Digital marketing has evolved rapidly. From social media and email to consumer insights and analytics, digital marketing provides more opportunities than ever.
How can you take advantage of all digital marketing has to offer? Every digital marketing initiative starts with a powerful digital marketing strategy behind it. However, 49% of organizations don’t have a clearly defined digital marketing strategy. Without a defined strategy in place, your plan loses purpose and team members will have difficulty understanding how their tasks tie to the larger objective.
Don’t be a part of the 49% that is unequipped. Whether it’s your first or 100th time developing a digital marketing strategy, sspirulina our tips will help you build a strong foundation for your marketing team.
What is a digital marketing strategy?
A digital marketing strategy is your plan of action to achieve a business goal through online marketing channels. It focuses on explaining the what and the why behind what you’re trying to accomplish. When determining your digital marketing strategy, you want to ask yourself the following questions:
- What are our goals?
- What are our objectives?
- Who is our target audience?
- What are our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
- What is my time frame?
Not only is your digital marketing strategy the framework that informs your plan, but it also helps you determine which digital platforms, media, data, and tech will be required. If you’re thinking about executing a digital marketing campaign or larger initiative, having a strategy in place is critical to success.
What are digital marketing tactics?
Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with the digital marketing trifecta, it’s time to dive deeper into the digital marketing mix. The digital marketing mix includes the following tactics:
- SEO and SEM:Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) determine where your website and web properties rank in a search engine. SEO brings in traffic organically whereas SEM brings in traffic via ads and online marketing. If you’re looking for a toolkit to help with SEO research and reporting, check out SEMrush.
- Content marketing:Content marketing encompasses all the online content you produce. This includes everything from the videos you host online to the blog posts and e-books you write and design. Companies of all sizes and types are constantly delivering new content across digital channels.
- Social media marketing: More than 1 million new people are joining social media platforms every single day. Social media includes any type of social network (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Snapchat to name a few) that acts as an online community to share information.
Read: 7 steps to complete a social media audit (with template)
- Influencer marketing: Influencer marketing is one of the newest digital marketing tactics that uses endorsements and product mentions from influencers—individuals with a dedicated social media following who are viewed as experts in their field—to boost brand awareness and conversions.
- Email marketing:Email marketing is the modern alternative to the traditional snail mail approach. Marketing by email is a quick and low-cost method to reach your prospects and customers.
- Online advertising:Online ads can get expensive, but they’re effective for driving traffic to your website and web properties. With online ads, you can choose what to display and on which channels.
- Website marketing: Your company website is your home base on the internet. It deserves to get as much attention as possible and needs to have a unique web design to stand out from the crowd. Your landing pages are one of the first places potential customers visit when they want to learn more about your company and product.
- Analytics:Analytics can be gathered from various digital channels to provide valuable data and insight. These learnings can help you improve both your current and future digital marketing strategies.
- Mobile experience: We can’t forget about the mobile experience, especially when up to 70% of internet traffic comes from mobile devices. Any time you’re thinking about doing anything related to digital marketing, consider how it will look and feel on mobile. You want your mobile experience to be as flawless as your desktop experience.