As a business, your ultimate goal is growth, so you need to leverage all the available tools to make sure this happens. And one of the most important of these tools we are talking about is digital marketing.
The way you approach digital marketing is strongly related to your business goals, so there is no way for someone to draw out an exact recipe for success. But even though digital marketing is very versatile and flexible, there are some aspects you should always consider when putting together your campaign. These factors are the ones that will help you determine how to tailor your campaign so that it has the best chance of success.
If you are looking for a strategy for your business, but don’t know exactly where to start, this guide will help get you on track and keep you focused on the aspects that really matter. Keep in mind that you are the one who knows their business better than anyone, so ultimately it is up to you to decide which direction to go.
Have your goals clearly defined
Digital marketing can help you achieve a number of goals, including conversions, more followers, more likes, faster email responses, and ranking high in Google searches, but you can’t expect all of these from a single campaign.
The options are endless, but in order to draw out a plan that is successful, you will need to settle on one primary goal. Focusing on too many targets at once can make you fall out of track and get overwhelmed, so try to take things one step at a time.
We recommend focusing on brand awareness at first and simply getting consumers to know who you are, because if they’ve never heard of you, getting them to actually make a purchase is going to be ten times harder. If you’re already pretty popular within your niche, then focus on goals such as conversions, lead generation, and gaining more followers.
Each of these goals has particular sets of steps to follow in order for your campaign to be successful, so make sure you know what you want to achieve before you start drawing out a plan.
Develop a realistic plan
After you’ve determined what your ultimate goal is, it’s time to start drawing out a plan that helps you get there. This includes deciding which digital marketing channels to use, content mapping, and editorial calendars. The key is to work smart, not hard, so look for some content management tools to help you with this part of your journey.
Try to set some ideal outcomes but keep them realistic and don’t forget to leave some room for the unpredictable. Plan strategically, while being flexible as well. It may sound complicated, but it’s not. All you have to do is plan your deadlines in a way that allow for some time fluctuations. Don’t fill out every hour of your schedule and try to avoid cramping things up in a tight timeframe.
Aspects such as current social and political events or new technologies that can sway your strategy in a particular direction are often happening unexpectedly, so you’ll want to have enough room for adjustments if that happens.
Track performance and understand where your money goes
In order to measure your goals and understand where you are headed, you need to find the right metrics to analyze. These are usually called KPIs and they will help you understand which of your marketing decisions are best at helping you come closer to your ideal results and where to make improvements.
To determine which KPIs to use, here are some questions you need to ask yourself:
- What exactly am I trying to measure?
- How is this KPI related to my end goal?
- How is this related to the actual user experience?
- How often do I need to measure and report certain metrics?
One tricky aspect about KPIs is remembering that, even though it is data that you are measuring, you are also focusing on human experience, so don’t forget to view your traffic as not only numbers but humans as well. This is what is going to set you apart from the competition.
Learn how to create an effective sales funnel
If you haven’t heard about sales funnels by now, they are basically a blueprint that outlines every step of the buyer’s journey, to determine how they get from not knowing your product to actually purchasing it. It usually contains the following steps that can be adjusted to fit your particular needs:
- Outreach: this is the first step of the buyer’s journey and includes the channels by which they discover you. It can be anything from Google ads, landing pages, and videos to infographics or written content.
- Conversion: this is how you convince potential customers that your product adds value to their life. You can do so through social media, case studies, or informational blog posts.
- Closing: once the customer made their decision, it’s time to close on them. This can be done through email series, reviews, and questionnaires.
- Retention: congratulations, you’ve earned a new customer. Now it’s time to keep them loyal through exclusive offers, contests, email newsletters, and surveys.
As Jet Saini and Dean Hunt of Drip Digital point out, the most important part of a sales funnel is the top of your funnel, where the marketing happens. You will want to ensure you keep customers engaged and grow your brand awareness if you want a high chance of success.
Find ways to integrate multiple digital marketing channels
To get the attention of your target audience, you need to be where consumers are. Study the market and identify which are the channels your ideal customers are most likely to respond to, and then focus on those.
Are most of your consumers spending time on Facebook? Then direct your resources towards Facebook ads and being active on the platform. Are they more likely to take advice from a public person? Then consider influencer marketing as the core of your campaign. All of this takes time to determine, but it will be worth it in the end.