Every New Year brings new marketing opportunities, a chance refresh old ideas and build upon your old strategy. At first glance, preparing your marketing plan can seem like a daunting task. But, with the right tools even the most overwhelming task can be simplified. That’s why we’ve created this easy to follow 2014 Must Do Marketing Checklist.
Optimize Sites for Mobile Devices
Responsive design is the hot new trend for building effective websites. Why? Because it allows you to build one website that’s optimized for all devices (desktop, mobile and tablet). It’s hard to ignore how crucial this is as the number of searches performed on mobile devices has increased by 26% in less than a year[1]. By 2015, analysts predict that mobile search queries will overtake desktop queries as smart phone market penetration increases.
Website Checklist and Tips:
Invest in Responsive Design | Build a site that works across all devices. Employ a professional firm to help you or use these cost effective options: to get started: Webs.com, Wix.com, and Wordpress.com. |
Keep Content Simple | Develop a clear call to action (CTA). Make sure the content on your site is useful to consumers. Build a user friendly experience. |
Make it a Priority | Conduct regular checkups on your site. Refresh the content, remove the old stuff and ensure that all links are working properly. |
SEO
SEO has changed so throw your keyword manipulation practices out the window. It’s time to start focusing on providing better results. Google’s “Hummingbird”, Facebook’s “Social Graph” and Bing’s “Satori” underscored an exciting year for search and new challenges for online marketers. Search today takes into account: user’s intent, social connections, consumer’s recommendations and relevancy.
SEO Checklist and Tips:
Content is King | Create a content program that is organized and ongoing. Go beyond product descriptions and start providing helpful information, answers to consumer’s questions, and most importantly, think about what consumers will be looking for. |
Optimize for Search Results | Ensure your site pages are optimized for entity search by using tools like Google’s Structured Markup Helper to map vocabulary to relevant semantics, taxonomies and ontologies. Integrate your products into the Google Store Stay active on social business pages: Google+ and Bing |
Integrate Social | Connect your social media accounts - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Yelp, Instagram (etc.) - to your website. Integrate social updates into your blog. |
Pay Per Click (PPC)
As search becomes more focused on delivering immediate results rather than a long list of links, the effectiveness of SERP (search engine results page) based advertising comes into question. If you’re trying to use AdWords or Yahoo/Bing as a way to rocket your site past the competition and get ranked high in search results for high value keywords – think again. You’re better off investing in other methods that can put you on the content pages consumers are navigating to. In fact, 94% of consumers bypass ads on SERPs and go directly to the websites they want.
PPC Checklist and Tips:
Explore New Methods | Take the time to explore cost efficient advertising platforms that can target your ads on websites and that utilize contextual or semantic targeting technologies. |
Utilize Geo-Targeting | Target specific locations by: zip codes, cities or regions that make up the majority of traffic your site gets. Create dynamic ads that mention the area of each geo-targeted location. |
Write Compelling Ads | Decide what makes a compelling ad: strong CTA, an enticing image, description that depicts a solution for consumers. Conduct A/B testing to see what works best. |
Social
Social is essential to connecting with consumers. In fact, 80% of consumers prefer to connect with brands through Faceback and this trend is expect to rise over the next twelve months[2]. This might be why 90% of marketers are planning to maintain or increase their social media ad spend this year according to eMarketer. Time to get in gear and get ready to connect with your audience on their terms.
Social Checklist and Tips:
Get Set Up | Make sure the information is up to date: location, hours, phone number, company description, photos and videos. Select someone who is careful, qualified and accountable to manage your profiles. |
Get Active | Create a posting schedule with a minimum goal of one post a day on all channels. Remember, the more you put into it the more you’ll get out of it. Ask your audience questions and respond to their inquiries. Social is about sharing information and engaging your audience. |
Use Hashtags | Hashtags are way to aggregate a conversations on social media. Use them to start a conversation around your brand or products and to join conversations. |
Video
Demand for video will continue on its upward trajectory in 2014, and the role of social only adds fuel to the fire. Consider that 92% of mobile video viewers share videos with others. Advancements in technology that allow for easier creation, discoverability and sharing of video have heightened consumer demand for video and what they expect from marketers.
Video Checklist and Tips:
Integrate Video Into Your Website | Produce different types of videos to use on your website: Testimonials, documercials, how to or informational videos. Use cost effective solutions like: Animoto, Flixtime or Wideo. |
Socialize It | Share the videos you create for your business across your social media channels, on your blog and in your newsletters. Use Vine and Instagram video to create original short form clips. Socialize helpful video content that is relevant to your audience. It will help boost engagement. |
Advertise with It | Create a :15 or: 30 video ads or “cut downs” of longer form promotional videos. Use them to advertise on YouTube and other video channels. |
The Key is Creating A Diversified Marketing Mix
Today’s marketers must seek to reach consumers through a variety of marketing channels. An integrated marketing strategy that consistently delivers your message across various mediums is required to drive conversions. Consumers view their experiences across devices as a continuation of interactions and, as such, they expect your advertising efforts to do the same. Silo’d marketing channels are no longer an option as every element builds upon the next to increase your ROI over time.
Check out the 5 Marketing Methods To Drive Business Success
Download our Easy to Use Checklist and Start Using it Today!
Best of Luck to you in 2014!
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