Anyone who has ever taken basic algebra likely has the phrase “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally,” emblazoned into his or her mathematical mind (even if the meaning of the actual phrase has been lost). The phrase, “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally,” is a mnemonic device used to remember the algebraic Order of Operations: parentheses—exponents—multiplication—division—addition—subtraction. The idea is that you must perform certain functions before others in order to get the correct result. In digital marketing, the idea is the same. When starting a digital marketing campaign, the order in which you perform certain tasks matters for you to yield the most productive outcome. We’ve created our own version of the order of operations—the digital marketing order of operations. It serves to illustrate how we work with businesses to get them on the right track toward achieving their marketing goals.

OISECMA? Come up with a catchy mnemonic device if you’d like. But here’s our digital marketing order of operations explained.

Organize (your digital assets).

The first thing you should do before launching a new digital marketing campaign is to take inventory of your existing digital assets. This means identifying everywhere your brand exists online—namely the accounts that you control. List all of your websites, social media accounts, email addresses, etc. that are associated with your business, and make sure you have access to each.

Identify (weak points).

Before you decide on a plan of action to implement digital marketing strategy, you need to determine what it is in your current marketing strategy that needs work. For example, is your social media presence lacking? Does your website need restructuring? Make a list of these weak points to help you in the next step of the digital marketing order of operations.

Set (goals).

After you have outlined what needs improving in regard to your brand’s digital strategy, delineate tangible goals—both short term and long term. Short term goals could include reaching a certain number of social media followers in a given time, while long term goals could be for your website to climb in the search rankings, for example.

Evaluate (what you already have working).

If you’ve recently experienced great results on an email marketing campaign, or if the videos you have been creating for your website have helped to increase user engagement, then recognize these achievements and don’t think you have to start completely from scratch. Continue the strategies that have been working for you, and incorporate them into your revised digital marketing plan of action.

Create (content).

At this point in the digital marketing order of operations, it’s time for you or your digital marketing team to start creating new content to populate your digital assets. This could come in the form of blog posts and graphics, web pages, apps, video and more. The end objective of content creation is to achieve the short and long term goals you set for your brand.

Measure (response).

Once you’ve identified what has and has not worked in the past, set goals and pushed your new content out there, you may breathe a sigh of relief. However, an equally important part of the equation involves measuring the response you get from your efforts. Analytic tools can help you track where you experience the most engagement and where it is lacking. That way, you will know where to continue moving forward with a particular strategy—and where you might need to reevaluate.

Adjust (as needed).

The above being said, the last step in the digital marketing order of operations is to adjust your plan as you go along. Do not sit back passively and cross your fingers that your new campaign will see immediate success—if you are not getting the results you want, it’s time to make some changes. Digital marketing is a fluid process and should always be tailored to the constantly changing wants, needs and moods of your consumer audience.

On second thought, maybe a mnemonic device would help. How about: “Our Interesting Sister Eliza Collects Multiple Awards”? Or, “Once I Saw Eleven Chickens Making Applesauce”? The possibilities are endless.

Need help launching your next digital marketing campaign? Let us help. The digital marketing order of operations is part of the daily routine for the McNutt & Partners team. Call us today at 334-521-1010 or visit our contact page.