3 Ways I Use Mindmapping for Marketing Online

There are many things that can be done to market a given product or service online.  Whether you are big business, small business, or solopreneur, you have limited resources and can’t do everything.  I find mind mappping is very useful when it comes to organizing my thoughts on businesses, and online marketing efforts.  Chris Brogan’s recent post on how he uses mindmapping to write got me thinking of new ways to use mind mapping.  I’m a novice mindmapper, but have found you don’t have to be awesome at mindmapping to benefit from it.

3 Ways I Use Mindmapping for Marketing Online

Mind mapping is a way to tap into the creative side, visualize thoughts, and develop them through a series of branches which represent the relationship between ideas, concepts, tasks, or whatever you want.  I find the mindmapping process keeps the flow of creative activity moving forward, while simply writing text is static, and involves more linear thinking.   Here’s more on mind mapping.

One – Brainstorm and Develop New Ideas

Anyone can have a new idea, it’s what is done with the idea that counts.  One of the first things I do is sit down and begin to break out the idea with my mindmapping software (I use the one by the folks at Mindjet who also has a version for the MAC).  Occasionally I’ll draw it out, but more often I’m on the computer doing it.  I start with the project name, then a branch for each category of the project, and develop further from there.

Two – Prioritize Project Activities

Once the project is established (and I’ve determined I actually want to pursue it), I can then rank priority of the sub categories or tasks.  This allows me to determine what components are essential for the projects success, and even break the project up into phases.  I find that this phase results in the ideas becoming more fully developed, and a better understanding of what needs to be done.  In the screenshot below, I’ve ranked traffic generation tasks by Phases 1-3 (this is just an example, not a real project).

Three – Project Management

Furthermore, there are other “Map Markers” that let you indicate the status of a given task, whether it is started, quarter done, half done, three quarter done, or completed.

For each branch/topic also allows for “Topic Notes” which gives me the ability to provide specific details for a topic, or just go with the groove of building the idea further.

Overall, I find mindmapping provides a way for me to capture marketing ideas that could otherwise be lost, and brings clarity to the idea development process.  With this methodology (you can use any of the popular software tools, there are several), I spent 25-35% less time outlining a project than the traditional way.

Your Turn. How do you use mind mapping?  Using it in your marketing? Other creative uses? Chime in the comment boxes below.
Image credit: Vadeka

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