think differently: how to accomplish big goals for your business | mack fogelson

mackenzie fogelsonmack web solutions

@mackfogelson

CHANCES ARE, YOU BELIEVE IN

inboundor web marketing or digital marketing

or whatever you want to call it.

@mackfogELsonMACK WEB SOLUTIONS

but you may have noticed it’s

hard workyou’ve got to earn links, work on user experience

develop relationships, & build community.


instead of just being an seo, you’ve got to be a

creativeand a marketer and a strategist

and a data scientist.


5@mackfogELsonMACK WEB SOLUTIONS

PHOTO CREDIT: DR. PETE

http://attackofthecute.com/on/?i=6944


you even have to

convinceyour clients & your boss

and motivate your team...


to make the

evolutionfrom the old way of doing SEO to a

fully integrated inbound marketing solution.



PHOTO CREDIT: http://attackofthecute.com/on/?i=6944



If you are feeling

the painof the new seo revolution and are struggling

with all kinds of roadblocks...


@mackfogleson

Like....

How the heck do i...get buy-inchange perspectivemeasure & justify roiun-silo teamsget consensus in larger organizations

@mackfogELson


...You’ve got to start thinking

differentlybecause this isn’t just about seo

or social media or content.


12

it’s about

growing your business


@mackfogleson

So let ’! talk about a

sustainable processthat will guide your evolution. Stop using seo in a silo.EmbracE a new approach.

@mackfogELson


we have put this process

to the testwith many different types of companies in

different industries with different challenges.

@mackfogELson@mackfogELson



PHOTO CREDIT:http://animals-myfriend.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html



This process is extremely

collaborativeand requires the involvement of all

internal & external teams.



this process utilizes

toolslike SEO & social media & content

among other great things.



@mackfogleson

But today we will keep the focus on

the whole businessand not just marketing initiatives. that difference makes this process powerful.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson@mackfogELson


but before we get started, there is one

warningthat i have for you today.



@mackfogleson

This process is

not a formulait’s a guidebook.your job is to make it work for your team.for your goals.And for your business.

@mackfogELson


so here’s the deal with

buy-init has to happen all the time.

it never, ever ends.



earning buy-in relates to how well you

communicatewith your clients, boss, or your team.

you have to make the effort.



the shocker about buy-in is it’s

not about youit’s about understanding & effectively

communicating with your audience.



27

your job is to

bridge the gap between where they are and where you want them to be.


PHOTO CREDIT: http://pinterest.com/pin/128845239310563258/



@mackfogleson

So try this very !imple

exerciseaudiencepain pointssolutions

@mackfogELson


remember that you’re dealing with

peopleand that in itself is your

greatest challenge.



continue to put in the

effortmake buy-in part of your regular routine.

this Step builds trust & opens doors.



working to build an

alliancewith your team will be the largest

contributing factor to success.



whatever you do

don’t skipthis step. because forming an alliance

with your team is an extension of buy-in.



@mackfogleson

Whether you’"e in-house or out, it ’!

all one teammarketing teamsales teamproduct teamweb teamsocial media team


clientspartnering agenciesceomanagerco-workers

37

you’ve got to

unitethe team and address any resistance before you even get started.





invest the time in

three thingsthat will make your efforts

super successful.



39

before you begin, Conduct a

surveythat helps you understand more aboutyour team.


41

encourage them to

thinkdifferently. help themunderstand a new approach & perspective.


@mackfogleson

Start !hifting perspective with the

what? this isn’t about seo or social media or content. this is about what we want to do with our company.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

Move on to the

why?why are we doing this?what is our vision?What are we building?

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

C#municate the importance of

Who?your effort is integralThere’s a lot to dowe can’t work in silos

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

Think differently about the

Rolesseowebsiteemail marketingreading & learningoutreach


Project managementcommunity managementcontentstrategydesign

@mackfogleson

Keep the focus of the team on

goals not toolswe’re working towardlong-term, sustainable results & building a better company.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

Let your team know that

links still matterbut so does the value & EXperience that you’re creating for your customers.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

And yes, tell your team you can

measure this stuffand that’s something that you will work ontogether as you define goals & kpis.

@mackfogELson


49

make sure you set up a

planfor communicating. work as a team.get stuff done.


@mackfogELson

Ask !#e questions

who is our key point of contact?do you prefer email, phone, face-to-face?

what execution tools do you use?what days/times are best for meetings?

who is the final decision maker?What does your approval process look like?



screen shot: unlessiheardifferently.com



if you take the time to effectively

communicateyou can avoid any unnecessary

roadblocks & frustrations.



@mackfogleson

Let everyone know how you plan to

communicatestand-upsbi-weekliesmonthly reportsquarterly analysis

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

Word on the !treet is that you can

measure this stuffand the roi that seo & social media & content generate for your business.

@mackfogELson


but what you are going to

measureand how you are going to measure it

depends entirely on your goals.



@mackfogleson

So make !ure you define goals for your

whole businessand not just for seo or social media or content.

@mackfogELson


think beyond goals that you have for

revenueand focus on where you want to

take your business.



@mackfogleson

Answer three questions when defining

goals[1] what do you want to do?[2] what does that mean?[3] how does that equate to kpis?

@mackfogELson


62

what do you want to

do?let’s say you want to become a thought leader. sounds great.


63

but what does that

mean?many companies have the very same goal but it can mean very different things to each company.


@mackfogleson

You’ve got to make your goal more

GranularWe want to build trustwe want more visibilitywe want to teach stuffwe want to be respectedwe want to influence


again, what does that

mean?how are you going to accomplish that?



@mackfogELson

We want to build trustread & learn & blog

go places & meet peoplehold events & teach people things

Be Authentic & transparenthelp others & give back


67

decide how that equates to

KPIs?this will help you prove that you’re actually accomplishing what you set out to do.


@mackfogleson

So maybe you decide to

measure increase in trafficshares & commentsform submissionsblog/email subscribersevent conversionsface-to-face leads


keep in mind that there are

many thingsthat cannot be quantified through analytics.





http://moz.com/rand/11-tips-i-gave-to-marketers-this-morning/



@mackfogleson

The thing with goals is that

there is no formulathey are different for everyone.how you measure them will be different, too.your goals will change & so will your kpis.

@mackfogELson


your strategy is your

road mapand the action plan that is actually going to

help you accomplish your goals.



it’s also a great opportunity to

un-siloyour team and earn buy-in.



create your strategy in

three partsin order to make your efforts

super duper successful.



76

have a strategy

jamwith your whole team. it’s a creativity session that breeds cool ideas & stuff.


@mackfogleson

Before the jam, everyone does their

homeworkreview pain points & possible solutions.review goals & possible kpis.review personae & competition.come ready to build on ideas to reach goals.

@mackfogELson


during the creativity jam

don’t filterjust come up with all kinds of ideas

in order to work toward goals.



79

think high level for the

yearorganize, filter, and prioritize all the jam ideas into foundational & community building.


what kind of stuff is

foundationaland needs to be taken care of before

you start driving a ton of traffic ?



@mackfogELson

Foundational !tuff

Remedy technical audit itemsnavigation restructure

user experience improvementvalue integrationblog integration


@mackfogleson

Simultaneously plan for

community buildingmore about what you know than what you do.resources your customers need.assets that are not all about you.

@mackfogELson


86

plan in detail for 2-3

monthsso that you know what you’re doing, when you’re doing it, and who is responsible.


87

but whatever you do

don’tplan your entire 12 months in detail. you want to collect some data before you commit.





@mackfogleson

Think about your

tools [1] seo[2] social media[3] content[4] email marketing[5] video[6] outreach & PR

@mackfogELson


make sure you tie everything back to your

goalsso that you’re staying focused on big picture

and accomplishing big things.



now we get to the

fun partwhere you actually get to do stuff

and make magic happen.



all of that hard work requires

measurementso make sure you’ve got all the

right pieces in place.



in order to succeed you need to

communicatewith your whole team

throughout the entire execution process.



@mackfogleson

Hold phone or Google+‘!tand-ups’

weeklythis will help the team accomplish the stuff they need to focus on for the week.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

Send a ‘push’ via email

bi-weeklybi-weeklies provide the respectful reminder & nudge that the team often needs.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

Have a !tanding ‘!it-down’ meeting

monthlyso that you can look at the efforts that have been executed & the data you’ve collected.

@mackfogELson


100

you’ve got to

testalong the way. set up tiny experiments. They don’t have to be anything fancy.


PHOTO CREDIT: http://blog.sweetcitycandy.com



http://catloversdiary.com/catpictures/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/funny_mad_scientist_picture.jpg

http://catloversdiary.com/catpictures/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/funny_mad_scientist_picture.jpg

all of the

hard workin this stage of the process is what builds community & your business.



now you’re ready to communicate and

provethe value & direction of your efforts.

otherwise known as roi.



104

your job is to prove

valueso don’t blow it by providing metrics that don’t mean anything.





time to whip out the

big gunsto show what you’ve done to

work towards your goals.



this is where you have your monthly

sit downmeeting to go through what’s been working,

what hasn’t, and what needs to change.



@mackfogleson

Under any circumstances

do not just read itTake some time before the meeting to pull out the three most important things that willmake the biggest difference in their business.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

Cust#ize your "eport with these

sections [1] applause[2] overview of efforts[3] Traffic w/ analysis[4] stuff to know[5] looking forward

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

[1] Applausepoint out all the good stuff.acknowledge whole team efforts.keep it positive.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

[2] overviewhigh level laundry list.organize for readability into categories.one sentence to quickly communicate effort.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

[3] trafficshow where the lift is coming from.combine narrative & visuals.analyze what it means.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

[4] stuff to knowbreak down the ‘so what’.if the team is blowing it, tell them.point out the unexpected opportunities.

@mackfogELson


@mackfogleson

[5] looking forwardwhat’s on the team’s plate next month?turn all ideas into action.assign deliverables to people.

@mackfogELson


once you’ve evaluated make sure you

adjustyour efforts. look at the data and the opportunities. adjust direction & kpis.


120

how about some

proofthat this process actually works to build your business & your community.


PHOTO CREDIT: http://www.absolutelymadness.net/2012/05/01/39097/



@mackfogELson

Over a ten month period168% increase in traffic


we signed some clients from

blog poststhat’s right. we wrote some content and it brought us business. it did take 10 months.


now before you start

thinking“of course this works for you.

you’re a web marketing company”...


124

what about these

guyswho are starting to see some wins & have all kinds of stuff stacked against them?


@mackfogELson

Targeting !#e tough cust#ers

public sector employeesblocked from accessing social media

not technologically savvydecisions made by committee

those who want to drive change can’tnot willing to try new things

adoption of initiatives could take years


we have been executing this process for

six monthsand SAFEbuilt is just starting to experience

some tiny victories.


@mackfogELson

C#paring year over year78% increase in traffic


They’re cultivating leads on

Twitterby sharing other people’s value,

reaching out & being human.


@mackfogleson

We’"e pretty excited about the !tuff we

can’t measure They are thinking differently.they are trying new things.they believe in the process.They are changing their approach.

@mackfogELson


so quit making

excusesand give it a shot.

it will change your business.


http://bitly.com/bundles/mackwebsolutions/2




you can read about a ton of this stuff in my

link bundlehttp://bitly.com/bundles/mackwebsolutions/3





connect with us[1] mackwebsolutions.com/blog[2] @mackwebteam[3] gplus.to/mackwebsolutions[4] linkedin.com/company/mack-web-solutions‎

http://www.linkedin.com/company/mack-web-solutions

http://www.linkedin.com/company/mack-web-solutions

think differently: how to accomplish big goals for your business | mack fogelson

Technology