You know you should be making better use of your website. You paid an agency no small amount of money to create an updated look and feel. And then you had your very own shiny new website!

Now you have any combination of website, blog, Twitter account, Facebook page, and Google+ page. But what is your approach? How are you leveraging these mediums to reach people?

There’s Got to Be a Method to this Madness

You have to know your purpose, before you can know if you’re executing well. I learned this early on in the SEM realm. If I don’t have a goal / conversion, then I can’t know what a conversion is worth. If I don’t know what a goal accomplished is worth, I can’t ever know if I’m doing well or not.

Let’s start at the beginning:

1. Determine Your Goals

What are you trying to accomplish here? Selling products? Services? Gathering qualified leads? Spreading the word about your business? Building customer loyalty? Connecting with your community?

Whatever your goals, write them down. No ifs. No maybe laters. Do it now. You’ll never stick to a plan if your purpose is unclear or shifts from one thing to the next.

2. Assign Values to Your Goals

Even if you’re not selling anything, what is a lead worth to you? What is engagement or sharing really worth? Even if future calculations establish different values, start with something concrete now. And ask someone for help if you’re unsure.

3. Measure Your Goals

The beauty of online and mobile marketing is that you have a high level of measurability. That means you know what people are doing with what you’ve shared. Analytics is the most overlooked portion of marketing. Without in depth understanding of user behavior, you’re shooting in the dark.

4. Re-evaluate Your Goals

Every quarter, or at least twice a year, schedule a meeting to reevaluate your goals. Have they changed? Has the marketplace shifted? Are assigned values out of date?

With these critical steps, you’re now ready to begin discussing your strategy. Wishing you all the best.