When you hear the phrase “digital marketing,” you probably picture an intern with an iPhone whose sole responsibilities involve posting to social media and making coffee runs.
Plot twist.
Digital marketing is way more than establishing an Instagram aesthetic or getting people to like your business’ Facebook page. In fact, if you were to really get into the weeds of all that creating an effective digital marketing strategy involves -- the kind that actually gets your business’ content in front of the customers you're looking for -- you’d get overwhelmed and probably want to throw in the towel rather quickly.
That’s where we come in. For over a decade, our digital marketing team at The Nine has sifted through the fads and fluff of the marketing world to figure out what actually works.
The value of digital marketing lies in its unique ability to give you real, trackable growth. That means you can measure exactly how many leads (potential customers who have taken a specific step to express interest or inquire about a business and its services) or sales you get in return for your digital marketing investment.
No mysteries. Just clear numbers.
More traditional marketing measures such as billboards, print ads, TV, radio, and direct mail can increase the awareness of your business, but they usually can’t tell you exactly how much value was generated from the dollars you spent. There’s no way to truly determine if your investment is actually doing anything to drive your business forward -- which can make for some really awkward business meetings.
So, how can we get trackable ROI? It’s all about our three-step digital marketing process:
Foundation. Structure. Growth.
This process will transform your marketing budget into a measurable investment in your company’s growth. You deserve to have a digital marketing strategy that is expertly tailored to your business needs. The problem is that creating an effective digital marketing plan can be extremely time-consuming and frustrating. The Nine helps you create a custom digital marketing plan that will help you get trackable ROI and real results. Within each phase of our process, our team adjusts our tactics to align with your business goals to ensure that we bring you the most value.
So, what does each phase of this process entail? Here’s the breakdown:
Foundation
During the Foundation phase, we build your digital marketing plan on solid rock, as God intended.
It usually takes between one week to one month of deep work and research to get through the full Foundation phase and its corresponding steps: Onboarding, Tracking, Analysis, and Strategy. This step is fundamental in that it allows us to get our minds wrapped around the digital strategy we’ll use to achieve the results you’re looking for. It’s not the most glamorous step of the process, but it’s arguably the most important. We all know what happens when you build your house upon the sand. Your digital marketing strategy is no different.
Onboarding: We work with you to set up all the accounts and services we’ll need to properly run your digital marketing campaign. This may include Facebook Business Manager, Google Merchant Center, and others.
Tracking: We set up tracking on your website so you can see how many leads and sales it generates. Then you can measure the results of everything we do. Remember, it’s all about trackable value. We work with Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, and all major ad platforms to install tracking codes, set up custom tracking events, and set goals.
Analysis: We research your industry, competition, customers, and past performance to better understand your business and set measurable goals.
Strategy: Now that we can see your business and website performance clearly, we make specific plans for trackable growth. At the end of the Foundation Phase, we’ll send you a Digital Marketing Strategy Report custom-built for your business. It outlines what we’ve learned and how we plan to grow your business moving forward.
Structure
This isn’t the Field of Dreams. Just because you build a website or create a Facebook business page doesn’t mean anyone’s coming to see it. We’ve got to get the word out!
Some established businesses spend years building their brand but can’t be found on the internet. Not our clients. We make sure you get seen where you should be seen by those who need to see you!
One of the best ways to do just that is to create content that showcases your services, products, and the daily grind of running your business.
Benjamin Franklin would purposely let one of his wheels squeak on his wheelbarrow so everyone would notice how hard he was working. We’ve got more advanced technology than ole Ben, but he was on to something.
Awareness and reputation are important, and we are here to broadcast your business’s narrative to target audiences that show the most promise of becoming customers. Digital marketing allows you to toot your own horn and reap a harvest of more customers in the process. It’s a win-win, honestly. You and your team work hard, so why not brag a little bit?
The Structure Phase is all about connecting your digital reputation to your physical reputation by writing blog posts, social media posts, and increasing reviews.
Word-of-mouth drives a lot of business. Once they hear about you, most people look up your business online before ever contacting you. We help you make the best first impression by establishing compelling website content, email marketing, social media accounts, and reviews. With a strong, healthy web presence in place, everything we do next is guaranteed to be far more effective.
Growth
Now for the fun part: Growth! With an optimized website, a connection to your customers, and a growing reputation, we’re ready to build your growth marketing funnel.
While you sleep, the system we build will reach out to cold prospects, build awareness, earn trust, and generate qualified leads.
If you sell products or services directly on your website, we make sure you can track sales and build a loyal customer base.
Since every dollar you spend on digital marketing will now be a trackable investment in the growth of your company, we can grow as much as you want from here. The sky (well, and your budget) is the limit.
Our Step by Step Process for Improving your Digital Marketing
The following breakdown offers a more in-depth outline of the steps within each phase of our digital marketing process. If you have the staff and resources to get through this list on your own, you'll be in a much better place on the other side of it. If you need help, we're here to help.
Foundation Phase
Step 1: Onboarding:
Accounts Access & Setup
Set Benchmarks based on past performance
Set Goals and define success
Step 2: Tracking
Setup social media leads & sales tracking
Setup organic search engine leads & sales tracking
Setup paid search engine leads & sales tracking
Setup website lead & sales (if eCommerce) tracking
Step 3: Research, Analysis, Strategy:
Research Industry, Competition, and Customers
Define Target Customer Profiles
Review ads used in last 12 months
Review performance for last 12 months
Content Marketing Strategy
Step 4: Reporting
- Send Digital Marketing Strategy Report
Setup & Schedule Monthly Reporting:
Includes key metrics based on goals
Structure Phase
Step 1: Reputation Management
Gather reviews and testimonials
Set up a way to collect and manage reviews and testimonies
Step 2: Content Marketing
Content Audit: Gather and Analyze existing content assets.
Plan content needed and publishing schedule
Content Production
- Copywriting
- Graphic Design
- Infographics
- Photography
- Video Production
- Audio/Podcast Production
- Web Design & Landing Page Design
Content Distribution
Publish main content assets: landing pages, articles, and blog posts according to schedule.
Schedule social posts on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, etc. that link back to main content assets.
Reach out to the press to extend content reach.
Reach out to influencers to extent content reach.
Growth Phase
Step 1: Setup Lead Generation Funnel / Ecommerce Marketing Funnel
Audience Targeting
Setup target audiences for social ads
Setup target audiences for search ads
Setup Marketing Funnel on Facebook + Instagram
Use content assets from the Structure Phase as the basis of ads
Setup Marketing Funnel on Google Ads + Youtube
Use content assets from the Structure Phase as the basis of ads
Gather and Organize Email Lists
Plan & Setup Email Marketing Funnel
Use content assets from the Structure Phase as the basis of ads
Send first Email Campaign and track results
Step 2: Conversion Rate Optimization
Fix any Website Design problems
Optimize ad accounts structure
Test and Optimize different variations of ad designs and text
Test and Optimize different variations of landing page designs and text
Optimize landing pages for maximum Mobile Speed (AMP)
Step 3: Search Engine Optimization
Technical SEO
Improve website content structure
Improve website loading speed
Analyze and Improve search engine index coverage issues
On-Page SEO
Fix/Add meta tags
Analyze specific pages based on target keywords
Optimize Content based on keyword targets.
Off-Page/Off-Site SEO
Earn links and mentions from other websites, publications, and influencers
Fix Local SEO issues with Business Listing Management
Now that you've made it through this overhaul of your marketing efforts, you can track every lead and every sale that comes through your business and you're dominating your competition in search results. No more spend and pray marketing campaigns. You can confidently scale up and keep growing.
If you'd like our help setting this up for your company, give us a shout!