Continuing our Mastering the Metrics series, today we’ll cover Effective Frequency.
Effective frequency refers to the number of times a person must be exposed to an ad before the message sinks in. Underexposure risks being ineffective, while overexposure equals wastage. The standard figure that marketers use for planning purposes is an effective frequency of 3; however, for optimal accuracy, testing this assumption is probably a good idea.
Effective frequency helps you determine the ideal exposure level for a campaign, such that you’re balancing spending against the risk of ineffectiveness. In other words, you want to maximize the campaign’s impact while spending the least amount possible.
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[...] Frequency is something that’s very important to keep in mind when you’re setting up your automated email programs, such as a lead nurturing campaign. You want to keep your brand top of mind, staying in front of a product until they are ready to buy, but you don’t want to annoy them and cause them to unsubscribe. The Facebook study actually showed that there was little correlation between “unliking” a brand and refusal to buy from that company in the future – but I’d assert that B2B relationships are a bit different. Because, in many cases, the emails are designed to look like they are coming from a specific sales representative, too frequent or non-relevant emails could result in the person having negative feelings toward your sales rep next time they pick up the phone and call to follow-up. [...]