Does your marketing life ever feel like it¡¯s just an endless to-do list, with all items labeled the highest priority and due yesterday? Don¡¯t let your to-do's bog you down. This post will offer suggested must-do task lists every can use to stay sane and keep campaigns going strong on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
10 Daily To-Do's
Work these to-do's into your daily routine to continually stay on top of deliverables, results, and the ever-changing industry.
- Good morning, dashboards! Log into , Google Analytics (or any other marketing or website analytics you¡¯ve set up), and any paid media campaigns to review dashboards for spikes, inbound links, and results compared to goals (you've set some goals, right?).
- Manage your inbox. Be timely in your communications, and answer important emails first. This may also help you with number 3 ...
- Set priorities. (Note: Be realistic and agile.) Scan your to-do list for the 1 or 2 most important tasks. Commit with yourself and your team to what you will complete today.
- Hold a 5-minute team huddle to review campaign status. What are you aiming to complete in the short term? Who is responsible, and what¡¯s the status?
- Listen. Check (e.g. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Google Alerts, HootSuite, etc.) for brand mentions. Scan through and read articles from top blogs in your RSS feed.
- Engage priority social connections via retweets, replies, +1s, etc. Leave comments on top blog posts, respond to brand mentions on social media or in articles, answer relevant questions, and more.
- Publish original content. Whether it¡¯s a blog post, video, cartoon or new landing page, use a dedicated block of time to produce something of value.
- Share new content via social networks, and thank those who help spread your content.
- Log major marketing events in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø or another tool for tracking purposes (speaking engagements, guest posts, influencer blog post tweets, etc.), and check your dashboards again while you¡¯re logged in.
- Move a project forward ¡ªwhether that¡¯s reviewing your work or someone else¡¯s, pushing a project to a boss or client, planning next steps, or confirming details, cross something off the list that others are waiting for.
Bonus Task: Be considerate. Check Facebook to wish contacts a happy birthday . (Even more bonus points if you do this outside of Facebook.)
10 Weekly Tasks
Whether it¡¯s, ¡°Yes -- Friday!¡± or ¡°Ah -- Monday!¡± weekly check-ins keep your inbound marketing campaigns on track and progressing toward larger outcomes.
- Review last week¡¯s results . Check your dashboards for analytics trends and returns so you can build on that momentum (or make up for a lack of it) this week.
- From a project standpoint, check out what you completed last week and what you have on tap this week. Update your to-do lists ¡ªespecially if you share them with a client, manager, or team.
- Send a weekly update to your team or client, which outlines status on priority projects and progress toward weekly and monthly campaign goals (visits, links, leads, etc.).
- Draft and submit a guest blog post to expand your network and maintain fresh inbound links.
- Give your website some TLC . Check out your page analytics (for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø customers, you can use ) and fix the top 5 errors, evaluate a call-to-action, or check out A/B testing and improve a page based on those results.
- Mix up your content . Publish in a new format¡ªbe it a video, podcast, or content visualization ¡ªor consider repurposing an old piece in a new way.
- Send a blogger or media contact an email¡ªnot a pitch¡ªthat compliments a recent article well done .
- Send an email to a targeted list. Based on your standing against the month¡¯s goals, is there a contact list you can reach out to with a great content asset or exclusive offer?
- Tweak a lead nurturing campaign , whether that means including a new offer, evaluating the effectiveness of the workflow, or .
- Hold a weekly meeting with your sales team to evaluate new leads and refine the marketing-to-sales handoff.
Bonus Task: Make time for good will. Keep up on correspondences with old classmates, professors, colleagues, or clients. Respond to someone that asked a favor or is looking for a new opportunity. (You know there is an outstanding message in your Facebook or LinkedIn inbox waiting for you).
The Monthly 10
Days, weeks and months fly, but it¡¯s at the end and beginning of each month when we can pause for regular reviews of campaign progress and key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Review monthly reports and analytics dashboards. Report on the month¡¯s activities, campaigns, and results , as well as how they directly tie to goals and KPIs.
- Map out next month¡¯s strategy . Develop agile content calendars, and plan activities based on the goals you aim to achieve. Review plans with your team.
- Create a brand new offer. Marketing offers fuel lead generation. Host a live webinar or write a new ebook and build the landing page and calls-to-action needed to generate new leads and reconvert existing ones.
- Experiment with something. Dedicate some time to innovation, even if it's just something your marketing team has never done before like creating a music video or A/B testing a web page.
- Read. If you¡¯re like me, your to-read list is long. Commit to reading one book or piece of long-form content (e.g. an ebook) each month and blogging your review or connecting with the author online.
- Take time to train . If you haven¡¯t passed , ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s or Codecademy¡¯s , aim to cross one off the list this month.
- Host or attend a networking event, tweetup, or other in-person conference/event.
- Do an original analytics project. Do a deep dive into one aspect of your marketing, such as conducting a content analysis or gleaning best practices from your email marketing efforts. Then report on the findings to the rest of your team.
- Evaluate your online presence. Click through your website like you¡¯re a visitor¡ªwhat improvements can you make? Look at your social networks as someone else would¡ª ?
- Know where your time is going . Look at monthly hours with a detailed eye to ensure that you and your team are focusing on areas that drive results.
Bonus Task: Thank/recognize someone. Who¡¯s helped you achieve your goals this month? Be it a colleague, team, boss, or family member, send a note to say thank you.
What Would You Add to These Lists?
This post is in no way an end-all-be-all list for inbound marketers; it¡¯s a general guide. For example, if you¡¯re responsible for thousands spent on Facebook advertising daily, check that out hourly, or momentarily.
What¡¯s worked in helping you stay on-task and results-focused on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis? I¡¯d love to hear your tips and connect within the comments below.
This is a guest post by ( ), client services manager at PR 20/20¡ªthe original ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø VAR and inbound marketing agency. See the for more content from Jessica and the agency.
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Inbound Marketing