3 Reasons Your Digital Strategy Will #Fail

Ampla’s Digital Marketing Strategy Blueprint series is perfect for small and medium sized businesses, nonprofits, and digital marketers seeking a fresh perspective on digital strategy. This is part 7 of 7.

Over the last six blog posts, we’ve covered the complete loop of digital strategy development, implementation, and reporting. It is a cycle that repeats over and over, with modifications each time based on newly acquired knowledge and technology. Even though the best plans can be laid out, there are many reasons your marketing efforts could fail before they even begin. Many of your companies won’t have these problems, yet many will. This final installment covers three traps that will hold you back from reaching success in digital marketing.

1. Lack of Time

Have you ever heard or been part of a conversation that went like this:

·      Person 1: “How’s work?”

·      Person 2: “Work is good, we’re really busy right now. Totally slammed.”

·      Person 1: “Well, that’s good. I know it’s a bummer to be slammed, but at least it’s job security. Rather be slammed than twiddling your thumbs, right?”

·      Person 2: “Yeah, I guess so.”

While being busy at work oftentimes implies job security, it can also be a detriment to job security. Busy does not always equate to working smart or productive. If other responsibilities or ad hoc “fires” take priority over executing your marketing masterplans, then performance will suffer. Time that was dedicated to implementing and overseeing a campaign’s success can evaporate without you realizing it.

The best way to negate risk of time thieves is to handle the “time issue” from the onset. If you’re in a marketing planning meeting and your ideas exceed the headcount that exists, then some of those ideas may need to be scaled back. You may also plan on obtaining temporary help from a consultant or contracted worker to open up a new pool of available time. If a project is properly scoped from the beginning, then time will be less of an issue because that will be estimated as part of the project scope.

2. Lack of Resources

Another way that I’ve seen companies fail in their marketing efforts is by not having the resources available to pull off a project. Contextually, I’m referring to resources as human capital and technology.

An example of this would be that your marketing plans include an A/B testing schedule that you’d like to be automated, yet you’re not working with a platform that will perform these functions. It’s time to modify your plans based on the technology you have at your grasps, or plan on having the right technology in enough time to test before launching your marketing.

Another resource example examines the human capital aspect. Perhaps your marketing plans have an increased budget and an additional headcount will be required to achieve your revenue goals. If you don’t add headcount, then you risk burning your current employees out, possibly losing members of your team. As simple as it may sound, your chances of marketing success are much better when human capital is lined up appropriately with the marketing goals. 

3. Lack of Knowledge

Let’s assume you have all the time in the world and a bounty of headcount at your fingertips. However, nobody knows their way around a CRM platform, how to set up Google Tag Manager, or do other digital-specific tasks that may be required to execute and measure your marketing plan. Again, I say your marketing plan with #fail.

I completely believe that people can be trained and develop skills for the in-the-trenches work when it comes to digital marketing. Digital marketing changes all the time and many in the digital world are self-taught. However, some things are trickier to learn, and a knowledge set should be available to set a marketing plan up for success.

One remedy for this is to hire specialists, contractors, or consultants that can lend a hand to execute a function and train others. Further, an internal training schedule can be developed to share digital marketing skills. As knowledge increases, your likelihood of success will join in formation.

The 3-Link Chain

Think of time, resources, and knowledge as a 3-link chain bracelet. They all connect with each other to complete a circle. If even one link breaks, failure will occur. For example, if you have time and resources, but no knowledge, then your plans will fail because nobody knows what they’re doing. If you have knowledge and resources, but no time, then everyone is too busy to make it a priority. You get the picture.

Digital Marketing Strategy Blueprint Series Summary

Thank you all for taking the time to read our seven part series. Our hope is that you can take some of the things you learned and immediately put them into play with your digital marketing. We’ve uncovered why you need a digital strategy and how to put it into action. If there are any questions about the content that was covered in this series, please reach out to us. We’d love to hear from you!

What are other roadblocks that you’ve run into that impeded the success of your marketing planning?

In case you missed the other blogs in this series, here’s a link to each of them:

Part 1: Framework: Digital Strategy vs. Digital Tactics      

Part 2: A 30-Point Digital Audit Checklist

Part 3: In a Perfect Digital Marketing World

Part 4: The Unfair Reality of Digital Marketing

Part 5: Digital Marketing: How to Plan Your Next Campaign

Part 6: Marketing is Like Sports Because…

The Unfair Reality of Digital Marketing

Ampla’s Digital Marketing Strategy Blueprint series is perfect for small and medium sized businesses, nonprofits, and digital marketers seeking a fresh perspective on digital strategy. This is part 4 of 7.

Up to this point, we’ve provided an overview of digital strategy, shared a checklist for conducting a digital audit, and introduced some great digital marketing brainstormingquestions. This installment of the Digital Marketing Strategy Blueprint series will take us further into the overall strategic process and discuss the unfair realities of a creating a perfect digital marketing plan versus what really gets implemented from that plan.

The Marketing Montage vs. Reality

If only a marketer’s life was like a 90 minute motion picture. A bunch of people would be sitting around a well-lit conference room table brainstorming, then someone would say, “I’ve go it!” Next, a montage would take place with some catchy music to get your heart rate pumping. It would show different frames of people working, smiling, struggling, smiling, late nights at the office, sighs, people drinking coffee, smiling, sleeves rolled up, things getting done, and people smiling again. At the end of the montage, the new marketing campaign launches late at night, and everyone toasts some bubbly in the office to this success.

This is not reality though. In the real world of unfairness, it’s most likely that your team comes up with a completely innovative idea, solution, or concept, only to find roadblocks every which way you turn. Not enough budget. Limited technology. Lack of time. Lack of support from leadership. Office politics. Lack of talent to implement successfully. Projects improperly scoped. Expect the trials my friends, for they will come.

Digital Roadblock Considerations

Whether you’re working to implement new or proven ideas with your marketing, there are certain items that will govern what gets done. Some of the considerations are:

Business Goals: Do these new or current ideas/tactics support business goals? If not, then remove them from consideration.

Cost: Do you have or will you be able to obtain the budget you need to implement your strategy? Costs may consist of investing in people, technology, vendors, training, or advertising/media.

Talent: Do you have the talent internally to pull off your strategic ideas? If not, can you acquire it through hiring or contracting the talent?

Prioritizing: Since limitations exist on money and resources, how will you prioritize marketing channels and how much money you put into each? For example, do you put money into Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, Display Ads, all three, or something else? Also, how much ad spend will you budget for each of these channels? How will you prioritize AdWords versus Facebook Ads? Will you do A/B testing by channel to determine budget fluctuation between channels?

Audience:Taking new ideas into account, are the marketing channels and messaging appropriate for your audience? By understanding your audience’s behaviors and interests, your messaging can begin to appear at the right places and times with messaging that resonates. For example, an SMS campaign may be great for some companies, yet be a complete waste of money for others. Consider your audience.

So What Do You Do?

As with many things in life, you must be prepared for the worst, but expect the best with your digital marketing. This means you seek to be smarter, more creative, more innovative, and more effective with your marketing efforts. Continue to brainstorm and develop innovative concepts and solutions. Also, understand the realities and cumbersome work it may take for your idea to see the light of day.

If you approach your strategy with the understanding that ideas may be met with adversity, you’ll be better able to plan for contingencies. This means having many of the questions answered up front that may come from internal and external stakeholders. Arm yourself with data, rationale, case studies, passion, and any other tools to support your recommendations.

Some of the best ideas will never be revealed to the public. That’s the unfair reality of digital marketing. Yet, success is a rented position without innovation. Continue to create ideas and implement what makes sense.

At this point, you’ve decided what you want to do. The next step is determining how to do it. Our next blog, “Digital Marketing: How to Plan Your Next Campaign,” will outline ways to organize and structure functions that comprise the planning process of a digital marketing campaign.

What are some of the stumbling blocks you’ve ran into and how did you overcome them? Comment below!

In case you missed the other blogs in this series, here’s a link to each of them:

Part 1: Framework: Digital Strategy vs. Digital Tactics      

Part 2: A 30-Point Digital Audit Checklist

Part 3: In a Perfect Digital Marketing World

3 Step Mobile Fundraising Strategy

Stepping into the world of mobile fundraising may seem like parachuting into the middle of a wild jungle with nothing but a canteen and backpack.  You look around; it’s unfamiliar. There are no roads, and you have no map. You could literally venture anywhere and not know if you’re going the right way or walking into a dark cave of tarantulas, á la Indiana Jones.

Nobody likes a dark cave of tarantulas, so let’s build some parameters around your mobile strategy.  You’ll find that it’s really not too different from what you’re doing (or should be doing) with email.

And just like with your email strategy, the base camp of your mobile strategy is your website. Before you take the first step toward mobile fundraising, make sure you are welcoming them with a mobile-optimized website, email design and donation page that make their donation journey easy. Once you’ve reached this checkpoint, here’s the path to move onward and upward.

1. Build Your Audience
Have you ever had a fundraising luncheon or event and not one person showed up? The food is cooked. The silverware is laid out. The speakers are lined up, but yet, the room is empty.  It’s hard to raise money that way. Similarly, your mobile fundraising won’t work unless you have an audience.  This audience of mobile donors can be built in several ways:

• Text-to-Give – One of the most common tactics to capture an audience has been during disasters, in which potential donors are engaged in an event that has garnished local, national or international attention. Sure, you can raise trucks full of money this way, but it’s not a sustainable model because you’re at the mercy of disasters. Also, the amount of donor information you acquire is very limited, which minimizes ongoing mobile fundraising efforts with these donors.

• Website Captures – You should already have a form on your website set up to obtain email addresses. This form can also be used to acquire mobile phone numbers. The field should be clearly marked as “mobile phone number” as opposed to just “phone number.” Also, make sure that this page includes some type of disclaimer letting users know that they are opting in to receive ongoing email and mobile communication.

• Mobile Append (mAppend) – This type of service can match your existing database of constituents with mobile numbers that are contained within the service’s records. It allows you to find individuals who have a mobile number and begin communicating with them. This is a quick way to build your mobile audience from a group of people that already have an affinity toward your organization.

2. Communicate With Your Audience
Now that your audience is built, platforms exist that will allow you to communicate via SMS messages with your audience. The impact of SMS communication ties to several behaviors, mainly the 97%+ open rate of text messages, and the ability to instantly reach people on the go in a way that email cannot.

An SMS messaging strategy is important to have documented before you begin sending messages. Ensure that communication is relevant to your audience. A general rule of thumb is to send two to three cultivation messages for every solicitation message; however, you will have to determine what mix works best for your organization. Again, doesn’t this sound similar to email? The following is a quick list of cultivation message types to get you started:

• Event announcements

• Organizational updates: Share goals reached, lives impacted or links to press releases

• Videos: Include a link to YouTube videos

• Exclusives: Send breaking news messages exclusive to mobile subscribers

• Inspiration: Send inspirational messages around campaigns or holidays

3. Raise Funds
Once you’ve warmed up your audience by providing relevant messaging, it’s time to utilize this channel to raise funds that will advance your mission. Keep in mind that mobile fundraising should not only function as its own independent channel: It should also integrate with your direct mail, email, media and other fundraising efforts. I would expect the most impact with mobile fundraising would occur when a mobile campaign is simply one puzzle piece for a larger existing campaign. For example, if your campaign is a matching gift campaign that you are promoting in direct mail and email, then you should also send out a fundraising SMS message about the match campaign that includes a link to a mobile-optimized donation page.

Mobile pledging campaigns can be set up as an alternative to text-to-give. Since text-to-give does not allow the flexibility of giving any amount, mobile pledging will generate a much higher average gift AND you obtain the donor’s information. In addition, pledges can be fulfilled via mobile-optimized donation page or telephone, thus reducing friction in obtaining pledged gifts.

Summary
Establishing a simplified mobile strategy is as simple as 1-2-3: 1) build your audience; 2) communicate with your audience; and 3) raise funds. Sounds easy, right?

At a minimum, you now have a starting point within the jungle of mobile fundraising, and a machete-chopped path through the brush that will point you toward success. The jungle still exists, but now you have a compass and survival tools. Go out and adventure, my friends!