r Q. Success factors for main media channels reviewed and prioritised? We introduced the six main digital media channels at the start of the guide:
Which of these channels is most important to a company will vary dramatically, but within each there are some common success factors that will affect your returns from each channel. We will highlight these here and then you can drill-down to read more about them in the individual 7 Steps Guides or discuss them with your agency or team members responsible for them.
Recommended resource? Search and social media marketing guides
We believe that search and social media marketing are the most important channels for growing your audience cost-effectively. See our detailed 7 Step Guides to these channels for a DIY approach to improving their effectiveness or reviewing with your agency/clients:
þ Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) 7 Steps Guide
þ Google Adwords Paid Search 7 Steps Guide
Managing digital strategy Getting new customers Keeping customers loyal Proposition Targeting Define your future Understanding your ecosystem 6
For each of these you should review your current capabilities and then tackle the success factors that you feel are the biggest levers that are going to get you results.
Strategy Recommendation 29 Identify the main success or efficiency factors for each channel to make them more effective and then work with specialists to improve efficiency.
Effectiveness describes how successful each media is in meeting your overall business goals of delivering the right message and outcome. Efficiency is the quality of execution in delivering cost efficiencies and response.
1. Making search more efficient
r Q. Search marketing acquisition strategy reviewed?
The search marketing strategy is in two main parts - to gain visibility in the paid and natural results and so encourage brand awareness and click through.
r Q. SEO acquisition strategy reviewed?
You will see from the 7 Steps Guide to SEO that the main success factors are:
r Keyphrase research and targeting
r On-page optimisation (match of content and document markup to keyphrases searched)
r Universal or blended search (images, videos, maps, product content)
r Off-page optimisation (link-building), particularly through attracting links through content
r Internal linking and site structure
r Social media optimisation (integration with SEO and online PR)
Social media signals are increasingly important to SEO, so it’s important to integrate with E-PR activities.
r Q. Adwords acquisition strategy reviewed?
r Keyphrase targeting - gap analysis with Google Analytics r Quality score review
r Campaign structure
r Match type review including balance between broad and negatives
r Excluding or harnessing the Google Display Network (GDN)
2. Making social media more efficient
r Q. Social media acquisition strategy reviewed?
r Priority of social presence
r Quality of messaging and offer to sign-up on social channels
r Review of ecommunications strategy (effectiveness of value and engagement messages and frequency)
r Quality of interactions and sharing on social channel r Integration of social channels with business goals
r Social media optimisation including integration of social media content and sharing into a
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3. Making online PR more efficient
r Q. Online PR acquisition strategy reviewed?
r Use of influencer networks and outreach
r Reputation management and social listening
r Integration of PR with SEO and social media activities
4. Making partner marketing more efficient
r Q. Partner marketing acquisition strategy reviewed? For affiliate marketing this includes:
r Share of key super-affiliates and segmentation of other affiliate types r Affiliate partner communications and management
r Use of appropriate commission levels
5. Making display advertising more efficient
r Q. Display advertising acquisition strategy reviewed?
r Balance of direct site advertising and ad networks
r Quality of engagement devices
r Creative quality
r Direct response efficiency and branding effectiveness (awareness generation)
6. Making acquisition email marketing more effective
r Q. Email marketing acquisition strategy reviewed?
r Identification of suitable list partners
r Quality of engagement devices
r Engagement and response follow-up
Working more with partners
r Q. Value and efficiency of offer to encourage acquisition of new leads defined?
Across the six channels, putting enough time into working with partners to keep things integrated is important. We suggest you identify potential influencer and partner sites and then select them carefully to ensure that you get the three-for-one benefit of referral traffic, social sharing and inbound link equity.
Strategy Recommendation 30 Put sufficient resource into influencer marketing
Review your influencers and put in place a method to communicate with them to encourage sharing and collaboration.
Influencers are key in modern marketing, as Jay Baer comments:
“With a disproportionate ability to spread information and add credibility, influencers are human TV stations and magazines.”
Nokia are a good example of a company that now lives by this mantra. Previously with a tendency to be secretive about new technologies and device releases, Nokia use agency “1000 Heads” to manage an advocate network of thousands of bloggers in different
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countries. They use a microsite “Nokia Connections” and social sites to keep them updated, plus personal invites to events.
It can help to think about influencers with a hub and spoke model in mind, your site being the hub, with influencers on different spokes. Our social radar diagram (below) helps you think that through and prioritise different outposts, some of which will be more powerful influencers. Our radar was inspired by Brian Solis’ Conversion Prism but we found it unclear, if not beautifully designed.
Once identified, true influencers and partner sites need to be treated with the respect they deserve, your business is effectively in a relationship, and like any relationship it develops over time and is based on respect, trust and a lot of giving. You wouldn’t expect a relationship to develop any other way.
Managing digital strategy Getting new customers Keeping customers loyal Proposition Targeting Define your future Understanding your ecosystem 6