The Digital Marketing Roadmap: Where to focus your efforts

dog with get more leads digital marketing roadmap

There are an abundance of options when it comes to digital marketing, and we can often feel overwhelmed thinking that it all needs to be done at once.

So, I thought I’d put together a digital marketing roadmap to help you decide what to focus on next in your journey.

Because it is a journey folks. We’re not operating as hefty corporate organisations with teams dedicated to the various areas of business. Nope, you’re wearing all the hats. That’s product or service creation and delivery, content creation and promotion, building an audience, advertising…. And oh, so much more.

Let’s get onto the digital marketing roadmap, shall we? I know you’re mega busy!

Lay solid foundations with a digital marketing roadmap to slay overwhelm

It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; its the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.
David Allan Coe

Clear target client identification

The very foundation of all of your marketing is knowing who you are targeting and what problems you are solving. Get crystal clear on this before you do anything else. This will inform your copy, your image choices, and essentially all of your marketing activities.

Download this free worksheet to help you get to the bones of what your target clients care about.

1. Logo design and branding

Before you get cracking on any marketing, you need a clean and professional logo, fonts and a brand colour palette. This is the visual representation of your brand, and it will set the tone for everything that follows.

2. Website

Once you have a cracking logo and your colour palette, you need a beautifully designed, secure and responsive website that’s optimised for desktop, mobile and tablets.

Your website is your digital home, and it’s the second place I would recommend investing your money. You can have incredible products or services, but if your website and branding look naff, you’ll be stuck at the first marketing hurdle.

Of course, your website will perform best with professional photographs and well-written copy.

But if your budget is tight, then spend your money on a decent website.

You can always upgrade your images and copy further down the line.

Neither stunning photos nor compelling copy will perform well on a website that isn’t the mutt’s nuts. Your website and branding is your foundation from which to grow.

I’ll say it again for the people at the back. Your website and branding is your foundation from which to grow.

3. Google Business Profile (local business only)

Product makers, eCommerce and nationwide or global pet businesses just skip on ahead to the next step.

If you’re a service-based business covering a local area then your next point of focus should be Google Business Profile.

Google Business is essential for local service-based businesses. So gather up your reviews here, post at least once a week.… and if you want to really nail your local search results, then get a Google Business expert on board.

4. Professional Photography

Your imagery is your next marketing supercharge step. You want your visual presence to shine bright and grab attention… you use images EVERYWHERE! Make sure they’re top notch!

For product businesses, it’s profoundly important that you have images that show off your wares to their full potential. Having a lack of uniformity in your product images makes your shop look messy and hard to navigate…. this is impacting on your sales!

The decision-making process that leads to buying starts with falling in love with what we see.

As a service-based business, professional photography is just as worth the investment. The quality of your photos has a huge impact on how people view the quality and standard of your services.

Find top tips on pet business photography here.

And if you’re ready to book a shoot, then check out Rowan at Pooch and Pineapple and Helen at LovePhodography.

5. Intentional and Compelling Copy

You use copy in all of your marketing. Your emails, social media posts, the words on your website, your adverts, and even your social media bios are all copywriting in action.

And it all needs to be written in a way that connects, engages and evokes an emotional response.

Your copy is there to communicate:

Who you are
What you do
Who you do it for
What problem you are solving
Why they should choose you

Copywriting is a skill, and it can be learnt. There are lots of copywriting formulas you can use to get you started. This is a great blog post from Copyhackers full of copywriting formulas to try.

If you hate writing or don’t have the time to do it, get in touch with me, and we can talk about powering up your words. That’s what I do, after all! 😉

And if you’d like to learn how to write your own outstanding copy, then check out Belinda at Copywrite Matters. She has some fab free resources for business owners to get you going and a course if you want to go all in.