Digital Marketing Checklist 2021
The marketing landscape has evolved so much in the past ten years, and even more so in 2021. In the age of the internet, a company’s online presence is essential to driving business. Customers seek convenience and look for information right at their fingertips. Building a social media presence, maintaining an informative and up to date website, collecting favorable reviews, and engaging with customers online can take your business from good to great without having to invest in any physical marketing materials. This digital marketing checklist from Lights On Creative will help you determine where you are in your digital marketing journey and what steps you need to take to ensure you elevate your business to the next level.
Simple Digital Marketing Checklist for a Small Business in 2021
Small businesses automatically have a competitive advantage over their corporate counterparts, their communities. Building an online following and engaging with your customers directly can help boost your business as a pillar of the community. While marketing your business, keeping these core concepts in mind can help you stay organized, focused and make sure you’re sticking to your strategy. Sometimes, the answer is more straightforward than you think! Interested in digital marketing services, we have those here too.
1. Have Consistent Branding
While hiring an in-house graphic designer may not be feasible for many small businesses, there are plenty of free or affordable tools available that offer ways to keep consistent branding. These tools can help you develop a color scheme, create an eye-catching logo, and pick fonts. Maintaining consistency in your branding shows your customers that your company is organized and your products are dependable.
2. Do The Research
When planning your marketing strategy, don’t forget to do your research! The market research process does not need to be lengthy and involved, but it does have to be thorough. Start with a SWOT analysis. You can do this by asking and answering the following questions; what are you doing well? What could you improve? How are your competitors doing? Which market are you trying to target? What are the buying habits of that market? How is your industry doing? Are there any new laws, regulations, or supply chain disruptions that could affect your business? Having all the facts can help you make the perfect plan for marketing your company.
3. Stand For Something – Make A Difference
In 2020, a company’s role can go a bit further than just commerce. Developing a recycling program, partnering with a local charity, or even having staff volunteer days, can bring goodwill to your company. These good deeds can improve your business’ standing in the community and help you connect with a broader audience. Not to mention, you’ll feel great doing it!
Content Marketing Strategy Checklist For 2021
Having a digital media checklist for your content writing makes it easy to craft precisely the messaging and image you want your audience to have of you. Create an experience for your customers that goes beyond the typical online shopping process.
1. Don’t Neglect Your Website
Think of your website as an online extension of your store. Make sure you’re keeping it updated! It should have your current location, hours, prices, deals, products, and initiatives. It should be free of any spelling or grammatical errors, incorrect pricing, and outdated policies. When your website looks clean and professional, customers will be informed and more likely to trust your brand.
2. Create An SEO Blog
Creating content is a vital aspect of any sales and marketing plan. Content gives you a voice to tell your customers exactly what your brand is about, why they need your product, and why your business is the best. SEO (search engine optimization) is the term for increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your site by navigating the many factors search engines take into consideration to determine where your website appears in search results. Creating an SEO blog gives you an opportunity outside of the main content on your website to show your consumers and search engines why you are a knowledgeable source of information with products your consumers can trust. An SEO blog can help your company rank higher in search engine results and in the eyes of your consumers, and is one of the best tactics to be included in the digital marketing checklist for 2020.
3. Relate Your Content To Your Business
When finding and creating the perfect content for your business, make sure it aligns with your products. Every touchpoint is an opportunity for a sale, so make sure you center your messaging with how your product or service is the solution your consumers are looking for. Are you a kitchen supplies company posting a recipe on your website’s blog? Make sure to include why your pan set is the best. Are you a toy company sharing a cute video? Don’t forget to mention why your children’s toys are the most fun for recreating the scene in the video. Do you have plans to post a list of the trendiest celebrity hairstyles? Include how your salon can give your customers the same result. Always tie your content back to how it’s relevant to your customers through your business.
FAQs
What is a digital marketing checklist?
A digital marketing checklist is a comprehensive list you can follow to help create conversions in your marketing campaign. This includes social media marketing, SEO, email marketing, and much more.
What are some topics for digital marketing?
Digital marketing topics include SEO, social media, content marketing, PPC, marketing campaigns, and more.
Social Media Marketing Checklist for 2021
The front runner for any digital marketing strategy is social media. Nowadays, everyone has an online presence. In 2020, social media has moved beyond existing as a platform to keep up with your friends and family and is now a place for news, entertainment, shopping, and connecting with companies. How can you capitalize on the rise of social media as a tool for business?
1. Create a Posting Schedule
First and foremost, create a consistent schedule for your social media posts. This can be done manually by keeping track of when to post or using tools and software to automate the process. By posting consistently, you’ll maintain a steady stream of content. Too much too fast, and you’ll run out of ideas or bombard your followers. Too sparse, and your followers will forget about you. An ideal starting place for a small business is posting two to three times a week, as this is easy to manage!
2. Engage With Your Followers
When posting on social media, make sure to include posts that foster engagement. Create polls, hashtag challenges, or ask your followers to comment their opinions on your posts. Interacting with your followers and asking them to interact with you not only boosts your analytics, but it creates a good relationship between your business and your customers.
3. Utilize Private Messages as a Point of Contact
Emails and phone calls are an excellent communication method for customers and your business. However, social media has opened doors for direct messages to be a quick and easy way for your customers to contact you. Make sure that you keep your direct messages (DMs) open and check them regularly. It is a good idea to keep your read receipts on, so that customers can see if you’ve seen their messages. Consider setting up an automatic response, letting them know that you’ve gotten their questions, and you’ll respond when you can!
Conclusion
Marketing strategy has moved to have a large digital component. Between shifting demographics, better technology, and the desire for convenience, customers are moving to more online shopping. By creating the best digital marketing strategy for your business, you’re sure to capitalize on a growing customer base. Follow this digital marketing checklist for your sales and marketing plan to get started on your new marketing journey!