What if there was a way you could speak directly to prospective customers every day? There is a way, and we’re not talking about cold calls.
Digital advertising holds the biggest shares of overall advertising spend in the UK, and digital marketing efforts reached $496.08 billion in 2018. Why are businesses so focused on digital?
With a digital marketing plan, you can reach audiences like never before. It might be a crowded space, but a successful plan helps cut through the competition and steer your business toward revenue growth.
Find out why your business needs a digital marketing plan and what you can do to get started.
Create Actionable Goals
A solid digital marketing plan gives you actionable goals. Without a plan, online efforts will be a stab in the dark. How will you be able to choose which platforms to use and gain new customers?
Your digital marketing plan should include SMART goals that give your sales and marketing teams enough structure. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. SMART goals will keep you focused each quarter and provide building blocks for growth.
By evaluating each goal, you can understand which digital efforts are working and which ones might be a waste of time and money. You can use actionable goals to help drive lead generation, sales, brand awareness and more.
Develop Buyer Personas
Digital marketing provides specific information about customers that you can’t find anywhere else. Using platforms like Google and Facebook, you can understand where your customers live online and how they behave.
A digital marketing plan helps you strengthen buyer personas to make all your marketing efforts more relevant. Studies show that 79% of customers will engage with an offer if it’s been personalized.
Your digital marketing can help validate or dig deeper into customer assumptions. Using data and analytics, understand where your customer demographics, interests, behaviour and more.
Expand Into New Markets
Digital marketing gives you one of the best ways to expand into new markets. Whether you’re a small or large business, there will always be markets you haven’t tapped into yet.
Through a digital marketing plan, you can identify the markets you’re interested in. What makes sense for your business and aligns with your current buyer personas? Develop new tactics that help you stand apart from the competition and capture new market share.
Integrate tactics like social media shopping and Google Shopping ads to deliver your products to outside markets. Most consumers spend a significant time shopping online. Reaching these shoppers gives you a new revenue stream and the opportunity for growth.
Track Metrics in Real-Time
Your marketing is only as good as your metrics. Unlike traditional advertising that’s less easy to track, digital marketing gives you a clear picture of what’s working.
Through software like Google Analytics, you can track everything from page views, form submissions and sales. Take the guessing game out of your efforts to determine where you should improve.
Almost every platform has analytics reporting, including email marketing, social media and digital advertising. Incorporating analytics reporting into your marketing plan will help you move faster than the competition. You can improve quickly and build on every campaign.
Use Two-Way Communication
Digital marketing offers interactivity to create two-way communication between your brand and customers. Two-way communication is important because it lets you have a better understanding of customer needs.
Through options like social media comments and website chats, you can open up your brand to the discussion. The two-way aspect of digital marketing helps create a respected brand that your customers will trust.
By listening to your customers, you can also tailor your digital marketing to meet their needs. Are there specific questions they keep asking? Deliver your content to answer their questions and make their lives much easier.
Develop an Engaging Brand
Digital marketing is crucial for brands because it helps develop more authority and recognition. As part of your brand strategy, digital marketing allows you to use engaging multimedia.
Think outside the box and consider channels like video marketing and podcasting. What can you do to deliver information quickly and better than your competitors? Digital marketing gives you the tools you need to make your mark.
If you’re successful, customers end up sharing the best content online. Effective digital marketing turns your customers into brand champions that help convert even more prospects.
Create Brand Partnerships
Influencer marketing isn’t just a buzzword, it’s something that’s here to stay as long as social media maintains its power. Through digital marketing, you can align your brand with influencers for a more broad reach.
Influencers can introduce your brand to their followers and help you gain new audiences. By integrating an influencer strategy in your digital marketing efforts, you’re creating brand partnerships.
Consider working with a social media marketing agency to help develop your influencer marketing and social media strategy. Agencies can help you find influencers that fit your brand and develop the content that broad audiences will see.
How to Develop a Digital Marketing Plan
To develop a digital marketing plan, start by auditing your current efforts. If you already have data, analyze what’s worked and what hasn’t. Your marketing plan should include the following elements:
- Marketing audit
- SMART goals
- Buyer personas
- Content strategy by channel
- Reporting and optimization
If you’re having trouble getting started, work with a digital marketing agency. Experienced professionals can help you save time by conducting audits and developing a plan that works for your goals.
Three Sixtee is a top branding agency offering comprehensive services to grow your brand online. Contact us today to learn more about what we do and how we can help.
