Topics: Marketing Toolkit, Digital Media
You understand the importance of digital marketing in this virtual age. You’re executing a variety of online marketing tactics. But do you have a cohesive and effective digital media marketing strategy? Learn why regular digital media marketing audits are essential to modern marketing success.
A digital media marketing audit is essentially a deep dive into your current digital footprint (both organic and paid) and the tactics you should be pursuing for maximum marketing success. Here are some of the things to look for:
- How are your organic keywords performing?
+ See three simple steps to improve your SEO.
- Does your website need work?
- How many backlinks do you have?
- Are you reaching your target audience?
- What is your quality score?
- How are your landing pages performing?
- What is your cost per lead?
- Are the tactics you’re employing optimized for mobile?
+ See Mobile Marketing: What, Why & How
- Are the tactics you’re employing in line with the marketplace and your competitors?
There are a number of ways that a properly conducted digital media marketing audit can help your business succeed.
“Without knowledge, action is useless, and knowledge without action is futile.”
– ABU BAKR
#1 A digital media marketing audit shows you where you are (and knowledge is power).
By examining your existing digital footprint, you’ll see what’s working and what’s not. A detailed review will reveal how much time and money you’re investing in your existing efforts and whether those investments are paying off. You need to understand where you’re succeeding and where you’re falling short in order to make worthwhile improvements.
#2 A digital media marketing audit teaches you about your audience, so you can increase engagement.
Analyzing your online marketing data provides unique insights into your audience. You see what messaging reaches them, and what resonates so that they’re driven to take action. The more you know about your intended audience, the more effective your marketing will be.
+ Learn how to create a buyer persona and why it’s important.
#3 A digital media marketing audit helps you choose the right online marketing mix, saving you time and money.
Once you understand how your existing digital marketing tactics are working, you can create an efficient and effective plan to reach your goals. Are there ways you can amplify your existing endeavors to increase your results? Do you need to incorporate additional tactics into the mix? Are you using dated, ineffective, or irrelevant strategies that need to be discarded? Are you investing too much time and money in some areas and not enough in others?
+ Learn how to conduct research and budget planning for a successful digital campaign.
To maximize effectiveness and keep costs in line, you need to include the right mix of paid, earned, owned, and shared digital media. You should not only identify and examine the online marketing channels and assets you already have in place, but also take the time to learn about new and trending digital marketing channels.
There are a plethora of digital marketing platforms and techniques available, including search and display ads, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, emerging media, audio advertising, paid influencer campaigns, mobile geo-fencing, and more. To help determine the best tactics to employ, evaluate each with respect to the buyer’s journey and your specific goals.
Are you looking for awareness, consideration, and/or conversions? Choose tactics that align with those objectives. For example, each social media site serves a distinct purpose. Some are more appropriate for awareness than consideration or conversion, while some speak to all three stages of the buyer’s journey.
Make sure the tactics you choose are worthwhile from a time and budget perspective, and that they integrate with one another to enhance each other’s effectiveness.
+ Learn more about how to identify the right media mix for a successful marketing strategy.
#4 A digital media marketing audit helps you set realistic goals.
Once you know where you stand with your existing KPI’s (key performance indicators), you can establish marketing goals that are attainable. For example, if you currently have an average of 100 monthly website visitors, you shouldn’t expect to multiply that a hundred-fold overnight.
+ Learn how to develop digital marketing goals that increase campaign effectiveness.
#5 A digital media marketing audit helps you understand the competition.
A strong understanding of your industry and the competition is vital for business success. Knowing who and what performs well and why will inevitably influence your marketing strategy. As part of your digital marketing audit, review what else is available in the market and how you measure up to your competitors.
- Stay aware of current industry trends.
- Discover and analyze your competitors’ best keywords.
- Observe how your competitors' positions change in organic search results.
- Learn which digital media marketing strategies your competitors are using and how their online advertising budgets are allocated.
- Discover who your main paid search competitors are (both paid and organic).
Looking for some help with your digital marketing audit and strategy?
Here at MSS Media, Inc., we’ve been providing Education, Government, Real Estate & Lifestyle clients with succinct, optimized, and successful marketing solutions for more than 15 years. Consider MSS Media, Inc. a full-service, one-stop shop for all your Media and Public Relations needs. Your goals are our motivation. And our mission is to propel your message, further and faster, to achieve the outcomes you’re looking for. If you found this blog post helpful, please share!
