At the start of a new quarter (yes, that’s this week), I recommend going through a list of tactical marketing and business “to dos.” Oftentimes these items are deprioritized during the daily grind, but taking the time to do them will ensure your digital presence is on brand and will help your ongoing business planning and marketing optimization.
- CONDUCT A MINI CONTENT REVIEW | A full content review should be completed at least 1x/year. However, regular interim reviews of digital tactics will make the annual task less daunting and time consuming. Plus, if you update messaging mid-year, you won’t have outdated tactics in market for a full year.
- TIP | Establish brand guidelines which include both visual identity and messaging guidelines, and ensure anyone who is creating content is following them.
- ‘GOOGLE’ YOURSELF | Search your name and/or your business name on Google. Consider other search engines if you typically see significant web traffic from them. Make sure what appears first is what you expect (and want) to see. If not, make sure you’ve covered the basics of SEO such as a site map, titles, and tags. Or invest in more strategic tactics such as writing content based on what your audience is searching for.
- TIP | Set-up a Google Alert for your business, so you can see when any new items are published. You can also monitor top competitors this way.
- CHECK IN ON COMPETITORS | Review what your top competitors have been up to – product offerings, marketing, pricing, etc. Check to see if there is a new company you need to be aware of or if you should add them to your “top” competitors list.
- TIP | Do the same thing for peer (non-competing) companies or organizations. They may provide new inspiration or insights.
- SCAN TERTIARY ACCOUNTS | While I’d always highly recommend timely review of any social media accounts you have, I understand the reality of small teams and limited time. At a minimum, I recommend taking a look at least 1x/quarter. Respond to messages (with a make it right note if necessary for a late response), see what’s new, and consider if you should delete your account / profile or monitor it more regularly.
- TIP | Even if your target audience is not on a particular platform, you can still periodically monitor it for trends. Plus, you may find the platform has added a feature that makes it more interesting to your audience – e.g., did you know LinkedIn has added stories?
- BREATHE | Leading a business, team, or family is challenging. Self care is a buzzword, but it is a buzzword I fully support. Establish “work hours” and personal time if you’re working from home. Pet your dog. Enjoy a hobby. Talk to a friend. Play with your kids. Take a walk around the block at lunchtime. Turn off your phone for a few hours.
- TIP | Take care of yourself, so you can take care of business.
Kirwei Lo Consulting 