Developing a Digital Marketing Strategy: 9 Steps to Boost Your Online Presence

Introduction

Every successful digital campaign is built on a solid strategy. Yet, nearly half of all organizations are missing this crucial foundation. Without a clear roadmap, your efforts can feel aimless and your team will struggle to see the bigger picture. Don’t let your business be part of this statistic. Whether you’re a digital marketing novice or a seasoned pro, our expert guidance will help you create a winning strategy.

What is a Digital Marketing Strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is a plan of action to achieve business goals via online marketing channels. It explains the “what” and “why” behind your efforts. Consider these key questions when developing your strategy:

• What are our goals?
• What are our objectives?
• Who is our target audience?
• What are our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
• What is our time frame?

This strategy guides your choice of digital platforms, media, data, and technology. A well-defined strategy is essential for the success of any digital marketing campaign or initiative.

Types of Digital Marketing

Before diving into strategy building, understand the digital marketing mix. Known as the digital marketing trifecta, it comprises earned, owned, and paid media:

1. Earned Media: Includes mentions in articles, social media shares, reposts, and reviews.
2. Owned Media: Encompasses your brand’s websites, blogs, and social media channels.
3. Paid Media: Covers PPC ads, display ads, retargeting ads, paid influencers, and social media ads.

Digital Marketing Tactics

Familiarity with the digital marketing trifecta leads to a deeper understanding of specific tactics:

• SEO and SEM: SEO (organic traffic) and SEM (paid traffic) determine your site’s search engine ranking. Tools like SEMrush aid in SEO research and reporting.
• Content Marketing: This includes all online content, such as videos, blog posts, and e-books, created to engage your audience.
• Social Media Marketing: Involves using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Snapchat to build an online community.
• Influencer Marketing: Leverages endorsements and product mentions from influencers to boost brand awareness and conversions.
• Email Marketing: A cost-effective way to reach prospects and customers through email.
• Online Advertising: Though potentially costly, online ads effectively drive traffic to your site.
• Website Marketing: Your website is your online home base and should stand out with unique design and engaging landing pages.
• Analytics: Provides valuable data and insights to improve your current and future strategies.
• Mobile Experience: Ensure your mobile experience is as seamless as your desktop experience, as up to 70% of internet traffic comes from mobile devices.

Steps to Create an Effective Digital Marketing Strategy

1. Perform Research and Analysis: Conduct thorough research, including a SWOT analysis, to understand your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Analyzing competitors can reveal opportunities for differentiation.
2. Define Your Goals, Audience, and Positioning: Clarify your goals and how they align with company objectives. Identify your target audience and craft your positioning strategy to persuade them to act. Example: Increase marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) by 20% among sales managers in the tech industry in North America using a competitive positioning strategy.
3. Create Buyer Personas: Develop fictional customer profiles to represent your target audience. Include demographics, firmographics, psychographics, behavioral patterns, and geographics to create messaging that resonates.
4. Outline Your Customer Journey: Map out every step a customer takes when interacting with your brand. This visualization helps improve the customer experience and identify key touchpoints.
5. Customize Your Digital Marketing Mix: Choose the digital marketing channels that will help achieve your goals. Determine the content and frequency for each channel.
6. Identify Budget Constraints: Detail your budget and determine which activities will be done in-house and which will require outsourcing. Obtain price quotes to ensure your strategy is financially feasible.
7. Set Your ROI and KPI Targets: Calculate your total spend and expected ROI. Set specific KPI targets, such as web traffic sources, leads, page views, cost per lead, returning visitors, conversion rate, and click-through rate.
8. Implement and Monitor Your Strategy: Ensure all activities stay on track and monitor your initiatives regularly. Use work management tools to keep your team organized and accountable.
9. Measure Results: Use analytics to measure your performance against KPI targets. Adjust your strategy based on what worked and what didn’t.

Conclusion

Successful digital marketing campaigns start with a well-crafted strategy. Whether aiming for brand recognition or conversions, thorough research and strategic planning are essential before engaging with your audience.

About the author

Umair Shahab works for BlocBelt as Head of Business Development and is a frequent writer at medium.com. BlocBelt is an IT company focusing on AI, Analytics, and Automation. Stay tuned with our latest developments at the following channels:

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