Designing an online marketing plan is sort of like making a set of New Year’s resolutions. It’s fun and exhilarating to think about the possibilities. But, just like the promises we make to ourselves in the middle of a party, the goals set before the launch of a new website can quickly crumble under the weight of day-to-day scheduling pressures.
In other words, it’s a lot easier to create an internet marketing plan than it is to follow through with one. Almost every business owner has a set of activities they would like to engage in, but most struggle to promote their websites in even the simplest ways.
How can you avoid the same fate? What are the steps you can take today to create an online marketing campaign and keep it moving forward? Today, we are going to offer you a few simple tips that provide answers to these common and pressing questions…
Start With a Realistic Online Marketing Plan and Schedule
Because you don’t want to leave your online marketing to chance, you need to start with a written strategy. What’s more, you should have a plan that’s realistic and geared towards the business results you want to achieve. Otherwise, you’ll just gravitate towards the activities that are easiest or most fun. You might even end up doing nothing at all.
Think about what you could realistically accomplish in the next few months. Talk to your web designer about it, as well. The point is to come up with a realistic goal you can move towards, all while attaching a firm deadline.
Create a Budget and Assign Online Marketing Tasks
Every small business owner needs two budgets when thinking through the logistics of their online marketing campaigns. The first has to do with money. What can you spend on your website, search engine optimization campaigns, and social media marketing efforts? The second has to do with time. How many minutes a day or hours a week can you devote to the project?
When you have these answers, you can begin to assign tasks that need to be completed. Decide which ones you can finish yourself and which (if any) you want to delegate to a third-party.
Monitor Your Results and Revisit Your Approach Regularly
After you know what you’re trying to do and how it’s going to get done, the next step is simply to execute your plan. But, that doesn’t mean you’re just going to charge ahead week after week forever. Instead, it means you’re going to follow through on your strategy until your deadline arrives. Then, you should evaluate the results you’ve got and see whether you need to change or alter your approach.
Never forget that analysis and refinement are critical to the art of online marketing. It’s hard enough to get your campaigns moving in the first place. Why keep plugging away if you aren’t moving towards the kind of profitability you envisioned when you began?
As exciting as it is to create a new internet marketing plan, that enthusiasm isn’t likely to lead to real-world action unless you take the time to fill in some details. If you’ve been stuck in neutral for a while and aren’t getting the kinds of results you expected from your website, now is the time to put this advice to work. Decide what you really need to do, what you can commit to the project, and how you’ll adjust going forward. Fill in those blanks and you’ll be well on your way to success!
For more help putting your website and online marketing campaigns together, contact the Biondo Creative team today to schedule a free consultation to see how we can help.