Review your Digital Marketing for Outdated Information

A company’s digital marketing assets can grow to a sizeable number of properties that are easy to lose track of.  That’s especially true for assets that are rarely used. It’s important to keep a list of your active digital marketing assets and review them periodically for content updates and administrative access.

Digital marketing assets that are commonly used, like the company website or social media channels, won’t be forgotten but should undergo a regular review and refresh process. That’s especially true if any company contact information or major shifts in products or services happen.

Ancillary assets that are not commonly used in digital marketing processes run a greater risk of not being updated or forgotten all together. Examples of these assets are search engine business listings or company profiles on association lists.

Google business listings are an important ancillary aspect that can be very problematic if forgotten.  Since business listings are often featured above a website listing, even if it’s well optimized for search, it can negate refreshed data from the site. It’s also becoming a common avenue for initial contact with a client or prospect.

A client recently asked us to review their search positions and we realized that they had an outdated google listing for a location that had since closed, and no listing for their other locations.  To make matters more confusing, the owner of the outdated account had moved on to a different company without transferring administrative rights to anyone at the company. 

This is a worst case scenario where information is almost completely wrong and ownership to correct it has been lost.  We were able to claim the business from Google but it took a solid two weeks before the profile was fully claimed and updated.

Keep a record of your digital marketing assets and administrative details. Changes to  your business, staff, and partners is inevitable and that record will serve as a checklist to make sure that your digital marketing assets aren’t left behind.

Set Your Digital Marketing Priorities

Getting spread too thin is a common way for digital marketing performance to plummet.  For most trainers, consultant, and professional coaches, it’s unrealistic to have a marketing presence in all channels for all people. It’s critical that digital marketers set a marketing priority hierarchy so that top producing activities aren’t left undone.

The width (and maybe the breadth) of the digital marketing discipline is expanding.  However, it’s not uncommon to find that time and money dedicated to digital marketing activities are not expanding with it.  This means that digital marketers often experience a bandwidth issue in trying to leverage their available resources to communicate effectively on their chosen channels. 

The beginning of the year is a great time to review your campaigns from the year before.  Analyze which activities were most effective and place those at the top of your priorities for this year.  The lower ranked activities might still be worth doing but if time or resources grow thin, those can be targeted for elimination or postponement rather than sacrificing a more productive activity.

Image Courtesy of HighTechDad

Digital Advertising: Know Your Goal

Paid advertising via social media or search engines can be a valuable channel for your digital marketing initiatives.  But the nature of paid adds is that it requires a defined budget and for that budget to be actively managed to optimize the return on investment.  It’s critically important to have a clearly defined goal for your paid advertising so that you can leverage your budget specifically to that purpose.

There tend to be two kinds of digital marketers when it comes to using paid advertising budgets:

  1. Those that want to spend as little as possible to meet a set target.
  2. Those that want to use a pre-defined budget to get maximum return.

Both of these strategies can lead to valuable results, but both can also be undone by a lack of focus.

Losing sight of an advertising goals seems absurd but it is surprisingly common.  A general assumption that I hear is that lack of focus on a goal can only stem from absentmindedness.  If that were the case, it would be far less common.  Unfortunately, the catalyst is often a result of incorporating new tools or external suggestions.

As an example, several of our clients attended a conference that discussed LinkedIn’s new interest targeting in their ad platform.  Every single one of them took away from the conference that they should include this new targeting tool because the speaker outlined how powerful segmented messages could be and potential results.  The assumption was that adding the interest targeting to existing ads would make them better.  More is better after all, right?

Unfortunately for several of the clients, the answer was no.  Adding the interest targeting on top of their demographic requirements shrunk the target group to such a small sample size that goals couldn’t possibly be met.  The intention was improved segmentation and targeting to get more responses but it neglected the goal of getting a certain number of people to view and fulfill the offer.

After analyzing why conversions plummeted and almost none of the digital advertising budget was used, we found the targeting change.  We then restructured the campaign into two unique campaigns, one set of ads defined by interest targeting and a second defined by demographic criteria so that the target audience remained sufficient.

Always have your goals in mind when making changes to your digital ad campaigns.  Sometimes updates that seem like improvements can run counter to you objectives.

Where Does Your Business Digital Footprint Lead?

The last post was on the importance of keeping your website well maintained. Once a repeatable schedule is set for maintaining the website, it should be expanded to maintaining your company’s digital footprint. A business digital footprint is all the content that you place on the internet about your company.  It’s referred to as a footprint because it’s a sign of where you’ve been and forms an online trail of sorts to your business. Failing to maintain that digital footprint will often result in people wandering off on unintended paths that do not lead them to your business.

So how can you beat a clear path across all your channels so that people will reliably find what they need from you?  It’s actually not complicated at all, just a consistent process of review and repair. The difficult aspect of the process is diligently organizing all that content to ensure it is consistently updated.

Your digital footprint can typically be split into three categories.

Directory

Many online directories have an automated process for crawling the internet and updating listings.  That’s one reason that keeping information on your website current is important as it will feed updates and corrections to other channels. 

But there are some important directories that rely on the owner proactively updating information. An important example of that is Google My Business.  I’m surprised at how frequently I find a company’s contact info or address is incorrect on their Google listing.  That’s usually a result of a move but the company either doesn’t know who to contact to update the listing or let it slip their mind completely.

Keep in mind that the listing appears for any user that searches their business directly on Google and this important digital channel is still sometimes neglected. 

Ads

Search engine or social media ads sometimes get the “set it and forget it” treatment.  Over time that becomes a disastrous scenario where a company is paying for ads that are either irrelevant or don’t lead users to a valid call to action.

If there is any time sensitivity to your ads, set an expiration for the campaign as soon as it gets implemented.  Ongoing ads should be regularly reviewed to make sure they are productive and relevant.

Social

Company profiles are becoming increasingly important as social media information is shared across directories and search engines.  Make sure that any contact information or company logistic changes get reflected in profiles across your social media channels.

Don’t misconstrue digital footprint maintenance with a censoring campaign. Often times trainers, consultants, or professional coaches focus on eliminating negative comments or references left by others. Digital footprint maintenance is a process of insuring YOUR content is accurate, not screening or filtering other people’s opinions.  

Your digital footprint should help people quickly find your company, products, or services. Consistency is paramount in this process.  No information does less damage than conflicting information. Keep an organized list of all your digital channels and systematically update all those channels when changes arise or content becomes outdated.

Making a Good Digital First Impression

Our last post prompted an obvious question from a few readers, “So what makes a good digital first impression?” It’s a good question as external factors dictate how you can present yourself. From a technical perspective there are three areas that drive most previews.   The page title serves as the primary text, the URL is displayed below that, and the page description drives the short depiction of what’s on the page. Good digital first impressions are a result of properly focusing on these elements and customizing them for maximum impact.

There are a few categories that help make a good digital first impression:

Concise

Just like interpersonal interaction, the clock is ticking on a first impression as soon as someone encounters your digital presence. Space is also at a premium for your first impression so it’s critical get to the point.  The page title on your website or social profile is typically only viewable for about the first 60 characters.  Descriptions cut off around 250 – 300.  So you have to concisely convey why someone should want to engage further.  Search engine company profiles offer limited text as well, so make sure to include a professional image and accurate information.

Legible

It’s not uncommon for Search Engine Optimization tactics to negatively impact your digital first impression.  Many times trainers, consultants, and professional coaches want to load their titles and descriptions full of keywords for their products and services in an attempt to drive profitable traffic to their website or social media accounts.  That makes for a convoluted first impression because the preview content is illegible to people.  It’s difficult to make a positive first impression when your preview is spitting out gibberish designed to appeal to computers.

On Topic

First impressions are often unique and tailored to the situation in which you meet someone.  A good first impression at a formal business event is very different than a good first impression when casually meeting a friend of a friend socially. Your previews have the same opportunity.  Make sure that the preview is fitting for the unique page or profile that the user has found in their search.  The preview should be a direct representation of what the user will find on the page or profile.

Consistency

Consistently building your previews is an extension of being on topic.  Many times businesses will settle on a “homepage description” as the face they want to present to the world.  That description is then used across all pages and profiles. However, many pages like blog posts have a specific focus that has little or nothing to do with a general value proposition statement.  Keeping the general description on these targeted pages makes all the previews appear to be a meaningless mission statement rather than confidently presenting the content. We can’t control what preview someone might encounter and many will find their way to your content on a channel other than the website homepage.  Make sure that you are consistently completing preview content so that your pages can match their desired search.

Making a good digital first impression is more of an exercise in diligence rather than any sophisticated formula.  Pay attention to the titles and descriptions on your pages and profiles because any one of those could be your next digital first impression.

What’s Your Digital First Impression?

You only get one chance to make a first impression and your business is no different.  Most trainers, consultants, and professional coaches view that as a strategic advantage because they look and sound polished.  They know how to make a positive first impression and project a perception of professionalism on the business.  But are they equally prepared when they are not personally present? 72% of your buyers will first come into contact with your company via Google (or other search engine). So more often than not, your website, google account, or social media accounts make a first impression before you or anyone at your company gets the opportunity.

It’s important to remember that digital engagement is continuing to encroach on interpersonal engagement. Buyers can find testimonials, product or service offerings, and pricing comparison online.  It’s best to intentionally position yourself to create a positive first impression on these channels.

Remember that first impressions are immediate.  So a first impression from your website is not the site itself, but the Google preview, Google business profile, or social media previews. Review those previews and listings to ensure that the content it contains is accurate and understandable so that first time viewers take the next step of engaging with the actual sites.

Keep Your Digital Marketing Up to Date with Technology

Digital marketing is a unique blend of communication and technology.  Both aspects need to work in tandem for effective campaigns.  While communication platforms change, the basics for communication, video, text, interaction, and design remain fairly static.  Technology on the other hand . . . changes rapidly. Don’t allow your digital marketing to be undermined by falling behind on technology.

This post is a self-criticism.  Our site, especially the blog, is in dire need of a technology update.  Obviously client projects come first but we’ve allowed this to fall so far behind that it’s impacting our SEO (because we aren’t meeting some of the responsive layout requirements that Google looks for).  It’s a good example of how falling behind in one channel can cascade down to others.

It often takes a concerted effort to get your digital marketing technology up to date.  Our blog for instance has the latest plugins and updates; unfortunately the layout itself has fallen behind the times which limits the entire site’s performance.

Don’t repeat the error we have made here.  Review the technology that your digital marketing is based on at least every other year.  That ensures that you won’t fall far behind current technology and allows you to identify elements that are out of date and map a strategy to update them.

Image courtesy of Joel Penner on Flickr.

Anticipate the Summer Slow Down

Acknowledging headwinds is the first step to overcoming them.  Most trainers, consultants and professional coaches experience a slowdown in their digital marketing over the summer months. Anticipating and preparing for that three month lull is critical to ensure that you meet your marketing targets.

Hope is not a strategy.  Almost every training and consulting market will be less available in the summer months. Unless your business is growing rapidly, chances are you have fewer visitors or a percent slow down compared to previous months due to traditional summer slowdowns.

You shouldn’t panic because of digital marketing performance drops during vacation season. Instead prepare for it in one of two ways:

  1. Pad Performance
    If you’ve experienced a summer slowdown in the past, you’re probably going to again next summer. Plan for the slowdown in your annual marketing goals.  The other seasons need to produce enough leads or sales to overcome the anticipated summer deficiency.Rather than setting a standard monthly target, compare year over year statistics to identify what a typical summer slowdown has been for your digital marketing campaigns. Then build a lower summer conversion into your plan and set benchmarks to pad performance. If summer happens to stay consistent then it’s a great opportunity to outperform annual goals.
  2. Increase Activity
    If you have the time or resources, you can increase your digital marketing activity. Essentially this is casting a wider net or increasing marketing frequency to improve your odds of connecting with those prospects that are available in the summer.  Make sure that the increased activity isn’t overbearing. There’s no benefit to alienating good prospects in an effort to keep summer numbers consistent.

Don’t panic when the summer slowdown hits. As long as you maintain your processes and activity, it won’t be depressed for long.

Checklist Mindset in Digital Marketing

I am a checklist junkie.  I create monthly task calendars that I break down into weekly checklists and then create daily journal entries for what needs accomplished. For me it’s natural to want to do a task, complete it, and then check it off the list.  While valuable in task completion, a checklist mindset can be detrimental when misapplied to digital marketing efforts that require ongoing and consistent execution.

In a recent review of an SEO report with a small business owner, we outlined a number of updates that could be made to improve his site’s ranking.  One of those aspects was review links to his site.  The business owner assured us that he had plenty of reviews and pointed to his 5 Yelp reviews as evidence.  He felt that reviews had already been done and should not be part of the action plan for further improving his search engine ranking. While having the review in place was certainly a positive thing, there were two misconceptions.

The first was the apparent suggestion that 5 reviews was the end of the road.  Marketing is a consistent and ongoing process.  Five is a good start, six would be better, twenty-five would make significant impact on his site rank.  The method of soliciting reviews can evolve, an individual review can be completed, but there should not be pre-defined finish line on the activity itself.

The second issue was that all five reviews happened within a couple weeks of one another.  So the listing showed that they had been in business for three years but only one month contained reviews.  Either that was a stellar month or it’s an obvious and short-sighted attempt to drum up reviews. This has two negative consequences.  The first is that search engines will identify and marginalize such an isolated spurt of activity.  The second is that people that use the review site are likely to notice an anomaly like this which will call the credibility of the reviews into question.

Rather than having a mindset that reviews are finished, the business owner needs to break the category into replicable tasks.  As an example, he might have a thank you email or satisfaction survey that gets delivered to clients that features a link to leave a review in Yelp.  In this way the individual task can be thought of as complete but the overarching activity of acquiring reviews is ongoing.

Checklists and project completion mindsets are invaluable in executing the individual tasks of a digital marketing campaign but should be consistently applied in cycles. The activity itself doesn’t end when a particular instance is complete, but rather should be reapplied to a future instance. Set a goal and then build an execution plan into your daily operations. Quick fixes lead to short term results that can often do more harm than good for your long-term objectives.

Digital Marketing: Is Doing Nothing an Option?

Getting started with digital marketing is often the hardest step to take.  We speak with many trainers, consultants, and professional coaches that know they need to do something but there’s always one more thing to square away before launching their digital marketing plan.  There will always be one extra element that could make digital marketing better but if it will cause an indeterminate delay in launching your digital marketing activity,  it’s best to take a few initial steps and build on that rather than trying to craft a perfect scenario before getting started.

A marathon runner doesn’t wake up the day of the race and pound out 26.2 miles.  They work up to it via a training regimen.  The training regimen is often a result of just experimenting with running in general before discovering they had a passion or talent for it. In other words, they had to try out the activity before they started becoming proficient at it.

Digital marketing beginners should have a similar path.  If you’re starting from scratch, get a basic lead generation mechanism (like a website, social media page, or affiliate form) established. Then start experimenting with channels to drive traffic to that lead mechanism.  Will the implementation be perfect?  Absolutely not, but it will provide some baseline discoveries to guide you into what digital marketing activities have the most value for your business.  Furthermore, some early progress and results will motivate you to get other digital marketing elements together and launched.

The same guideline applies when contracting out digital marketing services.  If you can meet a pre-requisite list for a particular digital marketing activity but not others, start there and then build up to others.  For instance, we have a client that wanted SEO, website lead generation landing pages, email marketing, and social media to be in their digital marketing plan.  However, they didn’t have a sufficient database of contacts to launch an email marketing campaign and content for SEO was in a state of disarray.  Instead of hitting the brakes on everything we started out by updating the website and setting up landing pages, starting social media posting, and set up a temporary pay per click campaign while the SEO elements were being developed.  In this way the foundations were started and the elements with missing pieces could be develped using data and insights from the iniatial digital marketing.

Procrastination in launching digital marketing efforts is often a smokescreen for being overwhelmed or unorganized.  The volume of information about digital marketing can make a launch seem like a more daunting task then it needs to be. Doing nothing ensures that you will fall further behind and gives the competition even more time to fortify their position as market leader. Take a simple first step with your digital marketing and build from there.  Otherwise doing nothing might be a permanent decision.

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