This digital marketing audit provides recommendations for Urban Country to optimize its online presence across owned media, social media platforms, and metrics. It recommends integrating the brand's blog and website, rebuilding the site without Flash, and optimizing content strategy. For social media, it suggests customizing Urban Country's Facebook page and potentially launching a Twitter strategy. It also advises setting up analytics and goals to measure performance across channels. The action plan outlines specific steps to take across these areas.

1. Digital Marketing Audit: Urban Country
Comprehensive audit of Urban Country’s
online presence and marketing channels
Samir Balwani
Email: Samir@SamirBalwani.com
Twitter: @SamirBalwani
Phone: 201.855.9159

2. Introduction
• This digital marketing audit is designed to give you a roadmap
for creating an effective social media strategy
• It outlines important and relevant information, followed by
recommendations for optimizing the brands digital presence
• The audit reviews three major aspects - the business’ owned
media, social media platforms, and important website
measurements
• Finally, it closes with a list of action items that the business
can work to complete over time
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3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/saschaaa/152502539/
Digital Presence Review of online platforms

4. Definition: Digital Network
• The basis of a brand’s digital presence is the interconnected
social media platforms and brand websites
• This connected presence is defined as the digital network
• Effective digital networks drive consumers from one platform
to another, all the while leading them to the check out page or
contact form on the brand website
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5. Branded Digital Network
• Urban Country Design
network could be better
optimized
• The website and blog act as
two separate entities
• Facebook is connected to
both the blog and website
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6. Optimal Digital Network
• Optimized digital network
would overlap the blog and
website into a co-dependent
platform
• Brand blog should reside on
brand URL within the blog
directory
• http://urbancountrydesigns/
blog
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7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/128817481/
Owned Media Branded website and blogs

8. Owned Media: Website and Blog
• Owned media is defined as communications platforms
specifically owned by the brand
• In this instance owned media encompasses the brand’s
website and the brand blog
• Optimizing owned media can lead to maximized returns from
online investments
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9. Opportunity: Branded Blog
• Current blog is hosted on
blogger
• Blogs should be self-hosted
and on same domain as
brand website
• Example: http://
urbancountry.com/blog
instead of http://
urbancountrydesigns.blogsp
ot.com
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10. Opportunity: Website Search Optimizations
• Use of Flash for website is
less than optimal since
search engines are unable to
index Flash code
• Recommend rebuilding
website using a system that
incorporates a blogging
platform such as Wordpress
• Auto-play music is against
best practices and may turn
off potential consumers
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11. Opportunity: Content Strategy
• Published articles act as a entry
points for new consumers
• Create an editorial calendar to help
maintain the blog and continually
publish new articles
• Use articles to drive consumers to
products or the brand website
• Articles need not be published daily,
however a good goal is to publish
once a week
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12. Opportunity: Effective Articles
• Effective articles have
attention grabbing headlines,
are easy to scan, and are
useful to consumers
Use digg.com (a social news site) to learn about headlines
• Don’t worry about losing
that online readers like
consumers by giving away
too much information on your
blog, “do it yourself” people
are almost never your target
audience. Instead use your
articles to show your know-
Even Google will often write about new ideas that they are how and expertise
considering implementing to show their progressiveness
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13. Development: Search Engine Optimization
• The website currently exists
at two addresses
• Due to the use of Flash,
pages on the main website
are not being indexed
• The website blog does not • Recommend integrating blog
appear in a search for “Urban onto branded url and
Country Designs” rebuilding site without Flash
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14. Development: Social Media Integration
• To increase reach of
published articles, reduce
obstacles to sharing
• Integrate sharing buttons into
individual articles and
products on the website
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15. Tool: Page.ly
• Page.ly offers a hosted
solution for Wordpress blog
installations
• The system auto-updates the
blogging software and any
plugins used, an often hefty
task for business owners
• Also offered, at a cost, is
basic Wordpress help and
troubleshooting
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16. Tool: 99designs
• 99designs is an online crowdsourcing tool where businesses
can afford a cash prize for the best design
• The system allows for cheap Wordpress themes, logos, site
icons, among other graphic designs
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17. http://www.flickr.com/photos/webtreatsetc/4091128553/
Social Media Platforms Review of online platforms

18. Recommended Social Media
• The advent of social media has introduced hundreds of
platforms for businesses to consider
• Businesses should not attempt to maintain active accounts on
every social media site
• Instead, identify which are important to your consumers...
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19. Facebook Brand social media usage

20. Social Media Usage: Facebook
• The Urban Country Designs
Facebook fan page has
about 169 fans
• The page is updated on a
consistent basis and the
page seems active
• The following are
recommendations to help
further grow the community
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21. Development: Custom Facebook Tab
• Custom Facebook tabs are
shown to non-fan visitors of
the fan page
• The tab should remind users
to “Like” the page and invite
them to further explore the
fan page
• Dell, 1-800-Flowers, and
Jones Soda have effective
custom tabs
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22. Tool: Wildfire Applications
• Effective Facebook
promotions are generally
handled through applications
• Wildfire Applications allow
businesses to run
promotions using their
applications at a cost
• Example applications include
a contest, quizzes,
sweepstakes, trivia, and
coupons
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23. Tool: Involver Applications
• Involver creates a toolset for
integrating a brand’s
Facebook fan page with
other social media channels
• The tools are free, if the
Involver branding is included
• White label applications are
available at a cost
• Example applications include
RSS page and Twitter page
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24. Twitter Brand social media usage

25. Social Media Usage: Twitter
• Urban Country Design does
not currently use Twitter
• Depending on available
resources, Twitter may be an
effective tool for reaching
journalist and bloggers
• Twitter may also be an
opportunity for reaching
consumers asking questions
about home furnishings
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26. Opportunity: Twitter Search
• Twitter search can be used to
identify specific consumers
looking for topics
• For example, if someone
asks about how to decorate -
the brand could respond with
a tip
• Interacting online can help
build brand ambassadors
from even those that don’t
use your services
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27. Strategy: Twitter Personality
• The most successful Twitter
strategies begin by outlining
the brand’s Twitter
personality
• Either identify or create a
person to portray your brand
• Consumers better connect
with “people” instead of
actual brands
• Turn the brand into a person
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28. Strategy: Twitter Messaging
• Similar to a blog strategy,
Twitter requires a messaging
calendar
• Identify important messaging
or calls to action and schedule
them throughout the campaign
• Messaging strategies help you
stay organized and determine
which communications work
best
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29. Development: Twitter Background
• Twitter allows users to
customize their backgrounds
• The profile background is a
branding point
• Edit the Twitter background
to convey your brand
personality, and other
important information
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30. Tool: TweetDeck
• TweetDeck is an application
for PC, Mac, iPhone, and
iPad
• The application allows a user
to easily filter their Twitter
feed into multiple streams
• Individual searches can be
turned into columns on
TweetDeck to easily track
conversations on Twitter
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31. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jf-sebastian/3116507867/
Measuring Return Determining effectiveness

32. Online Tracking & Metrics
• Businesses must be ready to track and analyze their online
marketing channel to best understand their return on
investment
• Thankfully, it’s easy to quickly track and measure the impact
of a business website and blog
• Analytics tools give a snapshot of how consumers are using a
business website, how it was found, and whether or not they
completed a predefined action
• Setting goals and tracking important metrics can help ensure
online marketing success
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33. Background: Important Metrics
• The analytics found on the
dashboard, outlined to the
right, are top-line metrics
• Visits identifies the total
number of people the visited
your website
• Missing, but just as
important, is conversions.
When a goal is set, Google
Analytics will give you rate at
which people finish the goal.
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34. Strategy: Analytics Goals
• Setting analytics goals gives the business a metric to work
towards and measure success again
• When determining goals, look at trended growth instead of a
hard-set number (e.g. 10% growth instead of 1,000 visitors)
• Identify multiple points to grow your online marketing:
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35. Tool: Google Analytics
• Google Analytics is a free
software for tracking and
measuring impact of brand
websites and blogs
• The system uses a small
snippet of code to be placed
on a website page which in-
turn allows for tracking
visitors online
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36. Strategy: Goal Funnels
• Google Analytics allows
marketers to define goal
funnels, a set of actions users
must do to complete a goal
• These funnels allow marketers
to determine how effective the
brand website is
• For example, businesses could
identify how many people
actually complete the checkout
process
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37. Tools: Bit.ly
• Bit.ly is a free tool that allows for the shortening of lengthy
URLs for use on social media sites, such as Twitter and
Facebook
• The tool create search engine friendly short links and offers
real-time analytics and click data
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38. Strategy: Tracking Links
• Using Bit.ly, businesses can better understand how often links
shared on social media sites are being clicked
• Tracking click data helps identify optimal times for posting
messages, which messages worked, and which platforms are
effective
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39. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmachiavello/3327609638/
Action Plan What needs to be done

40. Actions: Owned Media
Integrate brand blog and website onto single address
Consider using Page.ly and Wordpress for blog and site
Consider using 99designs for site theme and customizations
Rebuild brand website without Flash
Remove auto-play music
Add sharing buttons to individual posts on blog
Create content strategy to increase brand reach
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41. Action: Social Media Platforms
Update Facebook fan page with custom tab to convert
visitors to fans
Consider using Wildfire Applications to promote brand
Facebook fan page
Integrate free Involver applications to integrate brand blog
and social media profiles with Facebook fan page
Consider creating and executing a Twitter strategy
Use Twitter search to identify and engage potential consumers
online
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42. Actions: Metrics & Analytics
Install and configure Google Analytics on brand website and
blog
Determine and explicitly define acceptable growth goals
Create goal funnels to track conversion of consumers within
the shopping cart and to track consumers using the contact
page
Use Bit.ly to track click data from shortened URLs on
Facebook and Twitter
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43. http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomicbartbeans/1430289931/
Contact Information Thank You

44. Contact Information
• Marketing Audits: More Information
• Visit http://samirbalwani.com/audit to order a marketing audit
for your business or to learn more about our marketing plan
services
• Have a question or just want to chat? Don’t hesitate to reach
out to me at http://samirbalwani.com/contact
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