How to evaluate a digital marketing project plan

Key factors to consider to evaluate a digital marketing project plan

When it comes to digital marketing, a well-thought-out project plan is essential for success. But how can you tell if a project plan is good? Here are some key factors to consider:

1. Does the plan have a clear objective? The best project plans are focused on a specific goal, such as increasing website traffic or improving conversion rates.
2. Is the plan realistic? Be sure to assess whether the proposed budget and timeline are achievable. Otherwise, you risk setting yourself up for failure.
3. Does the plan include measurable milestones? Without some way to track progress, it will be difficult to know if the project is on track. Make sure the plan includes tangible indicators of success.
4. Is the plan flexible? Things rarely go exactly as planned, so it’s important to have a project plan that can accommodate changes. Otherwise, you may find yourself having to start from scratch.

By taking the time to evaluate a digital marketing project plan, you can be sure that you’re setting yourself up for success.

How to evaluate a digital marketing project plan?

Not all clients walking in through the doors of 7boats, be it online or offline, have a working digital marketing project plan. There are a few of them coming in with a clear idea of what they want from us, even with an outline of how we may help them out. Similarly, there are many clients without a plan but a defined objective. In such cases, we draft a blueprint of the plan of action. There are also some others with no conception of the digital medium but want a share of the digital pie.

In all these possible cases, it becomes imperative to evaluate the true potential of a project. Unless we have an idea of where these projects might be heading, we will not be able to chart out an optimal plan. That would be unjust to the true potential of a project. More than the clients, therefore, we need to know how things might shape up. Keeping this in mind, we have some metrics by which we evaluate the real potential of a project. Keeping things simple is crucial here, otherwise you might lose yourself in the metrics maze.

The Content Scene – The most important element in digital marketing project plan

This is applicable for clients coming with a clean slate as well as for those with a functional website. Content forms the backbone of any digital marketing project plan today. For projects that are already up and running, it is important to check through the content plan, and how effective it is. Often, content creation may have the right objective but falters because of technical finesses, like the use of the right keywords. Content marketing can also be the reason why more people are not viewing the published write-ups.

As for projects with a clean slate, the content framework has to be developed from scratch. The competitor analysis of the project, for example, will reveal the potential of certain keywords and how they might work out. You will also get an idea of what you are working with in the competitive arena.    

The Foundation Ground

You cannot run a successful restaurant on the top of a remote hill, can you? The same goes for digital marketing project plan! Without the right platform, projects fall flat. When a project comes to us, we check the foundation ground on which it is based. In includes a critical look at the technical aspects of the website, like SEO and social media influence. Projects that already have these hurdles sorted take much lesser time to fly. The inverse is true as well. You need to speak to the client and explain how the digital ball rolls and the time involved in the process.

We pay attention to the viability of the platform as well. These days, mobile-friendly versions of websites and mobile apps are much in vogue. Our analysts take a look at how effective they are, if at all they exist. In cases, they do not, we build up these versions to make the foundation of the project more robust and user-friendly.

The Audience at Large

Finally, the most important metric of potential evaluation of digital marketing project plan: do people out there really care about such a product or service? If yes, where are they lurking around? Projects are made or broken by the audience at large. You have to hunt them out and market the website to them, if such an audience exists.

At times, this audience is already consumed by the competing players. For example, if you want to kick-start a new search engine, you will rarely get an audience because such an audience is already in the throes of Google. Then, you have to look for people who are not happy with the dominant player of the arena and cater to their demands.

Summary pointers on how to evaluate a digital marketing project plan

1. Determine the goals and objectives of the digital marketing project plan.
2. Identify the target audience and define the buyer personas.
3. Set specific and measurable KPIs to track and evaluate the success of the project plan.
4. Conduct market research to understand the industry, competitors, and customer behavior.
5. Develop a comprehensive strategy that outlines the tactics to be implemented, such as SEO, PPC, social media, email marketing, content marketing, etc.
6. Allocate a budget for the project plan and create a timeline for implementation.
7. Ensure that the project plan is aligned with the overall business strategy and goals.
8. Review and approve the project plan with all stakeholders, including management, team members, and clients if applicable.
9. Implement the plan and track progress against the established KPIs.
10. Analyze and evaluate the performance of the project plan regularly and make adjustments as necessary to improve results.
11. Conduct a post-project analysis to determine the overall success of the project plan and identify areas for improvement in future projects.

The Final Word

There are many other metrics of evaluating a digital marketing project plan, like the rate of conversion of leads into sales. Projects may be effective in getting leads but these do not necessarily convert into sales. They leak through the funnel.

The idea is to look at the digital marketing project plan with a critical eye. When you do that you will know which aspects to cover in your work and identify the glass ceilings that are yet to be broken through. Only then can you take the project to its deserving nadir.