WHAT TO DO: Conduct research and thorough competitive analysis. Identify needs and set specific goals. Collaborate and brainstorm various avenues. Develop the strategic plan, including how to promote, market, advertise and measure your efforts. Gather and create content. Lay the foundation for a solid structure. Design for greatest impact and ease of use, accurately reflecting your brand in voice and visual tone. Develop to specifications and incorporate desired new functionality. Test. Optimize. Test. Retest. Launch. Sit back and measure the ROI.
Sound easy? Well, it doesn't have to be hard. The stronger the plan is up front, the better your end result will be. Focus on exact goals; are they to increase online sales, target a new audience, evolve your brand? Once you identify what you need to accomplish, you know how to move forward with a solid plan that will save you money and meet your objectives.
WHAT NOT TO DO: 1. Explore social media just because everyone else is doing it. Make sure it is the right forum for your brand message. 2. Think it will be best to go it alone or that a partner would inflate costs. The opposite it true. With experience by your side, your efforts are more effecient and can be measured to prove your ROI. 3. Have too many cooks in the kitchen. Include many in the upfront brainstorming process; let everyone have a say because great ideas come from everywhere and anyone. Then, once those ideas form the foundation of a solid strategy, let one or two key people take charge to see it through to fruition.
How do we know? Who do we think we are saying all of this? »