I’ve always been about that checklist life! Between running my business, staying on top of my personal life, and everything in between, I’d be lost without them. I’m guessing the same goes for you. 

We’re busy people! And busy people need to see all their tasks or responsibilities written out; otherwise, the whole thing would go to hell in a handbasket. 

If it came down to it, I could survive without a checklist for personal life. But my business? No way. That is one area of my life that I *could not imagine* living without a solid checklist. Lately, I’ve been working on creating and streamlining our processes because I know there’s always room for improvement. My checklists have been refined and detailed for onboarding new clients, and this system has greatly improved how we measure success! If we’re recording and paying attention to the right data, we know where to focus our efforts. 

So if you’ve been wondering where to focus your marketing efforts, energy, and budget, start with this checklist! Then save it for your CEO time – you know the time where you don’t work on client work or office work. The time you take out weekly to actively grow your business! 

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a goldmine of information for your business. You can see where your website visitors are coming from, how they interact with your website, and you can set up goals to see if your visitors are converting into potential clients. Create a goal for every significant action your visitor can take! Read this data regularly. Analyze how you acquire a visitor and use that data to double your numbers. Create customized reports you can download monthly to see just the data you want.

Setting goals and using a checklist is how you can use this data to decide what to improve on your website and where to focus your efforts. You might decide to create a free download or to add content to your most popular blog posts or pages. You might choose to add a newsletter signup to each of your pages. Or to integrate your “Contact Us” form to your CRM software so you can follow up with leads properly. There are so many possibilities, and analyzing the data will help you focus your efforts so you’re not wasting valuable time.

Social Media

You have two options to grow your social media. The first is running some paid ads to increase your reach, and no, boosting a post is not the same. Paid ads should be done through the Facebook Ad Manager. Ads should have a clear end goal, conversion tracking through the Facebook Pixel, and a clear and defined audience setup. The bottom line: don’t spend money on ads unless you know those elements are defined.

Your other option is to grow organically. If that’s the route you choose, I’ll let you in on a secret: posting content consistently is a start, but the most crucial piece is interacting with content from others as well.

  • Facebook: Join appropriate groups (as yourself or as your business page) and add value when you can, such as answering questions and offering your expertise. Before you do this, though, ask a friend or colleague to check your Facebook profile and make sure that your business page is prominently displayed. So many forget to promote their business on their personal profile. 
  • Instagram: Reply to comments on your posts, follow appropriate hashtags, comment and “heart” content from others – interact with your followers! Engaging with your audience through comments is the number one way to grow your following! Take a few minutes each day to post three comments on posts. Not only will you organically engage your audience, but Instagram will show your posts to more people. You’re also going to have to focus on hashtags. The easiest way to keep your hashtag game strong is to compile a long list of relevant hashtags and vary them from post to post.
  • Pinterest: begin by converting your account to a business account. Otherwise, you’re missing out on great features like analytics and the ability to run Pinterest ads. Next, make sure your pins have a strong call-to-action for every one of your blog posts. Then start having some fun and creating some boards and pin content from others as well! You will be amazed at how your traffic to your website will grow from this activity.
  • LinkedIn: commenting on other posts is the fastest way to increase your organic presence. Also, make sure your one-sentence profile description includes words people are searching for! You will show up in searches when others are looking for a professional.
  • Google My Business: This one is my favorite. All you have to do is create an account and watch your numbers soar! It’s that easy.

Forums

Get familiar with forums like Quora and Reddit. If you want to drive organic traffic to your website, do a quick search on Quora and Reddit for people asking questions about the problem you solve. Answer questions, include appropriate links and watch your organic traffic rise.

P.S. Be sure to include links to your website in your profile as well.

HARO

HARO: Help A Reporter Out. Have you heard of it? HARO is a great tool to use when you’re looking for more detail on a particular subject, article, or need a quote.

Does that sound like something you’d benefit from? If so, sign up for HARO – Help A Reporter Out. HARO “…provides journalists with a robust database of sources for upcoming stories and daily opportunities for sources to secure valuable media coverage.”

Here’s how it works:

  • A reporter needs some details for an article, so they post the details.
  • You review the details and email them the information they need.
  • You get quoted in a news article and drive traffic to your business!

Here is an example of a request:

“We are looking for insights, advice, and best practices for how to keep remote employees engaged. This can be tactics, techniques, tools, strategies. Any ways in which organizations help ensure their remote employees are productive, engaged, and feel as though they’re part of the team.”

There are endless options to help your business grow, but knowing where to put your efforts is where you need to start! Checklists are great tools that not only generate supporting data to analyze your efforts but also help you decide where to focus your energy. If focused energy and relevant data are what your business needs to grow, let’s talk! Book a consultation with me to uncover where you should focus your energy, and which checklist will help you discover your next best move in business.