measurement principles provide the foundation for business needs to make the best decisions for their investments, and measuring success without relying on cookies. You can read more about our approach here.
Charlotte Skornik is head of client measurement, UK, at TikTok