Here are seven steps to developing a digital marketing blueprint. Many people skip the first four, but these first few steps are the crucial difference between success and failure. I have also uploaded slide presentations to help you along.
- Assess Your Situation - This first step is perhaps the most important. Before you can commit to doing more digital marketing, you need to know what's working and what's not. Take a snapshot of where you stand. Think of the following questions: how well is my website working for my goals? Do I have email addresses of my customers? How many fans or followers do I have on Facebook or Twitter?
When you are assessing your website, look over the traffic numbers. How many people come to your site, which pages do they visit, how do they find you, and how long to they stay? These answers should give you an idea about the effectiveness of your site. If nobody is staying on your website for more than a few seconds, then something needs to be changed.
Another element of assessing your situation requires an honest assessment of your resources. How much time, knowledge, technology or money do you have to devote to digital marketing? If you don't have a lot of time you might need to hire somebody. If you don't have a lot of money you might have to set aside some extra time to do this work on your on.
Digital marketing is a very innovative field right now and everybody is trying different things in different combinations. You just have to find the right combination for you and your customers.
Fauzia Burke is the Founder and President of FSB Associates, a publicity and social media firm specializing in creating awareness for books and authors on the web. For web publicity and social media news, follow Fauzia on a new Twitter feed: @FauziaBurke