Think Differently: How to accomplish big goals for your business | Mack Fogelson

mackenzie fogelson
mack 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

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-in
change perspective
measure & justify roi
un-silo teams
get 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’s talk about a
sustainable process
that 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 business
and 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 formula
it’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
bridgethe gap between where
they are and where you
want them to be.
PHOTO CREDIT: http://pinterest.com/pin/128845239310563258/

@mackfogleson
So try this very simple
exercise
audience
pain points
solutions
@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’re in-house or out, it’s
all one team
marketing team
sales team
product team
web team
social media team
clients
partnering agencies
ceo
manager
co-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 about
your team.

41
encourage them to
thinkdifferently. help them
understand a new
approach & perspective.

@mackfogleson
Start shifting 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
Communicate the importance of
Who? your effort is integral
There’s a lot to do
we can’t work in silos
@mackfogELson

@mackfogleson
Think differently about the
Roles
seo
website
email marketing
reading & learning
outreach
Project management
community management
content
strategy
design

@mackfogleson
Keep the focus of the team on
goals not tools
we’re working toward
long-term, sustainable
results & building a
better company.
@mackfogELson

@mackfogleson
Let your team know that
links still matter
but so does the value & EXperience that
you’re creating for your customers.
@mackfogELson

@mackfogleson
And yes, tell your team you can
measure this stuff
and that’s something that you will work on
together as you define goals & kpis.
@mackfogELson

49
make sure you set up a
planfor communicating.
work as a team.
get stuff done.

@mackfogELson
Ask some 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
communicate
stand-ups
bi-weeklies
monthly reports
quarterly analysis
@mackfogELson

@mackfogleson
Word on the street is that you can
measure this stuff
and 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 sure you define goals for your
whole business
and 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
Granular We want to build trust
we want more visibility
we want to teach stuff
we want to be respected
we want to influence

again, what does that
mean?how are you going to accomplish that?

@mackfogELson
We want to build trust
read & learn & blog
go places & meet people
hold events & teach people things
Be Authentic & transparent
help 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 traffic
shares & comments
form submissions
blog/email subscribers
event conversions
face-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 formula
they 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
homework
review 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 stuff
Remedy technical audit items
navigation restructure
user experience improvement
value integration
blog integration

@mackfogleson
Simultaneously plan for
community building
more 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+‘stand-ups’
weekly this will help the team
accomplish the stuff
they need to focus on
for the week.
@mackfogELson

@mackfogleson
Send a ‘push’ via email
bi-weekly bi-weeklies provide the
respectful reminder &
nudge that the team
often needs.
@mackfogELson

@mackfogleson
Have a standing ‘sit-down’ meeting
monthly so 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

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 it
Take some time before the meeting to pull out
the three most important things that will
make the biggest difference in their business.
@mackfogELson

@mackfogleson
Customize your report with these
sections [1] applause
[2] overview of efforts
[3] Traffic w/ analysis
[4] stuff to know
[5] looking forward
@mackfogELson

@mackfogleson
[1] Applause
point out all the good stuff.
acknowledge whole team efforts.
keep it positive.
@mackfogELson

@mackfogleson
[2] overview
high level laundry list.
organize for readability into categories.
one sentence to quickly communicate effort.
@mackfogELson

@mackfogleson
[3] traffic
show where the lift is coming from.
combine narrative & visuals.
analyze what it means.
@mackfogELson

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

@mackfogleson
[5] looking forward
what’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 period
168% 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 some tough customers
public sector employees
blocked from accessing social media
not technologically savvy
decisions made by committee
those who want to drive change can’t
not 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
Comparing year over year
78% increase in traffic

They’re cultivating leads on
Twitterby sharing other people’s value,
reaching out & being human.

@mackfogleson
We’re pretty excited about the stuff 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.

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

Think Differently: How to accomplish big goals for your business | Mack Fogelson

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Think Differently: How to accomplish big goals for your business | Mack Fogelson