Digital marketing is a fact of life in the business world today. The term refers to any type of marketing done online, including your website and social media, and brings with it the advantage of enabling marketers to track and analyze the success of campaigns to understand what’s working and what isn’t. Before you invest in digital marketing for your business, however, consider these 10 questions.
1. Is your website updated?
The importance of posting fresh content on your website cannot be overstated. At a minimum, you should be posting new content twice a week. Posting frequently is an effective way to drive traffic to your website.
2. Are your social channels updated?
It’s critical to ensure that your social channels are updated and reflect current information. Particularly for local search, if listing sites such as Google Places are showing inaccurate information, or if your information shows up differently on different sites, you could be missing out on sales.
3. Is your audience using the digital marketing channels you are considering purchasing?
When it comes to choosing digital marketing channels, there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all. With 79% of all online adults using Facebook, it remains, by far, the most popular platform. However, you should not limit your social media presence to one platform, so it’s important to know your audience and their behaviors and to understand their preferences when it comes to communication. 59% of Instagram users and 36% of Twitter users are women between the ages of 18 and 29. 50% of LinkedIn users are college educated, and 45% of them make more than $75,000 annually. So, knowing the demographics of your audience and which social media platforms they spend time on is essential to properly targeting your marketing.
4. What are your goals?
It’s important to ensure that the digital marketing opportunity you are considering is in alignment with your marketing goals. Be clear on what your goals are. Are you seeking to increase brand awareness or grow your sales? Perhaps you want to improve customer loyalty or drive more traffic to your website. Being clear on your goals will help you make a better decision when purchasing digital marketing for your business.
5. What are you measuring?
Some examples of metrics you should be able to measure include website traffic, conversions, and cost per lead. It’s important to understand whether the digital marketing opportunity you are considering offers ways to measure the things that are important to you.
6. What is the time frame you are considering/needing?
It’s important to recognize that digital marketing is not a quick-fix solution. There are a number of variables involved, including your budget, your audience, and your strategy. In addition, a customer typically requires several “touches” before making the decision to purchase. They may click on an ad that takes them to your website where they read a blog post and sign up for your email, and only at some point after that will they decide to buy. In general, you should consider digital marketing to be a marathon, not a sprint.
7. Does the digital marketing opportunity offer ways to track and analyze?
Before making a decision to purchase digital marketing, determine whether and how you will be able to track and analyze the results of your marketing.
8. Do you have a clear CTA? Your call to action should be simple and clear.
Let your readers know exactly what they should do. “Call today for more information” or “Sign up for free” are examples of a clear CTA.
9. Do you have a page set up to lead to more info?
A landing page can be a great way to get people excited about your product. Using an opt-in form can help you pre-qualify leads. Your landing page should contain enough information to encourage your visitors to take action but should not overwhelm them with unnecessary content such as animation that can be distracting.
10. Do you have success stories or case studies similar to your business needs for the digital marketing opportunity you are considering?
It’s important to ensure that the type of digital marketing you're considering is right for your type of business. Look for examples where companies similar to yours have had success with the approach you’re considering.
These are important questions to answer before purchasing digital marketing to ensure that precious resources are deployed in a way that helps you realize the best ROI.
