It’s no secret that any organization’s marketing strategy includes a huge focus on digital marketing. The majority of how we consume information today is online, and you need to make sure you meet your customers where they are. That’s why it’s important to strategize your digital marketing plan, so you can set yourself up for success.
Before we dig deeper into how to successfully set up your digital marketing strategy, let’s go through the basics. What is digital marketing? It’s all marketing efforts that use an electronic device or the internet. This is typically seen in channels like:
- Social media
- Your website
- Search Engines
- Digital advertising
- Online directories, etc.
So, how do you begin?
Start by Identifying Your Goals, Plans and Important Timelines
If you begin to plan your strategy without determining what you want to accomplish, this can cause issues further down the road. Start by identifying your top S.M.A.R.T. goals for the year. S.M.A.R.T. goals are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Timely
For example, you want to convert x number of marketing qualified leads in your CRM through email marketing by the end of Q2.
When you have these goals clearly defined and communicated among your team, there’s more of a chance for success. It’s key to keep in mind the reasoning behind your goals and what other plans and timelines your organization also has going on.
Brainstorm Personas
Now that you have your goals in place, you need to pin down your target buyer, which is easy to outline through a buyer persona. A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer. When brainstorming and deciding on who your personas are, make sure to include colleagues outside of marketing who also deal with customers on a regular basis. A few ways to gather this information include:
- Go through your current contact database in your CRM to find any similarities in those who already purchase from you
- Talk with other departments who frequently interact with your customers
- Use fields on forms on your website that help you to better identify characteristics of your customers
This last step is extremely important in any marketing plan as your customers should always be the center of why you do what you do. Knowing your customers, their behavior and how they interact with content is some of the most valuable information you can have.
Next, Audit Your Existing Marketing Activities & Assets
Before you duplicate work or focus on a strategy that you actually already tried in the past, make sure to go through your already existing assets and campaigns.
Start by organizing your different types of content, white papers, blog posts, podcasts, videos, etc., and noting what stage of the buyer’s journey it applies to. This will give you an organized library of content that you can reference. For example, you’re creating a drip email campaign in HubSpot and want to include a CTA that takes your contact to a podcast episode that has a topic in the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey. If you organize your content first, you’ll be able to easily pull that episode and use it effectively in your marketing.
This isn’t just applicable to content. You should also keep track of your current analytics, website traffic, social media followers, email marketing rates, etc. This will help you set up new goals in the future while also giving you an idea in the present of how your current efforts are performing.
Now It’s Time For the Plan
You have the foundation of your strategy figured out, so now it’s time to put together a plan of action. First, decide which digital channels you want to focus on, i.e. updating your website, growing your social media presence or setting up pay per click campaigns. If you try to do too much on too many platforms, it can be overwhelming. Focus on a few key areas and create a wish list of what you’d like to accomplish in the future but can’t successfully execute in the present.
The type of content you share on each platform is an integral part of your plan as well. From the content audit you already created, you can see where you may have gaps and need to generate new content. Make sure to stay organized with your content as you continue to create new assets.
Analyze, Analyze, Analyze
There’s a very important quote about those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. They definitely weren’t talking about analyzing digital marketing activities, but they should have been.
Keeping a close eye on how your campaigns are performing is hugely instrumental in your strategy. When you are tracking this data, you can more easily adapt and optimize your activities, giving you more opportunities for success. There are many tools you can use to gather this kind of data. A few of our favorites are: Google Analytics, HubSpot and SEMrush.
Also, communicate these results with your team frequently by having a standing meeting to go over analytics. This will ensure the team’s in the know on the latest data.
Strategize with Vendilli
It’s easier to strategize your digital marketing efforts when you have a trusted partner by your side. Contact us today to learn more on how we can help you and your team execute your marketing goals.
