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Does your Marketing need a Spring Cleaning?
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When spring has sprung (or at any change in season), consider this the perfect time for a marketing audit! No fear, this isn’t about financials and the tax man isn’t coming to audit you. But it does mean a thorough review and update of all your marketing information digitally lurking around the internet.
Why plan a marketing audit?
A quarterly check-in of your digital footprint is necessary! Most small businesses are busy running the day-to-day of the business, so when you put up your website or start social media, you have a tendency to set it and forget it. But your digital presence isn’t like a crock pot that you can walk away from and forget about while it does the work for you.
What do I need to audit?
Your Website
Start with your website. Your website should be the most reliable source of information about your business, so make sure it’s up-to-date with all the relevant information: hours, products, services, menus, prices, contact information, location, and more. Make sure your website is functioning as it should be and is in good health.
Your Social Presence
Social media is fast becoming the first source of information for consumers about a business. Many will search Instagram, for instance, before even searching Google. So you should treat it as another primary source for your customers to learn about you. Make sure your social presence is accurate, active, and engaging. That goes for your Google My Business listing as well!
Your Data
The data being collected by Google Analytics and Google Search Console is priceless. You may not be taking full advantage of it right now (or maybe you are, and KUDOS for that!). But if you decide to up your marketing game one day and hire a marketing firm, they will find the data incredibly useful as they begin on their journey to your ROI. Make sure both Google Analytics and Google Search Console are connected to your website and tracking properly.
Your Ads
If you are running any digital ads or pay-per-click campaigns (such as using Google Ads), make sure you are checking in on them regularly and tweaking them accordingly. This can be the difference between spending money to make money or throwing your money away.
How often do I need to do an audit?
This can vary for everyone. I recommend at least a quarterly audit. Some businesses have information changing more regularly than that, such as restaurants updating menus or shops changing their hours more often. Others don’t see much change over the course of a year, but checking in every three months will get you in the habit of being more aware of your digital presence and more apt to update your information as soon as it changes.
Download our FREE Checklist!
Lucky for you, we’ve created our own Marketing Audit Checklist! You may have items to add, and not everything on this list may pertain to your business. There may be much more information floating around online about your business than you were even aware of! And you may not have realized that changing your hours, for instance, only on your website doesn’t make them change everywhere. There’s work ahead, but this checklist can help! Good luck!