Success in digital marketing comes from good execution, strategy and successful project management. So how do you ensure that your website is a project that thrives under your watchful eye, and doesn’t blend into the background becoming a mediocre, waste of space?
I’ve put together a list of my top 10 secrets for digital marketing success that any project manager can learn from to help their website flourish…
- Have a plan
What is the goal of your campaign? Are you trying to generate more leads, more hits on your website, or better SEO efforts? Have a detailed project scope planned out before you move any further so you can identify any holes in your plan or aspects you hadn’t previously attended to. Include any deliverable dates, spreadsheets, or documents necessary. Realise that changes will crop up – having an action plan keeps everything organised and shows you where there could be room to grow.
- Delegate roles
Once you’ve come up with your plan, appoint a team. Analyse the size and skill set necessary to implement the plan. Ensure you delegate the right tasks to the right people to optimise the most out of their knowledge, and it might be worth considering which skill sets overlap in your team when crunch time comes knocking. Find where you might fall short, and call for backup if needed.
- Set realistic goals
You’ll have an end-goal in mind, but what are your benchmarks for the project’s performance at any given time? Establish deadlines to keep track of whether that end-goal is still attainable and your campaign will work, is working and will continue to work. Businesses are never stagnant so remain optimistic and be reactive.
- Measure performance
Have a system in place to track how smoothly your project is running. Use email or task list applications to keep accountable. And don’t forget meetings – keeping progress updates with the team or clients and stakeholders short and sweet is essential to maximise the most of your time out of allocated time solely for individual work.
- Identify risks
As much as we’d like our campaigns to run as smoothly as possible, there will inevitably be bumps at some stage along the way, so anticipate if stakeholders could pull out or team members might struggle to dot the Is and cross the Ts.
- Lead by example
You are leading this project for a reason, so set an example to follow. Listen, engage and be approachable – your team will react much more favourably and are more likely to give you feedback. Lead by mentoring, motivating and rewarding and give your staff breathing space to get their work done without you checking over their shoulders excessively.
- See the bigger picture
It’s hard to not get bogged down by an overload of information, but coming up every once in a while for air to take in the bigger picture is important. By taking a step back from your project, you can more clearly see how each wheel turns on the engine and identify weaker links. You might be able to see the end product, but can all moving parts? Share your vision!
- Be three steps ahead
As a successful project manager you’re not only identifying and reacting to potential risks, but you’re also anticipating the work produced by each member of your team for your campaign. You need to be a walking calendar or time management app, knowing every party’s individual workloads, relevant content, systems, dates and strategies like the back of your hand, and how all of these pieces form together to work in your project.
- Be flexible
Allow time for things to not go as planned. While it may be hard to part from that vision, anticipating and adapting to roadblocks that crop up and having solutions at the ready can be the difference between a successful project or not.
- Evaluate
Throughout the course of your project, allocated time to testing. Once you reach launch date, ensure you’re taking certain measures to evaluate its performance, including inviting feedback for areas to work on. And, we believe that success is always sweeter when attained by a team!
There you have it – the top 10 strategies to get your project where you want it to be, while building your team’s trust and reliability! What are your tips for successful project management – did your ideas make the list?
