Guide To Assessing Your Digital Strengths And Weaknesses

A simple coffee cup is one of the most important staples in an office setting. You have about 10 of them at home, but you keep going back to your old faithful: the one with the large comfy handle. Between tea, coffee, hot chocolate or water– that mug is there for you throughout the day. But that coffee mug can get dirty in between rinses. Just like your desk can get cluttered during busy days or your desktop screen can look like your worst nightmare.

So where am I going with this?

Let’s compare your company’s digital marketing strengths and weaknesses to a coffee cup.

Check off each bullet point and assess how “full your coffee cup” is at the end.

SOCIAL

Your social presence is the easiest way to interact with your audience and make your brand known.

Your social channels should be

• Engaging (pushing out relevant content to your clients or audience)
• Interactive (should reply as well as talk with others, start a conversation)
• Friendly (no robot responses)

They should:

• Be analyzed throughout the year using Google Analytics, Sprout Social, etc. -to understand what’s working and what needs to be improved
• Be evaluated for strength (if you feel your business is more visually engaging over text, devote your time to your Instagram account and delete your Twitter)
• Have some sort of strategy/editorial plan (what you hope to achieve through your social use/how often to post, if you use Hootsuite, etc.)

WEB

Your website is the first impression to your brand and a digital storefront to your goods and services.

It should be:

• Easy-to-find
• User-friendly
• Pleasing to the eye
• Updated frequently
• Designed for mobile use

It should have:

• Valuable, interesting content
• Optimized links
• Stimulating, quality graphics

0-4 EMPTY:

Your company is falling behind digitally.

You have few, if any, social channels (Google Plus, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) either because you are short on time, do not have the expertise, or don’t think it will be worth it.

Your website is dated, hard to find and does not use inbound links. You want to improve your digital marketing efforts but feel you can’t keep up with the digital pace.

5-9 HALF-FULL:

*Notice how I said the mug was half-full* (I’d like to believe digital marketers are optimists).

So your company needs a little work. You are doing some things right, but could use a little improvement in certain areas.

You are pushing out content, but it’s not leaving an impression with your audience or getting the feedback or results you’d like. You are losing engagement and reach because your audience isn’t seeing your posts in their news feeds. You might not have a set strategy on how you interact on social.

You can’t find the time to redesign your website with valuable content and do not have high quality images to draw people in and showcase your company as a trustworthy one.

Tip: Start with the areas you could use the most improvement. If engaging content is what you are struggling with the most, get to know your audience and what they are looking for. Experiment with different types of posts and innovative ways to share your brand’s story. If you haven’t taken the time to reach out to your audience, spend some time increasing your community management. Maintaining your online presence can be a lot of work, but it is well worth the effort!

10 – 14 FULL CUP:

Your company is in a good place.

You are doing a solid job at maintaining a strong digital presence. Your social channels are pushing out engaging and creative content. You are building relationships with others in your industry and in the community. You are taking your feedback to heart and learning new ways to improve your brand online.

Your target market is able to easily find your website and connect with your company, directly correlating to the success of your social and web efforts.

Tip: All in all, you are on the right track with your digital marketing! Keep up the good work by continuing to learn new ways to reach your followers and hone your skills. The digital world is ever-changing and requires constant upkeep to maintain success.

Tip: Don’t panic. Building a strong digital presence takes time. If you are short on resources, think about the ways your audience would benefit most from your digital efforts. If it’s updates to your website, consider adding a blog that will improve more traffic to your site or integrate a video that will engage your audience and make them feel more connected to your brand. If your site is lacking on design, incorporate high-quality images.

If beefing up your social media presence is at the top of your list, do some research and think about the channels that will be most valuable for your brand and start there. There are countless resources available online to help you utilize digital marketing as a tool for your business. Put in a little leg work and you’ll be well on your way to success.