How to Create an Effective Online Marketing Strategy with @PeterLeshaw #vcbuzz

How to Create an Effective Online Marketing Strategy with @PeterLeshaw We’ve been very tactical so far at #VCBuzz Tweet chats. But tactics don’t really work unless you have a solid strategy behind them, putting things together and setting good long-term goals.

So how to create an effective digital marketing strategy? Let’s discuss!

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About @PeterLeshaw

Peter Leshaw is the Sr. Director of Digital Marketing at @Peak_Activity, a talented group of disrupters, thinkers, problem solvers, learners and innovators.

As the past-president of the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association, and a regular speaker at @Pubcon, Peter is recognized for his strategic thinking, keen insight and a zest for helping professionals better navigate the complexities of Internet marketing.

Connect to Peter on Linkedin!

Questions we discussed

Q1 How did you become a digital marketer? Share your career story!

Back in ‘97 attending @FAU and working as a PC tech consultant with @jlaratro, I was offered a job to become @EDCofSouthFla’s first Dir of Internet Marketing. I was in charge of SEO and generating revenue from banner sales (sponsorships).

I continued on in school while working and earned a masters degree in Information Technology. I left EDC and started a PC Consulting / Web Marketing company.

Since then, I have been working both in-house and as strategist for the last 18 years until it led me to where I am today where I work as the Sr. Dir. of Digital Marketing @Peak_Activity

Q2 What does an online marketing strategy entail? What are its goals and components?

An online marketing strategy for me means a well optimized, multi-channel digital marketing campaign that speaks to the customer on multiple levels, tones, and mediums..

A mixture SEO, Content Marketing, Social Commerce, SEM and Paid Search, of course Email and Affiliate Marketing if possible.

A2. For us, it is being where clients are looking for a web hosting solution using paid, earned, shared, and owned digital assets (components) with messaging that builds trust, answers questions, and leads to starting the conversation about hosting (goals). #vcBuzz

— pair Support (@pairSupport) July 31, 2018

It may seem like a lot. No, it all does not need to be deployed on Day 1. There will need to be KPIs fully defined before the campaign is created, tracking must be in place, and A/B testing must be a part of everything.

I can’t say enough about Dashboards. Real-time Dashboards that track the KPIs that are pre determined to be the grading factor of the entire campaign, need to be set up on multiple levels so that each channel is analyzed for its ROI and lifetime value.

In short, Goal are to eventually speak to your customer on every level available, the components are segmenting your audience, marketing message, and track everything.

One of each? RT @peterleshaw: @vcbuzz 3-5. SEO, SEM, Social, Copywriter, PM #vcbuzz

— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 31, 2018

I start with identifying the digital marketing funnel. The funnel will help identify the different levels of content to create. Keyword research is good but I like to write for the user not SE. 😉 . Social setup is important to get your word out too. It depend

s on the goals of the campaign, the timeline, and resources, but I have done a lot with just 1 of each.

How much about tracking has changed since GDPR came into place? Do you think we can still get enough data to work with now that people have the option to opt out?#VCBuzz

— Narmadhaa (@s_narmadhaa) July 31, 2018

Great question about #GDPR… Personal disclaimer, amazingly I have had little experience working on international marketing campaigns since GDPR.

@s_narmadhaa @peterleshaw I was a bit too shy to confess but I also have 0 experience with whether #GDPR changed anything in terms of web analytics! #vcbuzz

— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 31, 2018

@s_narmadhaa Yes, I think that we can still build amazing psychographic personals from the User / Session data that we collect. #GDPR #vcbuzz

— Peter Leshaw (@peterleshaw) July 31, 2018

@s_narmadhaa Keyword research is probably where I start too. Somehow it puts everything in place, including all kinds of different tactics that are going to work (commercial landing pages, supporting content, phrases to target in PPC, etc.) #vcbuzz

— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 31, 2018

Q3 How to go from planning to implementing? Where to start and how to get organized?

Every successful digital marketing campaign needs an experienced strategist that can help guide a team to deploy said campaigns with successful tracking AND WITH DEFINING CLEAR EXPECTATIONS.

Working with an experienced strategist means that you should have clear defined goals (this helps to grade the performance of the strategist too)… BUT that also means that you should have VERY clear expectations about how the campaign can and should perform as well as a plan for when to make course corrections, if needed.

The experience of the leader should bring the ability to hire talent, very easily and effectively, in every market (location). Building an scalable team is very key to making certain that the implementation process goes smoothly.

@s_narmadhaa There needs to be a lead strategist who should take the lead. Someone who knows the goals, the kpis to track, how to track them, and how to execute the plan. The people to consult with are those who can offer relevant case studies. #vcbuzz

— Peter Leshaw (@peterleshaw) July 31, 2018

Knowing when to support your internal team with vendors and consultants and to what degree is important in the implementation process.

Goals! Always start with the goals! ~@peterleshaw #vcbuzz

— Jessy Troy (@jessytroy) July 31, 2018

I start it all with a Google Doc informal outline. I try to breakdown my plan into buckets and layers.

I’ve been doing this for 20 years so by now is like writing down detailed directions to cooking an entire Thanksgiving turkey…complete with how to set the table, when to clear the table, etc. etc.

Putting pen to paper while envisioning everything unfold is how I organize what to do first and so on. Yes there are digital tools too, but it all starts with a plan (outline).

RT @manifestcon Why Google Doc? Do you collaborate with clients? RT @peterleshaw: A3: I start it all with a Google Doc informal outline. I try to breakdown my plan into buckets and layers…. #vcbuzz

— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 31, 2018

@seosmarty Yes… G Docs because of the ease of sharing and collaborating. Very easy to create an campaign ideation document. Write it up, offer commends and edit suggestions. Reduces email clutter and times spent in meetings. #vcbuzz

— Peter Leshaw (@peterleshaw) July 31, 2018

I like to use all the features to collaborate and create campaign ideation documents. Saves time from meetings and space in my inbox.

Q4 How to avoid over-planning and maintain balance? How to encourage your team to go beyond the plan by getting creative and innovative?

Overplanning is overcome by having a culture of testing within each campaign. The outcome of the testing can change the course of the plan. Change, as a result of a test, improves efficiency.

So you see, it’s a machine that evolves and overplanning should not happen because the data is right there in front of you. Change the plan, when necessary…make adjustments in the interim.

I always look for way to grow a team. Let’s face it, every digital specialist has the ability to have a side hustle.

Although not entirely encouraged, it is possible to nurture this so that your team can practice their trade and test new ideas on someone else’s campaign…then bring back the successful nuggets in-house.

Another way, As a team, contribute to a non-profit / charity event and offer digital services or related services to the success of that campaign or fundraising efforts. Test new ideas, call to actions, and messaging platforms. Bring back new ideas in-house.

A4 To me, to overcome over-planning, make sure every meeting involves actionable agenda with due dates! #vcbuzz

— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 31, 2018

@seosmarty Absolutely agree…Task and Goals need to be tracked in a PM system. There are many. I like Jira. #vcbuzz

— Peter Leshaw (@peterleshaw) July 31, 2018

@manifestcon … .OOOPss! I forgot how much I like to use Trello too. Thanks for reminding me! #vcbuzz

— Peter Leshaw (@peterleshaw) July 31, 2018

Q5 What are your favorite digital marketing tools?

There are no better tools then deciding to work alongside smart people. But when they are not around, I spend a lot of time in GA, Search Console and DataStudio – looking at data and creating dashboards that help me decide what to execute on next.

Yes, your team is your biggest asset! RT @peterleshaw: A5: There are no better tools then deciding to work alongside smart people #vcbuzz

— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 31, 2018

Other goto tools for my success r @SEMRush and @ScreamingFrog. I’m fortunate to work w/ very talented people @Peak_Activity & can also lean on my @Pubcon family network for quick access to any other tool that I need. In short, a great professional network is the best tool.

A5 I always start with these two: @Serpstat for keyword research and @Cyfe for planning, setting up tracking and defining goals #vcbuzz

— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 31, 2018

These days, I’m focused on enterprise level SEO so those are what I go to for that.

Marketing tools that I use or leverage as part of an omni approach to digital marketing would be a solid Marketing Automation too. Hubspot or similar products.