This time of year I keep getting asked, “What’s new? What should we test? Anything we need to pay attention to?” Some years there are massive changes such as when Mobile became important and everyone needed a mobile strategy, or when social media began opening up to businesses and everyone was panicking to get their social media presence set up.
I think every year it is important to reflect on what is changing not only in technology but also in your industry. For example, people expect a quick loading and very easy to navigate website. As you navigate it will be clear if your website loads quickly and nice but take it one step further. Can you see all your CTAs? Can you navigate to your important pages? Can you easily find your phone number? Take a step back and make sure that the site not only loads nicely but it also functions the way you want on all devices and browsers!
As for your industry, different industries are advancing into digital at different speeds. Ecommerce websites tend to be on all trends and user experiences because the audience demands it. However, in B2B or other Consumer industries (Doctors, Dentists, Local Restaurants) there is more of a lag in staying on trends.
So what do you do? Here is a quick checklist to get you started:
- Pick 4-6 competitors – Big and Small. Local or National. Direct competitor or only in some areas/services. Just pick them and spend a couple of hours looking at their websites, what content and photos they feature, what social media platforms they are on, how their local map listings look, and how their website functions. You can learn things from small competitors you may have written off as well as competitors you think you can’t compete with.
- Look at your own website – Sure, you may look at it many times a day/week but take a step back and really look at it. Browse from a tablet, desktop, and mobile device. Click on every page and make sure the images and content read how you want it. Are the addresses and phone numbers correct? Every little detail.
- Look at your website stats – What are the top pages people are visiting? Is it what you expected or want? What pages are people leaving from? What has the highest and lowest bounces? How are people getting to your site? Does that match up with your advertising initiatives? Moxie recommends doing this every month but we know time gets away from many businesses so start the new year off by making sure you make checking your analytics a monthly business practice.
- What are your business goals and how should digital align? If you are wanting to add a new location, grow leads, increase sales by X%, grow your employees…. How can digital marketing be used to accompany those goals?
The world has been through a lot in the last few years with COVID. Industries and businesses had to change and adapt quickly due to so many external factors. But it is still important to sit down and spend a day reviewing all the items mentioned above. It will help reinvigorate your strategy and digital initiatives.
If you are interested in having Moxie Digital assist with your 2022 audit and strategy creation, contact us and we can help you get started.
