Effective digital marketing is a moving target. The speed of change presents an ongoing challenge to every business serious about maximizing their digital presence and impact. Google, for example, continues to change how they present search results—both paid and organic.

The transition to mobile use in the digital arena is rapidly accelerating. Mobile use now accounts for almost two out of every three digital media minutes, according to a 2016 comScore study. This opens up a whole set of considerations that didn’t exist when desktop computers dominated the digital landscape.

So…how can you increase your digital marketing effectiveness in the coming year? We’re offering this basic checklist as both a place to start the planning process and a way to assess your progress.

Digital Marketing Checklist

Start with your website

How did your site perform last year? The better question may be, do you know how to determine site performance?
Pretend your site isn’t your site. Try to imagine you’re a first-time visitor and assess how easily you can find your way around. Better yet, recruit a friend or family member—someone who truly is a first-time visitor—and get their feedback.
View your site on a tablet or phone. Is it mobile-friendly? If not, what’s your plan to make that transition?
What are your competitors doing? Did you like their content? What can you learn from what they are doing—and what do you want to avoid? Again, get input from a third-party visitor.

Consider your content

Are you blogging? If so, are your blogs scheduled or created as an afterthought? Do the messages support your overall marketing goals, and do they provide true value to your target audience?
Is your content professionally written, or does it fall to the team member who draws the short straw? Do all content pieces (online and offline and external sites) include intelligent, meaningful Calls to Action?
Is there a comprehensive content strategy? If not, take the first step and set up an editorial calendar and writing schedule.
Are you repurposing your best content to use in multiple channels—web, print, e-news and white papers, for example?

Are you social?

Do you have a plan for social media marketing? Is your social media presence the responsibility of a dedicated individual on your staff?
Is the content on your social platforms consistent with your overall marketing emphasis and branding, or is it a lonely island?
Do you know how to analyze your metrics to determine engagement trends?

Can they find you?

Do you have a working knowledge of SEO concepts, or is it a bit of a mystery?
If the answer is yes, are you analyzing search phrases that bring traffic to your site? Are you developing web content to connect with these interests?
Are you maximizing key SEO items in each blog post?

You’ve got mail

Is your email capture strategy growing your list?
How was your email marketing performance for opens and clicks?
Were you communicating regularly? Are you using your best repurposed content to increase your impact?

These are basic questions that will help point you in the right direction, and really just the tip of the iceberg. They may also reveal some areas in your digital plan that you have overlooked or underrepresented. If you need additional guidance, have questions or believe a fresh perspective would be helpful, contact us. This is what we do every day.

Next-level Marketing Blog

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Is Your Digital Marketing Hitting the Mark? This checklist can help.