Introduction
Let’s shake things up and think outside the box in the modern age of business and technology, a strong digital marketing strategy is absolutely crucial to organizational success. Companies that thrive in the digital world absolutely allocate significant resources to the development of digital marketing strategies. In the process, organizations can reach various customers across various digital platforms, driving positive revenue gains and improved conversion rates.
From a higher-level standpoint, it is the process of identifying specific marketing goals. An overall marketing strategy will highlight achievable goals for both traditional (print, radio, and broadcast) and digital channels. Using established strategies as well as goals, compelling marketers will evaluate multiple marketing strategies necessary to achieve those strategic goals.
What does Digital Marketing Strategy look like?
Digital marketing strategy carries an assessment of specific goals that are achievable through online channels. In an era when many consumers transact business on their mobile devices, a well-executed strategy is crucial to organizational success.
In this context, it is important to audit the current state of an organization with different media assets. Viewed through a macro lens, this means that marketers need to evaluate their organization’s owned, paid, as well as earned media called ADVERTISEMENT
- Owned Media — Owned media represents any that an organization owns and operates under its complete control. From websites and blogs to podcasts and video channels, organizations can leverage owned media to fit just about any other marketing strategy or tactic.
- Paid Media — It refers to content that third parties display in exchange for compensation from the owner. From sponsored content to influencer marketing as well as digital advertising, paid media is prevalent in many digital marketing strategies.
- Earned Media — Earned media refers to third-party content that is completely separate from the brand. In the digital world, this type of exposure often occurs in the form of awards, testimonials, reviews as well as user-submitted content.
Ultimately, a digital marketing strategy will seek to maximize the impact of owned, paid, as well as earned media in the digital world. Consequently, these marketing strategies will encompass multiple channels as well as approaches spanning website content and blogs as well as online advertising, testimonials, and reviews. At the end of the day, a digital marketing strategy will change based on the different types of businesses and industries in question.
How Is Marketing Strategy Differ from Marketing Tactics or Campaigns?
Whereas marketing strategy involves different identifying goals, marketing tactics represent the specific steps or actions needed to achieve those goals. In the process of creating a marketing strategy, it is compulsory to create tactics as well to delineate the plan and the timelines. Otherwise, it may be more difficult if not impossible to properly execute a digital marketing strategy and achieve marketing goals.
Digital marketing campaigns are so vital to evaluate in this discussion. These digital campaigns involve the execution of marketing strategies across all of an organization’s digital channels as well. The marketing tactics used to execute these campaigns often vary by channel, an audience with other factors.
What Are various Common Examples of Digital Marketing Tactics?
There are countless digital marketing tactics in existence, often adjusting to meet the various organizational goals and marketing strategies. But there are several common digital marketing tactics for many organizations employ successfully, including:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — SEO is called the practice of optimizing content to improve rankings in major search engines. By following established SEO practices with all digital content, organizations can better reach the prospective of multiple customers through major search engines.
- Social Media Marketing (SMM) — SMM is the practice of utilizing social media networks to reach customers as well as communicate corporate messaging. Businesses that leverage SMM tactics effectively can reach customers directly through their preferred social channels.
- Digital Advertising — Digital advertising refers to the placement of company ads in various online locations like search engines and social media networks. Paid placement in search results and pop-up ads are examples of these digital advertising.
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising — PPC refers to advertising is a subset of digital advertising where companies place ads with a third-party website to drive online traffic. But unlike other forms of advertising, companies only pay for PPC advertising when a user clicks on that link.
- Content Marketing — It is the practice of utilizing a company’s owned media channels to target prospective customers. When companies create as well as post high-quality content on a regular basis, it can help improve rankings and drive traffic to their website.
- Website Marketing — Within the domain of content marketing, an organization’s website is the most powerful tool. By creating geo-targeted and optimized landing pages, an organization becomes a thought leader within their industry and reels in potential customers with effective call-to-action messaging.
- Email Marketing — Used to drive engagement with a current or prospective audience base or to grow the best customer relationships.
- Downloadable Content — A subset of website strategy, downloadable content provides a very efficient way to build leads. Companies can produce high-quality content that prospects can download for free, giving valuable contact information in the process.
Taken as a whole, there are many different marketing tactics that organizations employing in every single day. Successful marketers are able to clearly identify goals and then choose appropriate tactics to achieve those goals while maintaining focus on every strategy, business need, and budget constraint.
How Can I conceive an Effective Digital Marketing Strategy?
As explored in more, it is possible to create an effective digital marketing strategy by adhering to this five-step process:
(1) Conduct a SWOT analysis
(2) Establish SMART business goals
(3) Engage in market segmentation
(4) Create buyer personas
(5) Identify budget constraints
1. Supervise SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. From this standpoint.
- Strengths — Strengths are internal factors that help organizations to reach out and, potentially, exceed their goals. Examples of strengths include high sales and profits, customer loyalty, long-term employees, or an attractive brand/culture.
- Weaknesses —Weaknesses are also internal factors that prevent businesses from reaching their goals. Examples of weaknesses can include improperly marketed products or services, regular customer complaints, high levels of employee turnover, inadequate funding, and supply chain issues.
- Opportunities — Opportunities represent potentially positive, external situations that also might help an organization succeed in the future. Examples of opportunities can include changing attitudes or aspirations, new laws or legislation, trade agreements, and removal of tariffs/sanctions.
- Threats —These represent potentially negative, external situations that might harm an organization in the future. Examples of threats can include shifts in the labor market, increasing supply costs, or new competition/technology.
2. Set up SMART Business Goals
Another popular acronym in the marketing strategy context is SMART refers to business goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. By establishing SMART business goals, organizations may help ensure that their marketing strategy moves forward in a positive direction.
In order to establish this goal, marketers and leaders should evaluate the following questions:
- Specific — What am I trying to achieve and why is it important, and what will be required?
- Measurable — How can I measure and track progress to meet deadlines and accomplish the end goal?
- Attainable — It is Based on available resources and existing constraints, is the end goal actually achievable?
- Relevant — In light of prevailing business needs/realities and the overall environment, is the end goal valuable at this time?
- Timely — When can I expect to make progress toward the main goal? What benefits are expected immediately versus in the short, intermediate as well as long term?
3. Grab in Market Segmentation
Market Segmentation is just usually a vital piece of an effective digital marketing strategy. This practice involves dividing an organization’s target market or audience into very smaller groups. By segmenting an entire customer base into digestible pieces, it sometimes becomes easier to tailor unique marketing tactics to each market segment.
Within the sphere of market segmentation as well as organizations typically start with four categories:
- Demographic
- Firmographic
- Psychographic
- Behavioral
4. Create Buyer Personas
Often utilized in conjunction with market segmentation, buyer personas are so fictional profiles that represent the customer. Buyer personas are particularly helpful in helping to understand a company’s customers whether existing, prospective or desired. Correspondingly, buyer personas vary greatly from industry to industry as well as organization to organization.
As noted above, it is common practice for marketers to unify so many buyer personas with market segmentation initiatives. In doing so, marketers attempt to create profiles of ideal customers based on demographic, firmographic, psychographic, as well as behavioral data. In that way, organizations can individually customize their messaging, products, or services to match each different buyer persona and market segment,
5. Recognize Budget Constraints
Fundamentally, commercial and nonprofit organizations of every flavor must ensure that they budget appropriately to roll out an effective digital marketing strategy. Even the best marketing strategies and tactics are dependent upon adequate cash flow. Consequently, it is vital for organizations to think realistically about their budget to determine which marketing tactics are achievable and affordable.
What Type of Digital Marketing Strategy Is Best for your Organization?
The components of an ideal marketing strategy can fluctuate greatly from organization to organization. After all, the overall business directives and specific marketing goals will reflect differences, often based on culture, product offerings, revenue targets, as well as the like.
But by aligning multiple strategies and tactics with SMART business goals as well as segmented buyer personas, businesses of all shapes and sizes can enjoy the benefits of digital marketing. Though the specific benefits do vary based on the number of resources dedicated to digital marketing strategies and tactics.
For startups and small businesses, a digital marketing strategy will likely focus on cost-effective tactics to meet organizational goals. These organizations can leverage SEO, SMM, and content marketing at a low cost to realize how digital marketing goals. The lower barrier to entry and cost of these tactics enables organizations of every shape and size to take advantage.
As organizations grow, their marketing, as well as advertising budgets, typically expand in kind. Accordingly, the potential benefits from effective marketing tactics can grow exponentially through overlapping marketing, advertising, and public/investor relations campaigns. Add this all together, organizations that dedicate significant budgets, as well as resources to digital marketing, can reap tremendous rewards.
