ULTIMATE Marketing Checklist

FAIR WARNING: This blog is L. O. N. G.!

This should probably be a whitepaper or some downloadable piece of content that we ask for in exchange for your email or... a puppy. And it is GOOD! 

Print it out and give it to your team or your agency and ask: "Are we doing all of this?" 

If their answer is "kind of" or "no," then don't delay and schedule a call with me ASAP. If the answer is "yes," offer them a raise or a token of appreciation. The folks on the marketing team don't always get a lot of love, and the world we live in is crazy. Knowing that they are appreciated is a good thing.  

Without further ado:  The ULTIMATE Summer Marketing Checklist

1. 1. 1. 🌐 Review and Refresh Your Website
      2. 🔌 JUMP-START
      3. 🗺️ Map Out Your Summer & Fall Content Plan
         
      4. 📊 Refine Your Marketing Strategy for the 2nd New Year
         
         

Make sure your digital front door is open, relevant, and working for you, especially in the B2B industry. 94 out of 100 new visitors arrive on your website, and they are immediately influenced by your website's design. It takes them all of 0.05 seconds to form an opinion, good or bad. 

Whether a potential client finds you through a search engine, a prompt, LinkedIn, or a referral, chances are high that their next move is visiting your website. And if what they find is outdated, unclear, or clunky? That opportunity could be gone before you ever knew it existed.

Summer is a great time to step back and ask: Is your website telling the right story about your business today?

Here's your quick mid-year website audit checklist:

Homepage Health Check

• • Does your homepage messaging clearly communicate who you are, what you do, and who you serve?
  • Is your value proposition still relevant, or has your business evolved since it was last updated?
  • Are there clear and compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) visible above the fold?
    

Your Services & Offerings

• • Are all of your current services listed?
  • Are there pages or offerings that need to be updated, or removed entirely?
  • Do the descriptions reflect the language your ideal customers use?

Mobile Optimization

• • How does your site perform on mobile devices?
  • Are buttons, forms, and navigation easy to use with a thumb?
  • Is load time slowing users down?

Tech & Functionality

• • Are all links working? (Broken links = lost trust.)
  • Is your contact form submitting properly?
  • Are you using up-to-date tools for SEO, analytics, and integrations?

Design & Visuals

• • Are the images or videos high-quality and aligned with your brand identity?
  • Does your site still feel modern, or is it stuck in 2017?
  • Do fonts and colors match your current brand guidelines

SEO & Search Visibility

Is your website helping people find you, or hiding in plain sight?

Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t just about keywords, it’s about making sure your website is discoverable, fast, and valuable to the people searching for what you offer.

Here’s what to check:

🔍 Keyword Alignment

Are your key pages optimized for the terms your ideal customers are searching for? Review your headlines, meta descriptions, and on-page content to ensure they accurately reflect relevant, high-impact keywords.

🚀 Page Speed

Slow-loading pages negatively impact both user experience and search engine rankings. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify and fix performance issues.

🔗 Internal Linking

Are you connecting relevant pages throughout your site? A strong internal linking structure helps both users and search engines navigate your content more effectively.

🧩 Meta & Alt Text

Do all your pages have unique, compelling meta titles and descriptions? Are your images optimized with alt text? These small details make a big difference.

📈 Performance Tracking

Are you monitoring your traffic, bounce rates, and top-performing content? SEO success is easier to replicate when you know what’s working.

Prompt Optimization

To increase the odds of being included in responses from ChatGPT/Gemini/Claude:

• • Use clear topic-intent titles

• • Anticipate and answer prompts like:
    
    
    • “Best marketing firms for B2B MedTech”
    • “What should I do after MD&M East 2025?”
  • Make your About page robust and updated: AI pulls from brand bios and leadership details.
  • Update content regularly: especially evergreen pieces with recent context or statistics.
  • Crosslink related posts with anchor text that reflects prompts. Host original interviews, insights, and rankings: LLMs appreciate unique and valuable perspectives.

🔧 Small Changes, Big Results

A refresh doesn’t always mean a full redesign. Sometimes, simply updating your messaging, swapping in new photos or videos, or refining your navigation can make a significant impact on how your business is perceived online.

🔔 TAG Tip:

Pair your website audit with Google Analytics data. Look at which pages get the most traffic—and ask whether they’re optimized to convert.

If your website isn’t telling the story you want it to, now’s the perfect time to fix that—before fall campaigns begin and leads start rolling in.

Need a hand with a quick audit or strategic refresh? Let’s talk.

At TAG, we specialize in turning strategy into action, and our JUMP-START Program is designed to help you move fast and finish strong.

If your fall goals are ambitious, now’s the time to lay the groundwork. JUMP-START is a 90-day accelerator that aligns your strategy, sharpens your digital presence, and creates the content and infrastructure you need to execute with confidence.

Here’s what you can expect:

🧭 Strategic Consulting – Define your goals and refine your direction for the rest of the year.

🌐 Website & LinkedIn Audits – Identify opportunities to optimize your digital touchpoints.

🎨 Branding Refresh – Elevate your look and messaging to match your evolving value.

⚙️ CRM Audit & Integration – Improve how you capture, manage, and nurture leads.

🎙️ Podcast Interviews – Create authentic, repurposable content that supports your positioning.

✍️ Blog Development – Build momentum with fresh, relevant content to drive visibility and engagement.

The Jump-Start Program is ideal for businesses seeking to maximize Q3, establish momentum, and enter Q4 with a well-defined strategy and polished image.

Let’s make the next 90 days count. START HERE

☀️ Stay Visible. Stay Consistent. Make Summer Count.

Summer may feel like a slower season, but for savvy marketers, it's a golden opportunity.

While your competitors remain quiet, you can stay top of mind by consistently providing helpful and engaging content. From useful industry-specific tips to mid-year check-ins, summer is an ideal time to connect with your audience in ways that feel fresh, timely, and relatable.

The key? Consistency. One-off LinkedIn posts or random emails won’t deliver results, but a clear, strategic plan will.

Start With Strategy

Before diving into what to post, take a step back and ask:

• • What are our business goals this summer?
  • What are our customers focused on right now?
  • What content types (email, blog, social, video) perform best for us?
  • Are we nurturing leads now that could convert in Q3 or Q4?

Use these answers to guide your summer content roadmap.

Key Content Channels to Map Out

📢 Blog Posts

Use summer to build your SEO momentum. Create educational, evergreen content or lighter seasonal reads your audience can enjoy on the go.

📬 Email Campaigns

Keep your list engaged with value-packed content like summer how-to’s, checklists, or “what we’re up to this season” updates.

📱 Social Media

Tap into the summer mindset: behind-the-scenes office culture, customer spotlights, team activities, or community events.

🎥 Video or Reels

Short-form video thrives in the summer. Consider quick tips, sneak peeks, or even a summer series that helps build your brand personality.

Content That Works for ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini

AI engines surface informational, well-structured, and cited content. Optimize your content by:

• • Answering clear, niche questions:
    
    
    • Example: “What’s the best CRM for MedTech startups in 2025?”(answer: HubSpot or Mailchimp)

• • • Add your short answer + detail.

• • Use clear headings and bulleted summaries: AI prefers structured info over dense paragraphs.

• • Define your terms early: It helps AI understand your context.

• • Add sources and dates when referencing data. Credibility helps with AI retrieval models.

• • Write in a plain, informative tone: Avoid vague jargon or filler.

• • Include FAQs or “How-to” sections: AI often pulls from these for direct answers.

• • Mention your brand naturally: This allows LLMs to associate your name or site with the topic.
    
    
    • Example: “At The Aebli Group, we help MedTech startups…”
    • Example: "The TAG Team is your outsourced marketing partner..."

Build a Calendar You Can Stick To

Consistency doesn’t mean daily posting. It means showing up with purpose. 

Start with a monthly calendar and plug in:

• Seasonal offers or events
• Blog or email sends
• Key summer dates (holidays, industry events, local happenings)
• Evergreen filler content

☀️ Summer Content Themes That Work

Mid-Year Progress Checks

Celebrate wins, share insights, or offer a peek into what’s next.

Seasonal Spotlights

Highlight summer-relevant products, services, or solutions—especially if they help with prep, rest, or travel.

Behind-the-Scenes Moments

Show how your team balances business and summer fun. BBQs, retreats, or WFH setups go a long way on social.

Educational Light Bites

People are on the move. Keep content short (the opposite of this blog!), valuable, and mobile-friendly.

Community and Culture

Highlight your values through nonprofit support, summer sponsorships, or team-building stories.

✍️ Content Ideas You Can Use TODAY:

✅ Help your audience stay productive.

“5 Things Smart Businesses Do During Summer Slumps”

📦 Create a summer resource.

“Your Mid-Year Toolkit”

🎯 Share your own company focus.

“What We’re Working On This Summer (and Why It Matters)”

🌟 Celebrate client wins.

“How [Client Name] Saw Success Even in Summer Slowdowns”

🍉 Add seasonal personality.

“Meet the Team: Summer Edition ☀️” — Think favorite vacation spots, beach reads, or summer playlists.

Don’t Sleep on Summer

The businesses that stay active now are the ones that hit the ground running in the fall. Don’t let your audience forget about you—show up with content that’s timely, relevant, and aligned with your brand.

Need help turning these ideas into action?

Let’s build a summer content calendar that drives real results.

👉 Book a Summer Strategy Session

Refocus. Realign. Finish the Year Strong

September is often a natural reset point. Here at TAG, we call the Labor Day holiday the 2nd New Year.  It marks the beginning of the final stretch of the year, and whether you're ahead of target or playing catch-up, it is the time to get intentional. That means refining your strategy today, not reinventing it, so you can focus on what moves the needle between when business kicks into high gear..

Ask Yourself and your Team:

• • What goals do we still need to hit before year-end?
  • What’s driving the most results right now, and where are we spinning our wheels?
  • Do our marketing efforts still align with our business priorities?

These aren’t questions to leave for Q4. Answering them now gives you time to act strategically.

Fall Strategy Essentials:

🎯 Revisit Your Goals:

Check in on your KPIs. What’s realistic to achieve in the next 90–120 days? Identify your “must-hits” and “nice-to-haves.”

📈 Double Down on What’s Working:

Look at your data. What channels are performing best? What content is converting? Allocate more time and budget to the winners.

🚫 Trim What’s Not Serving You:

That campaign you’ve been dragging along for months? It’s okay to let it go. Free up space to focus on high-impact efforts.

📅 Map the Next 90 Days:

A clear, documented strategy gives your team direction and momentum. Identify major milestones, campaigns, and initiatives to prioritize.

🔍 Not Sure Where to Start?

Check out this Strategy Planning Guide that walks you through the exact questions and frameworks we use to help our clients sharpen their focus and maximize their efforts for Q3 and Q4.

Summer & Fall Strategy Planning Guide

The world has been a crazy place for the last several months. It seems that everyone has an opinion about what will happen next. Here at TAG, we talk about trying to control what we can and do our best to respond as best we can to the unexpected. So far, so good.

That said, we can't prepare for everything. However, this guide is designed to help you clarify your goals, align your marketing with business priorities, and create an actionable plan for the final stretch of the year. Control what you can control.

Step 1: Reflect on the Year So Far

Take stock of what’s working, and just as important, what isn't.

• • What goals have we achieved so far?
  • Where have we exceeded expectations?
  • What initiatives underperformed, and why?
  • What unexpected opportunities or challenges emerged?

Use this insight to inform your next moves.

Step 2: Define Your Year-End Goals

Focus on 2–3 key outcomes you want to drive between now and December.

Examples:

• • Increase qualified leads by 20%
  • Launch a new product or service
  • Grow your email list by 1,000 contacts
  • Close 3 enterprise-level deals
  • Improve customer retention with a re-engagement campaign

Be specific—and realistic—based on the time and resources available.

Step 3: Align Your Marketing Strategy

Once you’ve clarified your goals, map your marketing efforts to support them.

Example 1:

• • GOAL: Grow leads
  • STRATEGY: Increase brand awareness
  • KEY TACTICS: Targeted LinkedIn ads, SEO content, webinars

Example 2:

• • GOAL: Launch product
  • STRATEGY: Educate + build anticipation
  • KEY TACTICS: Email series, blog posts, landing page, PR

Example 3:

• • GOAL: Re-engage your audience
  • STRATEGY: Increase touchpoints
  • KEY TACTICS: Monthly newsletters, surveys, remarketing ads

Step 4: Prioritize High-Impact Activities

You can’t do everything. Choose what will deliver the biggest return based on your goals.

☄️ Double down on what’s working

✂️ Cut or pause what isn’t performing

📅 Plan ahead to avoid last-minute scrambles

Step 5: Build Your 90-Day Action Plan

Break your strategy into a simple timeline by month or week.

For example:

Summer Work (July & August)

• • Audit marketing assets to find areas of opportunity (Website, Collateral, Ads, etc.)
  • Edit or draft updated messaging to align with new services, operations, or changes to the company in Q1 + Q2
  • Plan content that will support the remainder of the year

Month 1 (e.g. September)

• • Finalize messaging
  • Publish 2 blogs
  • Launch lead-gen ad campaign
  • Prep fall webinar

Month 2 (October)

• • Host webinar
  • Promote seasonal offer
  • Publish customer story
  • Analyze Q3 performance

Month 3 (November)

• • Launch end-of-year campaign
  • Plan holiday content
  • Conduct a year-end review

Bonus Tips:

• • Use data to drive decisions, don’t guess.
  • Set ownership for each initiative.
  • Review your progress weekly to stay agile and make adjustments as needed.

Unsure how best to execute!?

Summer isn’t just a season; it’s a strategic window for those who take the opportunity. With the right actions now, you can keep your momentum going while laying the groundwork for a high-impact fall. Whether you need help refining your message, creating consistent content, or building a strategy that aligns with your business goals, we’re here to support you. Let’s use this season to recharge and get results.

📅 Ready to make the most of summer? Schedule your strategy session today.