Since the birth of the Internet, many people have
taken it as an opportunity to make money. This perception is actually not
wrong. The Internet is an integral part of modern business, serving as an
important bridge between businesses and consumers.
Having a good website is an important step in the
success of your business. Of course, for that, a high-quality server is also
essential. However, you cannot expect a flood of customers just by creating an
online store. Competition is intensifying day by day. To stand out, you need to
implement a digital marketing strategy.
First, what is a digital marketing strategy? Is a
digital marketing strategy the same as a digital marketing campaign? And how do
you create a digital marketing strategy that fits your personal situation?
This time, we will answer such questions.
What is
Digital Marketing Strategy
A digital marketing strategy is a strategy
implemented through online channels to achieve a specific business goal.
Pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), social media
advertising, influencer marketing, and more. Some are paid, and others fall
under organic strategies.
Many people confuse marketing strategy with
marketing campaigns, which are two completely different parts of the digital
marketing landscape.
The value
of a digital marketing strategy
A digital marketing strategy is essential for
success in modern business, whether you are a B2-B or B2C company. From
shopping for groceries to booking hospital appointments to choosing a SaaS solution
for your business, we now use the digital space for almost everything.
Think about how much time you and the people
around you spend online. Whether it's fiddling with our phones or watching the
latest streaming series on Disney+, most of our days are spent on the web.
Every platform you can potentially use is a great marketing opportunity.
Consider running ads on global TV channels or
advertising in print. Not only will it be expensive, but it will likely be
advertising to a large number of people who are not your target audience.
If you market on digital channels, you can
personalize your ads. Many platforms allow you to target specific demographics
based on age, gender, location, interests, job title, and more. The days of
"extremely broad" advertising are over. Modern customers prefer a
personalized experience and digital marketing is an effective way to achieve
this.
The results of digital marketing are also highly
measurable. You can run a TV commercial or radio ad and have no idea how many
people are hearing it or what percentage of new sales you're getting from that
platform. But in digital marketing, real-time data lets you see exactly how
many people clicked, and converted your ad.
Finally, digital marketing has the potential for
a great return on investment. Influencer marketing alone has an average ROI of
4,400%. While billboard advertising has an impressive average ROI of 497%,
influencer marketing can generate almost 10 times that.
How to
build a digital marketing strategy
Learn the basics of digital marketing strategy
and how you can maximize your chances of success. Here, let's break it down
into five specific steps.
Step 1.
Lay the groundwork online
Before you start riding your bike, you should
first make sure that your tires are inflated. Along the same lines, it is
imperative to establish an online foundation before embarking on a digital
marketing strategy.
First, you need to have a good server to host
your website. Kinsta is a great choice for WordPress hosting if you want to
make sure your site is stable and accessible.
But just having a website is not enough. Your
website must be fast. Speed is an important factor that determines SEO
results and it is said that many visitors will leave the site if it takes more
than 3 seconds to load.
Also, the site should be secure. As cybercrime
evolves, the importance of security cannot be overemphasized. HTTPS, a strong
firewall, and secure servers are our first line of defense against cyber
attacks (Kinsta customers use very high-security strictures).
Ease of use of the site is also important. Ease
of use and usability are the driving forces behind conversion by site visitors.
It paves the way for efficient conversion.
Finally, create social media accounts, improve
your profile and always be aware of posting up-to-date and accurate
information.
Step 2.
Clarify your goals
What do you want to achieve with your digital
marketing strategy? What does success look like to you? Some companies only
focus on getting their brand name known. In other words, it raises awareness.
Others focus on sales and conversions. The goal
may be to acquire new customers and make them repeat customers. But it's
important to be more specific when setting goals. How much do you want to grow
your business with a certain strategy? What about the goal of increasing
profits by 40% at the end of the second quarter? If the result increases by
30%, would you consider it a 'pass' or 'fail'?
Here we also define best case and worst case.
Identify the threshold at which the strategy is considered "failed".
This makes it possible to objectively measure the success of the strategy.
It's also a good idea to decide which tools to
use at this stage. Are you looking for affordable equipment? How much can email
marketing software cost you?
Goals should be specific and measurable to
determine success or failure. In other words, it is understanding the return on
advertising expenditure and acquisition expenditure.
Step 3.
Understand your customer personas
To create a digital marketing strategy, you first
need to know who you are marketing. Know you understand the key demographic and
their pain points, motivations, likes, and dislikes. That way, you can develop
a targeted strategy that speaks directly to you.
Consider various traits when creating a persona.
For example, age, occupation, gender, place of residence, interest, income,
etc.
The type of marketing strategy should be based on
the persona you are targeting. Person A may prefer to use social media. Person
B, on the other hand, may be more responsive to email marketing. Persona C may
like to search for questions on Quora. Knowing this is an important factor in
increasing the odds of a successful marketing strategy.
Know which platforms your people use most often
and use them to guide your marketing efforts.
Step 4.
Evaluate existing digital assets
Now that you've seen the different types of
materials, it's time to think about which ones to use. You need to know exactly
what you have and how you can use it to achieve your goals.
Explore all owned, paid, and earned media to
maximize your results. Once you've listed all the options you have, it's time
to decide which marketing campaigns will work best.
It's also a great time to see the gap between
what you have and what you want. For example, let's say you want to advance
your content strategy. If you don't seem to have the tools to help you do this,
it may be time to create or buy content.
Be careful not to focus only on content volume.
Also, look at the quality of your content. If you have an old and outdated blog
post, improving the content can help you achieve your goals (like ranking #1
for a keyword on Google).
If you have duplicate content on your site, we
recommend cleaning it up immediately. Google doesn't like duplicate content, so
you might get penalized.
Step 5.
Make a plan
Now that you're ready, it's time to develop your
content marketing strategy.
Create a content production plan to fill the gaps
identified in the last step. This allows you to create rich content that your
audience is aware of (the goal of your strategy) and reaps long-term benefits.
You should have a rough idea of what campaigns
you need to run for each persona to reach your goals. What platforms will you
use, how long will you campaign, what kind of content will you use and how much
marketing budget will you invest?
On top of that, we also create a master document.
This should include a timeline that describes how each campaign will progress
toward its ultimate goal, from the beginning to the end of the strategy.
Conclusion
A digital marketing strategy can be the
foundation of increasing your profits through both outbound and inbound
marketing. In today's business world, the popularity and potential of digital
channels cannot be ignored.
Use the information in this article to build your
digital marketing strategy, reach your target potential customers, and attract
more visitors to your site. Of course, don't forget that the site itself is
powerful, fast, and secure.