8 Principles for Digital Marketing Success

8 PRINCIPLES FORDIGITAL MARKETING

SUCCESSJUNE 24, 2014

BY JIMMY SMITH

FORMATTED FOR SLIDESHARE

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Principles for Digital Marketing Success

8 PRINCIPLES FORDIGITAL MARKETING SUCCESS

1. ANALYTICAL

2. ORGANIZED

3. USER CENTRIC

4. MEASURED

5. AUTHENTIC

6. OPTIMIZED

7. STRATEGIC

8. HOLISTIC

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1. ANALYTICAL

• “DATA BEATS GUESSES…EVEN THE TINIEST AMOUNT OF EMPIRICAL FACTS VASTLY IMPROVES THE PROBABILITY OF MAKING CORRECT UI DESIGN DECISIONS.”

• JAKOB NIELSEN, WEB USABILITY GURU

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1. ANALYTICAL:ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

• BUSINESS REQUEST: • “HOW MANY PEOPLE CLICK ON THE CAROUSEL HERO

BANNER ON LDS.ORG?”

• LDS.ORG = FLAGSHIP WEBSITE FOR THE LDS OR MORMON CHURCH

• WHAT THEY REALLY WANTED TO KNOW: • ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE CAROUSEL HERO BANNER

WORTH THE SCREEN REAL ESTATE?

https://www.lds.org/

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10K Clicks

60K Clicks

20K Clicks2K

Clicks

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1. ANALYTICAL:ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

• ANALYSTS:• UNDERSTAND THE STRATEGIC QUESTIONS BEHIND THE

REQUESTS• DON’T JUST PROVIDE DATA. PROVIDE ANSWERS.

• BUSINESS:• SHARE THE QUESTIONS THAT KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT• SEEK INSIGHT, NOT JUST REPORTS

• BETTER QUESTIONS, LIKE:• WHICH BANNER AD IS MOST EFFECTIVE IN DRIVING

CONVERSIONS?• WHAT ARE THE MOST PRODUCTIVE SOURCES OF

TRAFFIC?

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2. ORGANIZED

• “ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND MOST COMMON MISTAKES MADE WHEN BUILDING WEBSITES IS WHEN GRAPHIC DESIGNERS GO STRAIGHT TO A GRAPHICS PROGRAM AND START DESIGNING. THIS IS LIKE A CONSTRUCTION COMPANY STARTING TO CONSTRUCT A BUILDING WITHOUT A BLUEPRINT…BAD INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE WILL CRIPPLE YOUR [WEBSITE].”

• SHARI THUROW AND NICK MUSICA

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2. ORGANIZED:DEVELOPING INFORMATION

ARCHITECTURE• PRODUCT MANAGER OF SEMINARY.LDS.ORG AND

INSTITUTE.LDS.ORG• SEMINARY AND INSTITUTE = WEEKDAY RELIGIOUS

EDUCATION CLASSES

• MIGRATED SITES TO A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)

• TOOK OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE (IA)

• BETTER EMPHASIZED BUSINESS PRIORITIES

• OPTIMIZED THE SITE FOR SEARCH

Seminary.lds.org Institute.lds.org

https://seminary.lds.org/?lang=eng

http://institute.lds.org/?lang=eng

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2. ORGANIZED:IA PROCESS AND RESULTS

• THOROUGH KEYWORD RESEARCH

• VETTED IA WITH BUSINESS, KEEPING IN MIND OBJECTIVES

• TESTED THE DESIGN THROUGH AN ITERATIVE IMPROVEMENT PROCESS

• RESULT: TRAFFIC DOUBLED WITHIN A FEW MONTHS OF REVAMPED SITE LAUNCH

• RESULT: TOP TWO SITES AT THE CHURCH FOR SEO SCORES

Seminary.lds.org Institute.lds.org

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3. USER CENTRIC

• “TESTING IS GREAT BECAUSE YOU CAN GET THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON’S OPINION: THE CUSTOMER’S.”

• AVINASH KAUSHIK, WEB ANALYTICS GURU

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3. USER CENTRIC:USABILITY TESTS

• COLLEAGUE ASKED ME TO RUN USABILITY TESTS ON A NEW WEBSITE FOR LDS SEMINARY TEACHERS

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3. USER CENTRIC:USABILITY TESTS METHODOLOGY• SOFTWARE

• SILVERBACK (GUERRILLA USABILITY TESTING SOFTWARE)

• METHODOLOGY• SAT DOWN WITH REAL USERS

• GAVE THEM TASKS TO COMPLETE

• ASKED THEM TO THINK OUT LOUD

• TRACKED• TASK COMPLETION RATES AND TIMES

• USER COMMENTS

• OTHER OBSERVATIONS

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3. USER CENTRIC: USABILITY TESTS

• LEARNINGS…

• BIGGEST ISSUE:

FINDABILITY

• MENU SEARCH MENU

• USERS IGNORED HOME

PAGE CONTENT

• “HELP ME WITH”

SECTION RARELY USED

• ACRONYMS LIKE

“CSTAR”, AND “DSS”

CAUSED CONFUSION

• RECOMMENDATIONS…

• INFORMATION SCENT BEST

PRACTICES IN CONTENT

AND SERP

• SIMPLIFY AND FOCUS FOR

THE HOME PAGE

• REMOVE “HELP ME WITH”

LAYER AND MOVE CONTENT

UP IN IA

• DON’T ASSUME PEOPLE

KNOW ACRONYMS

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4. MEASURED

• "WHEN PERFORMANCE IS MEASURED, PERFORMANCE IMPROVES. WHEN PERFORMANCE IS MEASURED AND REPORTED, THE RATE OF IMPROVEMENT ACCELERATES."

• THOMAS S. MONSON, PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OR JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

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4. MEASURED:FEDEX CULTURE: EVERY CAMPAIGN IS A

TEST• SALUTE TO SMALL BUSINESS SWEEPSTAKES

• MULTI-CHANNEL: WEBSITE, EMAIL, DIRECT MAIL, AND IN-STORE

• $2.5 MILLION INCREMENTAL REVENUE, AND AN ROI OF 5:1

• NEW ACCOUNT FOLLOW UP (NAFU)• PHONE CALLS AND TRIGGERED EMAILS TO NEW ACCOUNT

HOLDERS

• HALF A MILLION $ IN INCREMENTAL REVENUE PER YEAR

• CAMPAIGNS REMAINED IN “TEST” MODE FOR YEARS BEFORE BECOMING PERMANENT

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5. AUTHENTIC

• “CONTENT MARKETING THRIVES ON AUTHENTIC OPINIONS AND PERSONALITIES, WHICH IS WHY THIS ROUTE STANDS OUT FROM THE MASSES OF COMPANY BLOGS AND FEEDS. WE’RE NATURALLY ATTRACTED TO LEADERS, NOT COMPANY CONTENT PLATFORMS.”

• RYAN SKINNER, ACCOUNT DIRECTOR AT VELOCITY PARTNERS

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5. AUTHENTIC:AVOID BAIT AND SWITCH

• PPC AD ON THE KEYWORD “MITT ROMNEY” DURING 2012 ELECTION

• THE LINK TOOK USERS TO A PAGE THAT DIDN’T EVEN MENTION MITT

• TACTICS FRUSTRATE USERS AND CAN DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD

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6. OPTIMIZED

• “BEST WAY TO SELL SOMETHING: DON’T SELL ANYTHING. EARN THE AWARENESS, RESPECT, AND TRUST OF THOSE WHO MIGHT BUY. …THOSE WHO HAVE REAL EMPATHY [AND] HAVE THE SEO SKILLS TO INFUSE THEIR WORK WITH GREAT KEYWORD TARGETING, SEARCH ACCESSIBILITY, ETC., ARE GOING TO HAVE ONGOING SUCCESS.”

• RAND FISHKIN, MOZ

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6. OPTIMIZED

• MY PERSONAL WEBSITE, MORMONMISSIONPREP.COM

• REAL VALUE + TECHNICALLY SOUND SEO ONGOING SUCCESS

http://www.mormonmissionprep.com/

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ON

QuerySearch/mo

Avg. position

lds missionary acceptance letter 321 1sister missionaries 1,074 1missionary acceptance letter 395 1sister missionary 1,098 1online missionary application 820 2the race poem 1,274 2missionary application 2,914 2mission application 582 2missionary online 1,132 2provo mtc 734 2mission papers 6,432 3lds mission papers 19,896 3mission papers lds 742 3missionary online recommendation 1,913 3lds mission call letter 477 3online missionary recommendation 2,467 3lds missionary papers 2,368 3missionary online recommendation system 3,781 3missionary recommendation online system 617 3checklist for full-time missionary recommendation 562 3missionary recommendation 5,438 3

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6. OPTIMIZED:CAPITALIZE ON OPPORTUNITY

• OCT 2012: THE CHURCH LOWERED THE AGE FOR MISSIONARIES

• MEN 18 (DOWN FROM 19) AND WOMEN 19 (DOWN FROM 21)

• NATURALLY, NEWLY ELIGIBLE MISSIONARIES WENT TO GOOGLE

• OFFICIAL CHURCH SITES WERE NOT RANKING WELL, BUT MMP WAS

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7. STRATEGIC

• “LOOK AT YOUR WEBSITE IN THE CONTEXT OF YOUR OVERALL BUSINESS STRATEGY …DETERMINE HOW THE BEHAVIOR OF USERS ON YOUR WEBSITE RELATES TO YOUR OVERALL BUSINESS GOALS.”

• JASON BURBY AND SHANE ATCHISON

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Proclaim the Gospel and Hasten the WordInspire members to share the gospel online

Motivate and InspireWhy Share: Elder Ballard’s talk

Visits, Downloads, Views, Time on Page, Bounce Rate, Search Rf

Inform and provide examplesWhy I Share – Stories

Visits, Views, Time on Page, Bounce Rate

Other A/V Videos:Bounce Rate, Search Referrals

Teach members how to share the gospel onlineInstruct How to Online

In Plain English: RSS, Social Bookmarking, etc.Views, Time on Page, Bounce Rate,

Provide findable and sharable contentSite Search and NavigationMost Popular content and sections,

site search terms, zero result searches, search conversion

Push out negative results in SERPsDistribute Optimized Content

Provide Optimized Image GalleriesVisitors, Downloads, Search Ref, Key

images Google Rank

Provide Badges and Widgets for Key Landing PagesCode Grab Its, Widget and Badge

Referrals, LP Google Rank

Optimize LDS Share itselfBlog, LDS Share Badge

RSS subscribers, Comments, Badge Referrals

Share It, Fav-ing and Liking-type featuresSearch referrals, Bounce, Visitor growth, Usage stats : % of visitors

liking, # of times shared

User Generated ContentSubmit Pictures: “Temple” pictures, “Mormon”

pictures, etc.# of submissions, # of good submissions

Purpose Tactics /Features

Objectives Goals / Strategies

KPIs

Planning for “Sharing the Gospel” website

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7. STRATEGIC:STRATEGICALLY CONGRUENT

• KNOW HOW USERS ONLINE BEHAVIOR RELATES TO BUSINESS GOALS

• CONGRUENCY BETWEEN GOALS, STRATEGIES, FEATURES, AND TACTICS

• KPIS, THEN, TRULY BECOME INDICATORS OF GOAL PERFORMANCEProclaim the Gospel and Reputation Management

Inspire members to share the gospel onlineMotivate and Inspire

Why Share: Elder Ballard’s talkVisits, Downloads, Views, Time on Page, Bounce

Rate, Search RfInform and provide examplesWhy I Share – StoriesVisits, Views, Time on Page, Bounce RateOther A/V Videos:Bounce Rate, Search

ReferralsTeach members how to share the gospel online

Instruct How to OnlineIn Plain English: RSS, Social Bookmarking, etc.Views, Time on Page,

Bounce Rate, Provide findable and sharable content

Site Search and Navigation

Most Popular content and sections, site search

terms, zero result searches, search

conversionPush out negative results in SERPs

Distribute Optimized ContentProvide Optimized Image GalleriesVisitors, Downloads,

Search Ref, Key images Google RankProvide Badges and Widgets for

Key Landing PagesCode Grab Its, Widget and Badge Referrals, LP Google

RankOptimize LDS Share itselfBlog, LDS Share BadgeRSS subscribers,

Comments, Badge ReferralsShare It, Fav-ing and Liking-type features

Search referrals, Bounce, Visitor growth, Usage stats : % of visitors liking, # of

times sharedUser Generated ContentSubmit Pictures: “Temple” pictures, “Mormon” pictures, etc.# of submissions, # of

good submissions

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8. HOLISTIC

• “IN MOST PEOPLE’S VOCABULARIES, DESIGN MEANS VENEER. IT’S INTERIOR DECORATING. IT’S THE FABRIC OF THE CURTAINS AND THE SOFA. BUT TO ME, NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE MEANING OF DESIGN. DESIGN IS THE FUNDAMENTAL SOUL OF A MAN-MADE CREATION THAT ENDS UP EXPRESSING ITSELF IN SUCCESSIVE OUTER LAYERS OF THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE.”

• STEVE JOBS

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8. HOLISTIC: BRAND EXPRESSIONTHRU ONLINE CHANNELS

• FEDEX BRAND: SPEED AND RELIABILITY • "WHEN IT ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY HAS TO BE

THERE OVERNIGHT"

• PRODUCT MANAGER OF THE ONLINE SHIPPING SERVICE

• REINFORCE SPEED WITH AVERAGE CHECKOUT UNDER 4 MINUTES

• REINFORCE RELIABILITY WITH HIGH TECHNICAL QUALITY IN WEBSITE

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8 PRINCIPLES FORDIGITAL MARKETING SUCCESS

1. ANALYTICAL

2. ORGANIZED

3. USER CENTRIC

4. MEASURED

5. AUTHENTIC

6. OPTIMIZED

7. STRATEGIC

8. HOLISTIC

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