A digital marketing strategy is essential for anyone looking to scale their business online. Learning the elements that make up a good strategy can help you stand out from your competitors.
Brands and consumers are closer today than ever before. With everyone online and always on the go, you want to be able to reach your customers wherever they are.
You also want to know how they behave and how they spend their time on the internet. Plus, you want to understand how they respond to your marketing. Leveraging this knowledge is what will get them to know your brand, buy your product and ultimately increase your revenue.
Having a solid digital marketing strategy comes in handy in this area.
This article will show you why it’s so important to have a good and up-to-date digital marketing strategy. And how you can build one for your business.
What is a Digital Marketing Strategy?
Before you learn what makes a good digital marketing strategy…
It’s first important to understand what exactly a marketing strategy is.
A marketing strategy is your plan for achieving specific marketing-related goals, particularly in a measurable and achievable way.
It looks into the marketing practices you’re currently doing well and checks what else you can do to improve. This is so you’ll have a better chance of accomplishing your goals.
Now, taking this definition into the digital context…
Your digital marketing strategy helps your brand achieve its goals through online channels. These usually consist of paid, earned, as well as owned media.
Take note that a digital marketing strategy doesn’t just mean running ads online or on social media and then leaving it there and hoping for great results. Instead, your strategy should be about realising your marketing-related goals so you can grow and scale your business.
Unfortunately, a lot of companies still subscribe to this “set it and forget it” approach to online marketing.
That is, they’ll launch an ad campaign and then don’t bother to analyse the metrics or adjust their material based on how their customers responded.
Truth is, they shouldn’t expect to be getting serious results if they aren’t willing to put in the effort to create an effective digital marketing strategy.
The Importance of Having a Strategy
The strategy component of your digital marketing is like a map toward the destination you want to reach. Without it, you’ll risk wasting both time and money on running ads or launching campaigns that won’t really get your business anywhere.
It’s your digital marketing strategy that tells you exactly where you want to go and why you want to get there. These are your objectives and business purpose.
It also lets you identify who you want to bring along with you (your target customers) as well as the people who can help you get to your destination, a.k.a. your marketing team.
Through your strategy, you’ll then be able to set a budget and a timeline for each campaign you run. And you’ll also get a clear picture if it’s successful by tracking the results you get and comparing them to your KPIs or key performance indicators.
Take all these together and your digital marketing strategy will be generating more revenue for your business.
If you don’t have a strategy, or if your existing strategy isn’t well thought-out, it will only lead you to failure. The ads or campaigns you launch will tear through your budget without giving you any returns.
The 5 Components of a Good Digital Marketing Strategy
A good marketing strategy really does take time and effort to build.
This is why it’s important to consistently invest enough of your resources for marketing. Partnering with an expert agency like GMS can help you create the best digital marketing strategy for your team.
That said, here are five of the components that we recommend:
1. Use an omnichannel marketing campaign
In an omnichannel approach, a business would give customers access to their products or offers on all channels and platforms.
For example, a brand can post its lead magnets not just on its desktop site but also across its social media pages.
This creates what’s known as the omnichannel experience.
That is, customers are met with an integrated and cohesive customer experience regardless of how or where they reached out.
2. Understand your customer
A good digital marketing strategy often starts with knowing your customer from inside their own head.
So, know your customer’s buying habits. What are their pain points? How do they spend their time online? Which platform or channel do they use most to interact with your brand?
Having these insights can help you optimise your digital marketing strategy and adjust your campaigns. That way, they can bring in the highest returns from your customers.
3. Post authentic content
Consumers are becoming more conscious of their buying habits online. That’s why you should continuously give them reasons to choose your brand.
Simply put, everything you post should share your own company’s values and mission.
So, focus on stories that showcase the real people behind your company and appeal to your customers. This helps create an approachable and trustworthy image for your brand.
4. Adjust when necessary
Digital marketing is part trial-and-error and part a process.
The plan you set is essential, but you should always be flexible and open to adjusting because there are times when it is necessary.
For example, the ever-changing SEO algorithms would need you to update your marketing strategy every so often.
5. Review and Improve
Use the insights from your KPIs to your advantage.
Make sure that they fit in with your objectives and business purpose. Then, measure and analyse your KPIs on a regular basis.
If something isn’t working, find out how you can improve them.
A Digital Marketing Strategy is Essential
In today’s time of saturated online presence from both brands and consumers, a digital marketing strategy is essential. It lets you plan out exactly where you want your business to go and what objectives you want to achieve.
Of course, staying ahead of the game is an important factor you need to consider when building your digital marketing strategy.
And using an omnichannel approach is one of the best ways to do this.
GMS Media Group has a particularly strong focus on omnichannel marketing strategies. We’ll help you create an amazing digital marketing strategy for all online platforms.
To find out more, you can schedule your free consult with one of our GMS experts.
