Marketing is more complicated than it used to be thanks to the introduction to social media and internet advertising. With so many avenues to market a single product or business, it’s more important than ever for your team to establish a workflow that increases overall efficiency. To reduce deadline stress, use these 6 methods to streamline your digital marketing efforts.
1. Use the Right Tools to Stay Productive
Reducing the amount of software you use can instantly make your team more productive. For example, if the bulk of your digital marketing force switched to one social scheduling tool, they could drag and drop each piece of content inside of this program. It can be difficult for each member of your team to stay up-to-date with all of their business clients if they’re switching back and forth, so ask your clients to conform to your methods, not the other way around. Plus, your team won’t have to be trained on a new scheduling tool every time you sign a new contract.
2. Create a Shared Workspace
Keep a schedule for your team to keep track of, whether you’re by yourself or have a small marketing team. There are multiple calendar programs available to suit your needs. Even something as simple as Google Calendar can keep everyone on track for each promotion. With a schedule, it will be easier to adjust changes on the fly, which will result in fewer missed deadlines. It may also be necessary to store marketing content as it’s being created on a shared online workspace, like on Trello, to brainstorm ideas before they’re concrete and ready to post.
3. Establish a Digital Marketing Guideline
Define your marketing process with your team to reduce the number of questions or internal conflicts that could arise between clients or project heads. Consider creating a shared resource on Google Docs or via the Cloud to establish what brand voice you want to make. For example, your branding’s tone and voice should all be the same across each marketing platform, so customers immediately recognize your products. You may also want to jot down grammar and punctuation rules, continent creation guidelines, and the approval process for editors.
4. Choose the Appropriate Marketing Channels
Sometimes streamlining your digital marketing efforts can come from reducing the number of places you post advertisements. For example, traditional marketing (billboards, radio, television) should be reduced where necessary because it’s expensive and only reaches local customers. Spreading yourself too thin on social media platforms could also cause chaos and increase the urge to cut corners. Email marketing may be appropriate if you have a website because it gives direct access to your customer base. Adjust so you only hit the platforms that will benefit you.
5. Set Goals for Your Team Members
All businesses should create an atmosphere that’s goal and achievement base to know what they want to accomplish. Try not to set a goal that is difficult to obtain, like hitting 100k followers on Instagram in the next month when your business only has 5K. Instead, ask your team to reach 10K in 2 months or after a month-long campaign, as that is less overwhelming and achievable. Create goals associated with boosting brand recognition, driving traffic, promotion, conversion, and engagement because they will get you to that follower milestone.
6. Choose Whether to Outsource, Automate, or Hire
As a new business, you may not have a full team of employees. If you do, you may start questioning whether certain aspects of your digital marketing workflow can improve through automation, outsourcing, or with new hires. Hiring may be the option if you need someone in-house to form several duties, but outsourcing will come in handy if some aspects of digital marketing, like content creation, are possible remotely. Automation, especially in customer service, can free up time for your digital marketers to perform more tasks without distractions.
