5 Things to Know Before Creating Your Digital Marketing Strategy
Writing this blog, over the course of the semester, there is a lot I have learned as a marketer. Some of it, I knew, but some of it was new. Here are the top five things — in my opinion — every potential client should know before creating a digital marketing strategy.
- Understand Your Consumer First
With digital marketing, it is easy to send targeted advertisements to your consumers, making it essential to know them better in order to market effectively to them. Knowing your consumer is the subtle difference between one being advertised Lululemon leggings and Patagonia sleeping bags. Yoga I like, camping not so much. Subtle, but impactful.
Today, I saw an advertisement for Huggies Baby Diapers on Instagram. Since I don’t have a baby, I am definitely not the audience they want to use their resources targeting.
2. Don’t Stop At Promoting Products (Do More!)
Most brands promote their products on their social media accounts. While this is good, why stop there? I know I bring up Simon Sinek a lot, but the Golden Circle stands true. Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. With multiple substitutes available for the same product, consumers today are more likely to buy a product because a company stands for a cause they care about.
However, when it comes to cause-related marketing, companies need to choose a cause that connects with their brand image and causes they have supported in the past. Queer people don’t like a company who supports the LGBTQ+ community only during Pride Month in June. This stands true for any cause a company stands for only when it would benefit their revenue.
3. Newsjacking: Use With Care
While I was aware of the concept, I didn’t really know that it was called newsjacking until I read it in David Meerman Scott’s book “The New Rules of Marketing & PR”. Newsjacking is a good way to jump on the bandwagon and get noticed. But knowing how and when to do it is the difference between Oreo tweeting “you can still dunk in the dark” during the Superbowl in 2013 when the power went out and this which was just in poor taste:
4. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Email Marketing
Ever left something in your online shopping cart for a couple of days and then received a coupon for 20% off that purchase? When done right, email marketing is important and effective. Consumers now have the choice to opt out of cookies on websites. Email marketing provides a good, reliable source of first-party data. This comes back to my first point of knowing your consumer better in order to then show them advertisements they’re more likely to engage with.
5. Be Cautious with Influencer Marketing
Ryan Reynolds with Mint Mobile and Kanye West with Adidas show two very different ways influencer marketing could work. While it helps draw people towards your brand, it is essential to use this form of marketing with caution as the influencer’s image may be associated with your brand’s image. What they post on social media could be reflective of the brand, even when done unintentionally.
The Takeaway
People are always on their phones, use that to your advantage. Having a digital marketing plan should be a part of any marketing plan. What it comes down to is knowing your consumer well and using an omnichannel approach to market to them effectively.
