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Digital Marketing Plan & Strategy
Many businesses overlooked the importance of planning and strategy for their digital marketing. A digital marketing plan is important as it serves as a road map that can guide the business in making smart and informed decisions for its digital marketing strategy and campaigns along the way. Let us understand why it is important for you and your business.
Importance Of Digital Marketing
Almost 60% of the world’s population is already online and this equates to 4.5 billion internet users worldwide. They spend an average of 6 hours and 43 minutes online each day. With customers and prospective customers being online, online presence and visibility is no longer an option but a necessity. Digital marketing is vital for business growth and now forms an integral part of marketing for all businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has affirmed and reiterated the importance of a business going digital. Businesses who are already online are definitely ahead of their competitors who have yet to go digital or are scrambling to do so during the pandemic.
Digital Marketing Channels
There are many digital marketing channels and each of them offers different benefits. Each channel is unique and it’s crucial to choose the right ones to maximise returns. You need to evaluate which ones are worthy of your time based on your customers’ profile and your business/ marketing goals.
Let’s look at some commonly used and important digital marketing channels:
- Website. Your website is your most important online marketing channel. It is your digital storefront and one of the key drivers for your success. If your website does not provide users with optimal user experience or information they are seeking, you are turning away your customers and prospects and driving them to your competitors.
- Search Engine Marketing or Paid Search Traffic. Did you know that Google receives around 70,000 search queries every second? That’s a massive opportunity for your business to get found! Search Engine Marketing (SEM) or Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising shows your ads to the Right People – people who search for your products or services – at the Right Time – when they are searching for it. Unlike Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it provides immediate visibility to your business/ website once the advertising is launched. Also, ads are shown above search results. This means that you can have better visibility for your business and achieve faster results.
- Organic traffic or SEO. People are most likely to click on search results on page 1 ranking on the search engine result page when they search. If your website is well optimised for SEO, it can show up when your target audience launches an online search. This means consistently attracting organic traffic, which can turn into sales later on. By adhering to the best SEO practices, you can improve your website rankings and conversions.
- Social media. Social media is a huge player in the field of marketing. There are 3.8 billion active social media users globally. They are spending an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes a day multi-networking across an average of 8 social networks and messaging apps. You can’t ignore it if you’re eager to grow your business. Social media advertising and marketing is all about making connections with the right audience and building relationships. Genuine interactions with visitors – even those that leave nasty comments – help you earn trust and ultimately benefit your brand value.
- Programmatic Advertising. Programmatic advertising has gained popularity among businesses and marketers for the performance and efficiency it offers. The elimination of manual mundane tasks means more resources to focus on strategic marketing functions. The power of the programmatic advertising network, automation, and technology platforms also drives the performance and results of your need for brand awareness and sales generation.
Why Do We Need Digital Strategy & Planning?
As the saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. Your digital marketing plan and strategy is the foundation of your success. The plan should outline the goals you want to achieve through digital marketing, and also include the strategy and actions to accomplish these goals. A well-defined digital marketing plan provides direction and keeps your efforts organised. A sound strategy ensures you achieve the defined goals.
How To Create A Digital Marketing Plan
To create a digital marketing plan, you need to:
- Define your goals. Set Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based (SMART) goals. Be clear what you want to achieve and when do you want to achieve them. For example, increase online sales revenue by 30% at the end of the year. The goals should be measurable, relevant, and achievable. It would be unrealistic for a new start-up in a mature industry to be the market leader in the first 6 months.
- Know your customers. Understand your customer profile – their demographic, interest, priorities, challenges, and where they can be found. This will help define the digital channels, targeting strategies, and messaging to be deployed.
- Audit your digital assets. Find out what content or resources you already have that can support your goals. An assessment of available digital assets helps avoid duplicated efforts and also drive more value to your existing assets.
- Identify digital marketing tools you’ll need. Digital marketing is dynamic and evolving very rapidly. The massive volume of data tracked and collected from digital channels made it challenging for timely manual analysis and actions. You need to identify tools and technologies that can drive results and efficiency for the most optimal ROI.
- Plan digital marketing campaigns and measure results. Once you’re done with the planning and research, it’s time to build your digital marketing strategy and campaigns. A long-term digital strategy will guide you and your team as to what needs to be done and when they should be done. Of course, measuring your performance is crucial to know what works and what doesn’t.
A good digital marketing plan and strategy only marks the beginning of a successful digital program. You will also require:
- Qualified experts. You must deploy the right expertise within each channel for optimal execution and ongoing optimization. Qualified and skilled digital marketing specialists ensure proper setup and improvement to maximise the returns on your investment.
- Track & monitor, Consistent attention to measure and track the results of your digital marketing plan is important. Make sure you are informed of the progress and results of your plan. Identify what is going right (or wrong) to execute a prompt and effective change.
- Agile Refinement. Make timely and smart decisions with data. Be agile to refine your plan and strategy as necessary to reduce wastage in bad campaigns, and increase ROI with optimal investment in the right ones.
The Leading Digital Marketing Agency – W360 Group
Some of the common challenges for business owners when creating a digital marketing plan and strategy are:
- Not doing where and how to start
- Not knowing how to effectively target their potential customers given the diversified media and devices consumption
- The lack of digital marketing knowledge. There are after all so many different digital channels, from owned, paid, earned to shared digital media. And the marketing landscape is ever-changing and evolving so quickly
Let us give you a strong head start for your digital success with the right planning and strategy. Our Digital Superheros are equipped with the expertise, competency, and experience to formulate and execute an effective digital marketing plan and strategy that is aligned with your business goals. Activate them today to get started on your digital success.