Digital Marketing Strategy A Comprehensive Guide

Consumers and businesses are spending more time online than ever before, making digital marketing a major part of any successful marketing strategy. With so many responsibilities and tasks to manage, it can be overwhelming to create and maintain an effective digital marketing strategy. However, with the right approach, you can improve your digital presence and grow your business.

In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the process of creating and implementing a digital marketing strategy that will help you achieve your marketing goals. We will cover the basics of what a marketing strategy is, the difference between a strategy and tactics, and the characteristics of a successful strategy. We will then dive into the specifics of a digital marketing strategy, including content marketing, paid advertising, account-based marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, influencer marketing, podcasting, email marketing, and video marketing.

What is a Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy is a plan for reaching a specific marketing-related goal or goals in a focused and achievable way. It takes into consideration what your business is currently doing well and what you’re missing in regards to the objective you set, then developing tactics to help you meet your goal.

Strategy vs. Tactic

The difference between a strategy and a tactic lies in their scope, level of detail, and time frame. A strategy is a high-level plan that guides your direction and long-term goals and how you plan on accomplishing them. Tactics, however, are specific actions and methods used to implement your strategy and achieve short-term objectives.

Characteristics of a Strategy

Marketing or not, there are three parts of any strategy:

1. A diagnosis of your challenge
2. A guiding policy for dealing with the challenge
3. A set of targeted actions that are necessary to accomplish the policy

Depending on the scale of your business, your marketing strategy may include several moving parts, each with different goals. With that said, working on your strategy can become daunting at times.

So, if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed about your marketing strategy, refer to these three steps to keep you focused on achieving your objectives.

Characteristics of a Tactic

While strategies provide a framework for your overall vision, tactics determine the specific steps taken to execute that vision.

A good tactic should:

• Be specific, actionable, and measurable
• Align with the overall strategy
• Have a relatively short time frame

Depending on your marketing strategy, your tactics may include email marketing campaigns, publishing a blog, or organizing an event.

What is a Digital Marketing Strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is a plan for using online channels to establish an internet presence and achieve specific marketing objectives. These channels can include organic search, social media, paid ads, and other web-based mediums such as your website. Ultimately, the goal is to boost your business’s visibility and attract new customers.

A strong digital marketing strategy helps your business achieve specific digital goals through carefully selected mediums. Similar to marketing strategies versus marketing tactics, “digital marketing strategy” and “digital marketing campaign” are also often interchanged. So, how do they differ?

We cover that in the following sections.

What is a Digital Marketing Campaign?

Digital marketing campaigns are the building blocks and actions within your digital marketing strategy that move you toward a specific end goal.

For instance, if the overarching goal of your digital marketing strategy is to generate more leads through social media, you might run a digital marketing campaign on Twitter. You may share some of your business’s best-performing gated content on Twitter to generate more leads through the channel.

How to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy

To create an effective digital marketing strategy, you need to follow a systematic approach that takes into account your business goals, target audience, and available resources. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

1. Build your buyer personas.
2. Identify your goals and the digital marketing tools you’ll need.
3. Evaluate your existing digital channels and assets.
4. Audit and plan your owned media campaigns.
5. Audit and plan your earned media campaigns.
6. Audit and plan your paid media campaigns.
7. Bring your digital marketing campaigns together.

1. Build your buyer personas.

Before you can create an effective digital marketing strategy, you need to know who you’re marketing to. Building buyer personas helps you understand your target audience, their needs, and their preferences. This information will guide your marketing efforts and help you create content that resonates with your audience.

To build buyer personas, you can start by researching, surveying, and interviewing your existing customers and prospects. Gather quantitative and demographic data such as age, location, and job title, as well as qualitative and psychographic information such as goals, challenges, hobbies, and priorities. This information will help you create accurate and valuable buyer personas for your business.

2. Identify your goals and the digital marketing tools you’ll need.

Once you have a clear understanding of your target audience, you can identify the goals you want to achieve with your digital marketing strategy. These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART goals). For example, your goal might be to increase website traffic by 20% in the next six months.

Next, identify the digital marketing tools and platforms you’ll need to achieve your goals. This might include tools for search engine optimization (SEO), content creation and management, social media management, email marketing, and analytics. Choose tools that are aligned with your goals and budget.

3. Evaluate your existing digital channels and assets.

To determine which digital channels and assets are working for your business, evaluate your existing digital presence. This includes your website, social media profiles, blog content, and any other owned media channels you have. Assess the performance of each channel and asset, and identify any gaps or areas for improvement.

Consider the effectiveness of your website in attracting and converting visitors, the engagement and reach of your social media profiles, the performance of your blog content, and the overall user experience of your digital assets. This evaluation will help you determine which channels and assets to prioritize and optimize in your digital marketing strategy.

4. Audit and plan your owned media campaigns.

Owned media refers to the digital assets your brand or company owns, such as your website, blog content, and social media profiles. Conduct an audit of your owned media to assess its effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. This might include evaluating the design and usability of your website, the quality and relevance of your blog content, and the engagement and reach of your social media profiles.

Based on the audit, create a plan to optimize and improve your owned media campaigns. This might involve updating your website design, creating a content calendar for your blog, and developing a social media strategy to engage and grow your audience. Set specific goals and objectives for each campaign, and track your progress using analytics tools.

5. Audit and plan your earned media campaigns.

Earned media refers to the exposure and recognition your brand receives through word-of-mouth marketing, press mentions, and social media sharing. Conduct an audit of your earned media to assess its impact and identify opportunities for improvement. This might involve analyzing press mentions, monitoring social media mentions and shares, and collecting customer testimonials and reviews.

Based on the audit, create a plan to amplify and expand your earned media campaigns. This might include developing a PR strategy to secure press mentions, implementing a referral program to encourage customer sharing, and engaging with influencers to promote your brand. Set specific goals and objectives for each campaign, and track your progress using analytics tools.

6. Audit and plan your paid media campaigns.

Paid media refers to any vehicle or channel you spend money on to increase visibility and attract new customers. Conduct an audit of your paid media campaigns to assess their effectiveness and return on investment. This might involve analyzing the performance of Google Ads, Facebook ads, and other paid advertising channels.

Based on the audit, create a plan to optimize and improve your paid media campaigns. This might include refining your targeting and segmentation strategies, testing different ad formats and messaging, and optimizing your budget allocation. Set specific goals and objectives for each campaign, and track your progress using analytics tools.

7. Bring your digital marketing campaigns together.

Once you have audited and planned your owned, earned, and paid media campaigns, it’s time to bring them together into a cohesive digital marketing strategy. Align your campaigns with your overall marketing goals and objectives, and ensure that they are integrated and complementary.

Develop a timeline or schedule for executing your campaigns, and allocate resources and budgets accordingly. Monitor and track the performance of your campaigns using analytics tools, and make adjustments as needed to optimize their effectiveness. Regularly evaluate and refine your digital marketing strategy to ensure that it is aligned with your business goals and objectives.

By following these steps and implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, you can improve your digital presence, attract new customers, and grow your business.

Digital Marketing Strategies

Now that you understand the process of creating and implementing a digital marketing strategy, let’s explore some common digital marketing strategies that can help you achieve your marketing goals. These strategies can be tailored to your business’s unique needs and objectives. Here are some examples:

1. Content Marketing

Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage your target audience. This can include blog articles, videos, infographics, ebooks, and social media posts. The goal of content marketing is to build trust, establish thought leadership, and drive profitable customer action.

Key benefits of content marketing include boosting web traffic, establishing authority and credibility, and generating leads and conversions. To implement a content marketing strategy, you need to research and understand your target audience, create high-quality and engaging content, and promote and distribute your content through various channels.

2. Paid Advertising

Paid advertising involves running ads on various platforms to increase brand visibility and attract new customers. This can include search engine ads, display ads, social media ads, and native advertising. The goal of paid advertising is to reach a specific target audience and drive them to take a desired action, such as making a purchase or submitting a lead form.

Key benefits of paid advertising include targeted campaigns, measurable results, and flexibility. To implement a paid advertising strategy, you need to identify your target audience, select the right advertising platforms, create compelling ad copy and visuals, and track and analyze the performance of your ads.

3. Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a strategic approach that focuses on targeting and engaging specific high-value accounts or key decision makers within those accounts. ABM involves personalized marketing efforts tailored to the needs and preferences of specific target accounts.

Key benefits of ABM include a personalized approach, alignment between marketing and sales, and improved customer retention. To implement an ABM strategy, you need to research and understand your target accounts, develop personalized content and campaigns, engage with decision makers, and coordinate your marketing and sales efforts.

4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing your web content, structure, and technical aspects to improve its visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). The goal of SEO is to increase organic, non-paid traffic to your website from search engines like Google and Bing.

Key benefits of SEO include increased organic traffic, improved user experience, and long-term benefits. To implement an SEO strategy, you need to conduct keyword research, optimize your website’s structure and content, build high-quality backlinks, and track and analyze your website’s SEO performance.

5. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing involves creating and sharing content on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, to attract attention, drive website traffic, and generate leads. The goal of social media marketing is to build a community around your brand and engage with your target audience.

Key benefits of social media marketing include increased brand awareness, boosted engagement, and rich insights and analytics. To implement a social media marketing strategy, you need to identify the right social media platforms for your target audience, create and share engaging content, interact with your followers, and track and analyze the performance of your social media campaigns.

6. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing involves partnering with influential individuals or content creators to promote your brand and products. Influencers have a large and engaged following on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, and can help you reach and engage your target audience.

Key benefits of influencer marketing include increased brand exposure, authentic content creation, and trust and credibility. To implement an influencer marketing strategy, you need to identify and research relevant influencers, establish partnerships or collaborations, create authentic and engaging content, and track and analyze the performance of your influencer campaigns.

7. Podcasting

Podcasting involves creating audio content that can be streamed or downloaded by listeners. Podcasts allow you to communicate with your audience in a more personal and engaging way, and can be a valuable addition to your digital marketing strategy.

Key benefits of podcasting include discoverability, authenticity, and sustainability. To implement a podcasting strategy, you need to identify your target audience and niche, plan and create compelling podcast episodes, promote your podcast through various channels, and track and analyze the performance of your podcast episodes.

8. Email Marketing

Email marketing involves sending targeted and personalized emails to your subscribers to nurture leads and drive conversions. Email marketing allows you to communicate directly with your audience and build strong relationships with them.

Key benefits of email marketing include relationship building, driving traffic to your website, and easy tracking. To implement an email marketing strategy, you need to build a subscriber list, segment your audience, create compelling email content, automate your email campaigns, and track and analyze the performance of your email campaigns.

9. Video Marketing

Video marketing involves creating and sharing videos to engage and educate your target audience. Videos can be used to showcase products, share tutorials, tell stories, and provide valuable information to your audience.

Key benefits of video marketing include boosting SEO, better retention, and enhanced reach. To implement a video marketing strategy, you need to identify your target audience and their preferences, plan and create engaging video content, optimize your videos for search engines, and track and analyze the performance of your videos.

By implementing these digital marketing strategies, you can improve your digital presence, attract new customers, and achieve your marketing goals. Remember to tailor these strategies to your business’s unique needs, objectives, and target audience.

Conclusion

Creating and implementing an effective digital marketing strategy is crucial for growing your business in today’s digital landscape. By following a systematic approach and leveraging various digital marketing strategies, you can improve your digital presence, attract new customers, and achieve your marketing goals.

Remember to start by building buyer personas, identifying your goals and the digital marketing tools you’ll need, and evaluating your existing digital channels and assets. Then, audit and plan your owned, earned, and paid media campaigns, and bring them together into a cohesive digital marketing strategy. Regularly track and analyze the performance of your campaigns, and make adjustments as needed to optimize their effectiveness.

By following these steps and implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, you can grow your business and stay ahead of the competition in today’s digital landscape.