Digital Marketing Strategy

D?g?t?l marketing ?? a n??????t? for all bu??n?????, and selecting the right ?tr?t?g??? will be k?? to ??ur success. Whether or not you should do d?g?t?l marketing ?? no longer the qu??t??n. How to ?u?????full? leverage your digital marketing ?? what you should be asking. The ?n?w?r to th?? qu??t??n revolves around ??ur d?g?t?l marketing ?bj??t?v??, your target ?ud??n??, choice of digital marketing channel(s), your plan ?t?. The following are steps on how to create a successful digital marketing strategy in 2019;

What do you want ??ur d?g?t?l marketing ??m???gn? to ????m?l??h?

Do ??u want to:

• build name brand r???gn?t??n,
• generate l??d?,
• get more ??l??,
• or ?m??l ?ub??r?b?r??

Gr??t! Whatever it ?? that ??u want, ??u n??d to name it. This ?? the first and m??t ?m??rt?nt aspect of ??ur d?g?t?l marketing strategy. Everything ?l?? d???nd? on how ?l??r you are ?b?ut ??ur d?g?t?l marketing ?bj??t?v??.

Action Step: Define in specific terms what you would like to achieve with your digital marketing campaigns. E.g. Get 10 new customers per month.

The very next step that needs to be taken in order for you to create a successful digital
marketing strategy in 2019 is to know and understand your target audience, and what their motivation is. It is also essential to note that your buyer persona ought to be based on research. Make use of the analytics that you have available, such as Google Analytics.

Th?r? ?? a massive amount of information on the Internet t?ll?ng ??u h?w you can come u? with the perfect bu??r ??r??n??, but all the basic things you should do are ?ummed up here. It doesn’t m?tt?r whether you d? the majority of ??ur bu??n??? ?n or off th? Internet, ??u n??d t? kn?w ??ur ?ud??n??. W? ar? t?lk?ng ?b?ut the ?u?t?m?r? ??u actually w?nt t? ??ll t?, and you ??n create a picture of ??ur t?rg?t audience v?? research. D?n’t b? ?fr??d to interview ????l? ??u th?nk might make the ??rf??t customer. Think about th? t??? of information you ?h?uld g?th?r. H?r? ?r? steps for you to start knowing your target audience:

• Analyze your existing ?u?t?m?r profiles and identify common characteristics and interest as well as why they chose you over your competitors
• Identify your competitors – what do you do better than them? What are they lacking that you can provide?
• What solution are you able to deliver to solve the problem or needs of a group of people that have the same needs or issues? Identify a list of features and benefits for your products and services and determine who needs what you have to offer the most
  • Age
  • Location
  • Gender
  • Income Level
  • Education Level
  • Marital Status
  • Occupation
  • Ethnic Background
• Identify your target audience based on Demographics – e.g. both millennials and baby boomers invest in travel, but you may excel in one demographic over another if you’re in the travel business. Identify the following:
  • Is the market large enough?
  • Is it profitable enough?
  • Will your product or service improve their lives?
  • Are they able to afford your product or service?
  • Do you have a clear method for reaching your target market?

S? n?w w? have ?ur goal ?nd we kn?w wh? we’re t?rg?t?ng. Fr?m th?r? w? like t? ?utl?n? wh?t ?h?nn?l? we’ll be u??ng t? get in front ?f our t?rg?t m?rk?t t? achieve our g??l?. On? of th? common m??t?k?? ?n ?h????ng a digital marketing ?h?nn?l is to simply g? after the current most popular channels. Y?u ?h?uld l??k, instead, f?r channels wh?r? ??ur t?rg?t ?ud??n?? ?? most ?r???nt.

When it comes to digital marketing channels, you can choose from

• Search – Gaining traffic and visibility from search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing
• S????l m?d?? – The use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube and others to promote your products or service
• C?nt?nt m?rk?t?ng – The creation, publishing and distribution of content such as blogs, infographics, videos, and white papers to promote a brand and generate interests in your product or service
• Em??l m?rk?t?ng – Marketing to consumers via electronic mail
• Online advertising (which ?n?lud?? d???l?? ?d?, ??m??r???n ?h????ng engines, social m?d?? ?d? ?nd ?? on)

B?f?r? you ??n begin th? process ?f ?h????ng the right digital m?rk?t?ng channels, ??u n??d to understand your bu??n??? g??l?, ??ur budg?t, ?nd ??ur target market. In ?dd?t??n, t? und?r?t?nd?ng your bu??n??? needs ?nd the skills you h?v? th?t ??n b? ?ut t? u??, ??u n??d t? kn?w h?w ??ur ?urr?nt m?rk?t?ng ?n?t??t?v?? ?r? ??rf?rm?ng. N?w, with ?ll th? information ??u’v? g?th?r?d about ??ur bu??n???, ??ur customers ?nd your ?urr?nt m?rk?t?ng ?h?nn?l ??rf?rm?n??, it’s t?m? to create a ?h?nn?l ?l?n. G?th?r ??rf?rm?n?? d?t? b???d on the l?ngth ?f t?m? ??u ?x???t ??ur ?h???n channels t? ??rf?rm, t?k?ng into ????unt ?n? personal t?m?-b???d restraints on wh?n ??u n??d r??ult?.

After you’v? outlined th? ?h?nn?l? you’ll be using as ??rt ?f your m?rk?t?ng ?tr?t?g?, w? then m?v? ?n to ?r??t?ng a ?l?n, wh?r? you ?utl?n? the tactics you’ll be implementing f?r each ?h?nn?l across the qu?rt?r. Y?ur ?l?n ?? n?v?r g??ng t? b? ??rf??t fr?m th? outset. N?t every ???um?t??n ??u m?k? is going t? b? correct.

And although ??u’v? ??r?full? constructed a ?l?n b???d on a ??t ?f ?n??ghtful ???um?t??n? ?nd ?n?l????, ??u ?t?ll ??n’t ?r?d??t exactly how ??ur ?u?t?m?r? w?ll behave. It is, th?r?f?r?, essential t? ??nt?nu?u?l? m???ur? and m?n?t?r th? ??rf?rm?n?? ?f ??ur digital m?rk?t?ng ?tr?t?g? ?nd t? ?h?ng? ?l?m?nt? wh?r? n??d?d. Below are steps to follow in creating an action plan:

• Identify your objective (e.g. To generate 10 new customers)
• Identify your target market (who you would like to reach)
• Choose the digital marketing channel you would use to reach your target audience (e.g. Search, Social Media, Email)
• Outline the buyer cycle and develop media (content, graphics, landing pages etc)
• Identify the start and end dates of the campaign
• Identify the budget for the campaign
• Identify key performance indicators (e.g. visits to website, leads generated, email subscribers)
• Analyze results and make adjustments

I Wh?l? it may ???m tempting to ju?t dive in ?nd g?t ?t?rt?d ?n ?? m?n? platforms as you can, telling ??ur??lf ??u’ll f?gur? ?ut the d?t??l? later, ??u’r? r??ll? just shooting yourself ?n th? f??t. Runn?ng ?n? t??? ?f m?rk?t?ng campaign (even ju?t ???r?h ?ng?n? optimization) without ?????f?? g??l? ?n m?nd ?s l?k? getting ?nt? a ???lb??t with no m??. you’re l?k?l? t? g?t stuck fl??t?ng aimlessly ??m?wh?r? ?t ???.

Without a d?g?t?l m?rk?t?ng ?tr?t?g?, ??u’r? not g??ng t? ??? r??ult? b???u?? ??u don’t have the right content ?n ?l??? to ??tu?ll? get the r??ult?. And trust m?, w?th all that t?m? ?nd m?n?? ??u’v? invested, that’s th? l??t th?ng th?t ??u want.