For any business to achieve its digital marketing goals, the first step is to create a clear strategy that outlines targets and the steps that need to be taken to achieve them. A digital marketing strategy serves as a guide on what online actions will be taken and the different channels that will be used to realise these goals.
Each business is unique, which means that a strategy that worked for one business may not work for another. When drafting a digital marketing strategy, a lot of things should be considered to ensure it serves its purpose.
Great strategies are specific and are realistic; make sure as you get down to drafting one, you are sure and clear of your goals. Goals can be short-term, medium-term or long-term. All these depend upon what your business is looking for. However, it is never a bad idea to have different goals as long as they are realistic.
Crucial Steps In Creating a Great Strategy
If you have been thinking of creating a digital marketing strategy for your business, here is a simple step-by-step guide.
Step #1: Create your buyer personas: It would be quite a tough job marketing your products or services online if you aren’t sure of the people you are targeting. Start by creating a buyer persona. These are the people
you think would be interested in the products or services your business is offering. You can rely on your existing customers data to know the kind of people who are interested in your business.
Step #2: Set clear goals: As mentioned earlier, a great digital marketing strategy should have clear goals and targets. Define your goals and the timelines withing which you want to achieve them. They will serve as a guide as you embark on your online marketing campaigns. Again, the goals should be realistic and measurable.
Step #3: Look at your past or current strategies: It is always good to audit your current strategies assuming you already have one to be clear on what worked and what didn’t work. This helps in identifying areas of improvement. Assess the different types of media and understand how each of them contributes to your online marketing campaigns.
Step #4: Create a budget: Be clear on the much you plan to spend on online marketing as your goals are dependent on the amount of money you have set aside for the online campaigns. As you create the budget, outline the resources you are going to use and how each of them contributes into realisation of these goals. If your plan is to carry out different campaigns, set a budget for each of them to avoid over spending on one and ignoring the others.