So often, our clients come to us unsure of why their marketing isn’t producing what they need it to. 

What’s the biggest thing these businesses have in common? 

They don’t have an effective marketing strategy. 

And, before we get into it, I want to be clear. Having a strategy does NOT mean you need pages and pages of blue sky thinking, SWOT analysis, and 12 months of content written down.

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🧠Having a strategy means understanding who you are trying to reach, what you need to say to those people, and how you are going to say it.

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🧠Having a strategy means being clear on how you are going to get in front of those people with your message.  

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🧠Having a strategy means knowing what the objectives are for your marketing. 

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So, how can you tell whether your existing marketing is strategic or not?

Let’s get into it 👇🏼

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1. Your audience isn’t engaged

The symptom: you are posting content regularly across multiple platforms but engagement is LOW. A like or a comment is a welcome rare sight and it feels like your content frequently goes unnoticed. Tumbleweed springs to mind…. 

‍The fix: Firstly, take a step back. Are you reaching the right people? Are you sharing your content on the right channels for them? Revisit your target audience personas and remember to tailor your content to their interests, needs, and challenges. Which channels are they likely to engage with? Focus your efforts there. Something you should constantly be asking yourself is, “will this piece of content be of interest, useful, or entertaining for my ideal audience?” If the answer is no, don’t produce it. If the answer is yes, get going! 👍🏼

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2. Your website traffic is uninspiring 

The symptom: your web analytics are showing flat visitor numbers month on month, or worse, a steady decline. 

‍The fix: Before making any changes, is your website optimised for search engines? How is the SEO of your site being monitored and improved? Are you using relevant keywords to attract the right organic traffic? Are you pushing people towards your website via your other channels? Are you happy with the perception your brand and content is creating? Take a second to think. Is what you are sharing likely to attract people to your site?

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3. Your leads are cold and difficult to convert

The symptom: you are generating some leads but not many and those that you do receive rarely convert to sales. 

‍The fix: time to think about your overall marketing message. How clear and compelling is it? Is it speaking directly to your ideal target audience and their pain points? Are your lead capture forms optimised and easy to use? Are your call to actions clear and inviting? There are also things you can do to help warm your leads up before they reach you. Make sure your website and other marketing channels provide an opportunity for the lead to get a feel for your business and what you are about. Give them a chance to get to know you before you speak. You’d be surprised what a difference this can make! When that first conversation happens, the more they feel they know you, the better.

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4. Your metrics feel like a hot mess

The symptom: you monitor web traffic and social media engagement but you’ve got no idea what the numbers mean or how they translate to your marketing goals 🙈

The fix: before doing anything else, make sure that your marketing objectives are clear. 

Is your main focus to increase brand awareness within your ideal target audience? Is it lead generation in the same market but new geographies? Are you trying to increase subscriptions to one of your media channels? 

If brand awareness is your main focus, you want to concentrate on impressions, views, and demographics so that you can see whether your content is being viewed by the right people. 

If however you are trying to generate more leads in a new area, you want to focus on the number of contact forms being completed through your website and how many direct messages you receive on social media or in the business inbox. How many people are contacting you about your services? 

As a third example, if you are trying to build an engaged community around your brand on social media, you want to focus more on the interaction metrics - likes, comments, shares, and follower increases. 

Hope that helps! 👍🏼

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5. You’ve got eggs in all the baskets!

The symptom: you are dabbling in a bit of everything - social media, email marketing, advertising, PR, web optimisation but there is no clear direction or synergy between channels. 

‍The fix: focus on getting one channel working well for you then build from there. Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to do everything brilliantly from day 1 - it’s not realistic unless you have a team of specialists working with you. Prioritise which channel you focus on using your objectives. If lead gen is a big priority, which of your channels is likely to convert work quickly for you? Focus on that then integrate the next channel that is most likely to help you achieve your objectives. The more confident you get with one channel, the better you’ll feel embracing the next.

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Familiar with the symptoms listed above but feeling better with some suggested fixes? 

Give some of the above a go and let us know how you get on 😊

Feeling clearer but know you don’t have the in-house resource to get things done? 

Let’s see what needs to be done for your marketing to be effective. 

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It all starts here with a discovery call 👍🏼 

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Until then, happy marketing!

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