Ask the Right Questions First

Marketing strategy is integral to success. And developing a marketing plan is a multiple step process. 

Start by asking the right questions. First, lay the groundwork with information about where you are now, who you need to reach and where you want to go.

We asked four WRL department directors: what questions should you consider before a strategy meeting? These questions cover crucial marketing tactics that should be part of your overall strategy: web, videography, social media and digital marketing.

Brandon Livengood, Director of Web Development

Building a new website, redesigning your website or re-platforming your website to enhance functionality can have a huge impact on your marketing. Staying competitive online requires a content strategy that continually adds and updates the information on your site, making it more search engine friendly. You also should refresh your website design to keep it interesting and on-brand, and you need to know what is happening on the backend of the site to ensure it’s still secure and fully functioning.

Brandon says the questions you should ask before meeting with us for web design and development are:

• What platform is our current site using?
• Are we open to using other website platforms?
• What is our main goal for the website?
• What features do we want to keep, remove and possibly add to a new website?

Jeremy Fish, Director of Video and Motion Graphics

Today, there is no more versatile marketing collateral than video. Video performs better on social, and it’s expected on most websites. Drone footage captures attention with cinematic views. If you haven’t added video to your marketing strategy, you should!

Here are the questions Jeremy suggests you ask before meeting with us to discuss videography/photography/motion graphics:

• Who is the audience?
• Where could we use this footage? (There are so many options: website, social media, digital advertising, corporate events, YouTube, tradeshows, digital boards, showrooms and more.)
• What problem will this content solve?
• Why do we want to capture this visually? (The “why” can help us determine what medium might work best: video, photography, 3D and motion graphics etc.)

Colin McDevitt, Director of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing gives you the precision to direct marketing dollars to the right audience. A well-planned digital marketing strategy allows you to use digital tools effectively and track data to prove your ROI.

Colin suggests asking these questions before sitting down with WRL to strategize your digital marketing:

• Have we done digital marketing in the past and are there lessons we can take away from those efforts?
• What words would our key customers use in an online search to find us?
• Where would they typically search to find us? And alternatively, where would our key audience find information about our product or service on our competitors’ offerings (YouTube, industry publications, online forums etc.)
• What sets our product or service apart from our competitors?
• What would success look like in the first 90 days? What is an achievable number of leads and sales?

Jess Trambley, Director of Social Media

Social media turns influence into action. You can use it to build genuine relationships with the right audiences. Many people skip strategy and simply post content. Without a strategy, your total social media presence might not be as successful as it could be in helping establish your brand and your brand voice.

Jess offers four questions to ask before strategizing your social media marketing:

• What are our goals? (Brand awareness, lead generation, engagement, sales?)
• Who is our target audience? (Age, location, interests, behaviors?)
• What platforms should we focus on? (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.?)
• What is our budget and available resources? (Ad spend, options for content creation, internal team involvement?)

Now that you have a list of questions to consider, why not meet with the experts at WRL so we can help you devise a marketing strategy that gets results? Talk to us today.