We start here:
GOALS! GOALS! GOALS!
You need them. Before you do anything else, what are you trying to accomplish?
If your answer is something vague like “make money” or “get more leads,” that is a great start. But if you’ve been around, you’ve heard the term SMART Goals. Alas, this is not the blog to dive deep into SMART (this one gives a little more insight, though). I want your goals to be SMART, but I get it. You’re a busy person. So, at the very least, make them MT.
Measurable: What key performance indicators (KPIs) are you using? If there are no numbers attached to your goal. How do you know you’ve met it?
Timely: I don’t know about you, but if I don’t have a hard deadline, I’ll “estimated end date” myself into infinity. No good. When is the goal to be completed?
Goal setting at every level of your business is honestly one of the most underrated steps you can take to drive success. Don’t just make overarching business goals. Make marketing goals. And THEN make action plan goals.
Did I mention you should set goals?
Moving on…
Make a Plan. Or Two, or Three, or Four
If you guessed that your plan should include goals, you’d be right.
Every website change and every posting schedule should have a reason.
Every pay-per-click (PPC), display ads, and retargeting campaign should have a measurement of success. The nice thing about having a plan is that it gives you a destination. How you get there is up to you. Another nice thing about having plans is that they can flex with each new unfolding situation, sales cycle, and season.
For example:
We’re working with Your Company. We’ve determined that we have a marketing goal of increasing leads through the website by the end of the year. We can now decide what tactics we are going to use to achieve that goal (you’ll notice this goal is MT). In this hypothetical, we’ve chosen
- Google Search Ads
- Email marketing
Based on our experience, we have an idea of what will work best in this situation, so we can set general targets using industry benchmarks or your previous data. Again, these targets will help guide us in the right direction.
Is it going to be a straight shot to the end goal? No. Because digital marketing is a matrix of decisions and adjustments. Of testing and testing again. It’s about tracing every line and optimizing whatever touch point exists between your audience and the action you want them to take to engage with your company.
Let’s return to our hypothetical. Say we set up a Google Search Ad campaign for your company. We’ve honed in on the best keywords (which are constantly optimized as we run your campaign), and you’re getting a ton of traffic.
But where are the leads?!
This plan has led us to an obstacle: your website. The page your audience is landing on is not resonating. Our next plan? Assess, Optimize and Test different elements of your website.
Plans allow us to find the data we need to make decisions.
Speaking of…
Don’t Let Your Data Scare You
The internet is an ocean of information. A veritable tidal wave of words and numbers. Of course, you’re going to feel like you’re drowning. Allow me to throw you a life-preserving inflatable. You don’t have to know everything. It’s for exactly this reason that you set goals and make plans (or ask your friendly neighbourhood digital marketing agency). So you know what you need to pay attention to.
That’s not to say that you can’t look for trends and patterns in other data, but it’s a lot easier to look at when you have a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) to start with.
The amount of data you can collect about your marketing efforts with today’s technology is truly amazing. Especially when it comes to different ad initiatives like PPC advertising, display ads, and retargeting campaigns. The best part is that it’s automatically collected in your ad platforms and can then be used to create even more targeted and robust campaigns. It’s no longer a question of if things are working. We now know with certainty if things are working, who is being targeted, and how much is being spent on every interaction.
So, if I can offer a lifeboat in the vast digital sea, it would be this: Don’t ignore your data. Set your KPI course and ride the wave.
Stick to YOUR Story
I’ll be honest, this one probably deserves its own blog (note to self: write this blog).
An often overlooked element of digital marketing is brand consistency and how it is applied to your online efforts. “But [friendly copywriter],” you might be saying, “I do this already by having all of my logos match on all the digital platforms I am on. I post the same thing everywhere. What else is there to this?”
And to that, I would say, “Great start”.
Brand consistency doesn’t and usually shouldn’t mean that it’s the same thing everywhere, especially when it comes to your online presence. What it does mean is that you have a deep understanding of not only your brand and brand messaging but also your audience and what they need from an interaction with your brand.
Building a foundation of trust is a long game. And this, of course, is where your goals, plans, and data analysis come into action. You have the power of knowledge on your side to make decisions about what pieces of your marketing are for who and how they contribute to your overall goals. Maybe you’re running a digital marketing campaign specifically for audience members who have previously engaged in your brand. And that messaging looks different than something (like a social media channel) that is just introducing your brand to a prospect.
What remains the same, though, is your underlying brand messaging.
Your differentiators.
Your voice.
Your visuals.
Did you know that, on average, users have to engage with a brand a minimum of seven times before they take action?
And what do you think happens if they encounter a completely different message every time?
Nothing.
Because it will take even longer for them to trust that you’re a brand with authority and credibility.
A fair few digital marketing agencies have a favourite line: “cutting through the noise.” I don’t particularly like this analogy. You don’t need a knife, or a sword or even a wand.
You need to carefully lay some bricks, put together some Legos, or do whatever you need to do to build that solid foundation.
It’s not magic. It’s the intentional effort of taking that time to build a consistent brand.
Unfortunately, Your Trial Run Ends Here
We hope you’ve enjoyed the 5 minutes you’ve spent with us, but before you go, I’d like to offer one final piece of advice:
Ask for help.
You’re not supposed to know it all. Heck, even I don’t know it all. That’s why I’m part of a very capable digital marketing agency with a broad spectrum of experience and knowledge both in marketing and across industries.
That’s why we lean on each other and collaborate to create goals and plans that genuinely reflect the needs of the companies we work with.
I invite you to reach out with any marketing questions or to find out more about how having a digital marketing agency on your team can help you reach your business goals.
