Journal

They say that April showers bring May flowers, but in California these days it tends to be aqueducts or aquifers making buds bloom. Rain or no rain, the extraordinary show of Mother Nature in springtime is a feast for the senses.

What on Earth (pun intended) does this have to do with digital marketing and the realm of social media? This time of year is all about life. Of living things. And believe or not, this is precisely the metaphor you should use when thinking of your digital marketing strategy.

I’ve consulted with a number of businesses, nearly all of which have had the erroneous conception that once the new website/Facebook Page/Instagram Profile/YELP Profile/Pinterest Page/YouTube Channel/etc. has been launched, they can let out a collective sigh of relief and scratch those items off their to-do lists…and their budgets. Misleading ads promise instant website traffic and fans…the if we build it, they will come marketing strategy. People are lured into the dream that launch is synonymous with instant traffic and commercial success. I’m afraid I’m here to pop that bubble. This misconception is a little like planting a rose bush not being entirely sure that this particular variety will even thrive in this climate, then sitting back and waiting for the glorious blooms to appear…no soil prep, no fertilizer, no water, no pruning.

Like planting a rose bush in your garden, your digital presence must be well thought out and nurtured.

So how do we get our green thumb on?

Establish Goals.

Think of this as the time you spend turning over the earth before planting, researching the best soil amendments and fertilizers, and ensuring that even if that gorgeous rose in the photograph is the one you want, you won’t choose it if it can’t survive in your climatic zone.

If you’re thinking about diving in with a new website, or a massive overhaul (from that site your nephew built for you in the 90’s), you’ll need to ask yourself some questions:

Turning Over the Soil or Why am I Doing This?

• If your answer is to look modern and relevant, that’s okay. I mean let’s face it, if you went to Apple’s website and it was slow and clunky with teeny tiny Times Roman fonts and oodles of text with a few gritty graphics, you might think twice about buying an iPhone.
• Ease-of-use is also a good reason for an upgrade – the digital world has changed dramatically in the last five years. When was the last time you wanted a product SO badly that you actually had the patience to put-up with a slow, unresponsive website all the way to completion of the sale?
• To start selling products online: Great! If you’re currently a bricks-and-mortar outfit and want to expand to selling your goods and services online, let’s go. But – if you currently have no or limited digital presence, or very limited bricks-and-mortar presence, or no presence at all, you need to understand that you will need time to build your brand, and therefore your sales. Just as that rose rootstock must grow, sprout leaves, produce buds, and finally bloom, so too must your digital presence move through its growth stages.
• To establish oneself as a thought leader: Perhaps you’re a consultant who wants a website to gather new clients, or a non-profit seeking new donors. A new or updated website might be a great way to help people find you. Bear in mind that to establish yourself as a leader, you’ll need to prove it…or better yet have others prove it through testimonials and/or links to your superlative content.

Amendments and Fertilizers or Determining the Best Channels for Me

• People get really excited about various social media platforms. As with fertilizers and soil amendments, you don’t necessarily want to throw all of them at your rose bush. Typically, you want your social channels to drive some kind of conversion. I say typically because some are better at driving conversions, and some are better at creating brand awareness, so don’t lose sight of your goals here. For example, I recently had a client who was very excited about SmugMug – she loved its layout and ease of use. They’ve made some recent upgrades that make it a lovely platform for displaying photos of your products, but unlike Pinterest, it doesn’t allow for a direct link on the photo back to the product page on your website. In addition, Pinterest has far more users, and its demographic is hugely canted to women in the client’s age range. If you have limited time and budget resources, why expend efforts on both platforms?

The Right Climatic Zone or Consider Time and Budgetary Constraints

• Remember you need to think of your digital presence as a living organism requiring careful tending. Google’s search algorithm thinks this same way. It’s looking for websites that have fresh content. And like a spectacular bloom, it’s also looking for sites that people are oohing and aahing about. The more people who are clicking through from Facebook to your page featuring that fabulous blog post you just wrote, or from YouTube to your website because they couldn’t believe how cool your product looked/worked in action, the greater authority and relevance Google will give you in organic searches.
  • Don’t think for a minute that people will gravitate to your website without you feeding it.
  • Select social channels that will help you achieve your answer to Turning Over the Soil or Why am I Doing This above.
  • As you develop your overall digital plan, write a first draft digital marketing calendar…think of it as your gardening strategy…water daily, fertilize monthly, clip weekly…
    • What kind of content and themes are you going to promote at given times of the year?
    • What human and monetary resources will you need to bring these goals to fruition?
      • Are they available to you? If not, either negotiate for more staff/hours/dollars, or rework your plan.
  • Figure out the best feeding time or Aim at Consistency – perhaps you dedicate a day’s posts to education about your industry, another day’s posts to freaky facts about your business, another day to something funny. People tend to engage when you’re engaging them by educating them, making them laugh, or making them cry.
  • Don’t over water – actual selling or call-to-action posts should be about 1 in 7 (different experts have different opinions on this, so experiment with your fans). An overwatered rose looks sickly and dies…just about the way you feel when someone is constantly badgering you to buy or do something. Earn their trust and friendship first.

Prune Dead Heads

• Don’t be afraid to trim something that’s not working or that’s run its course.
• If you thought that Instagram was going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread for getting your widget out there, but have since found that despite your best efforts no one really cares about ball-bearings in Instagram’s key demographic of 15-24, scrap it and focus your efforts on channels where your prospective buyer’s hang-out. Effective digital marketing is an iterative process.

Clearly, these are just a few tips to stimulate your thinking when developing your digital marketing strategy. The key take-away is that like a beautiful rose, those coveted websites and admirable social presences are the result of careful planning, tending, and care.

Good Luck and Happy Gardening!

Julie Farrell is a reformed engineer and head of marketing & social at Designing North Studios. Intensely curious, she’s worked with lasers and missiles, bungee-jumped in New Zealand, crawled under Egypt’s pyramids, and been lifted in an elephant’s trunk. She dreams of one day writing a great American novel. Connect with Julie on Twitter or LinkedIn.
 

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