Does your business need a digital marketing strategy?
Digital Consultants • July 7, 2021
There are many benefits of digital marketing that will transform the way your business can reach and engage your target market
The majority of consumers conduct research online and a significant number of people shop online. How do you reach these consumers? The answer is digital marketing. Digital marketing refers to 'Achieving marketing objectives through applying digital technologies and media.' These might include Company websites, Mobile apps, Social media pages, Search Engines, Advertising, and Email. Many businesses understand the importance of having a digital marketing strategy to effectively reach and engage their target consumers online.
No Strategy, No Problem!
There are several common problems that can arise if your business does not have a digital marketing strategy. Some of the most common include:
- Not having any direction or clear strategic goal for what you want to achieve online in terms of gaining new customers or deepening relationships with existing ones
- Not knowing your online audience or the relative performance of your key competitors
- Losing market share to any existing and start-up competitors
- Having a weak online value proposition i.e., you are not engaging your audience through different channels (Omnichannel Marketing) such as search, social, email marketing, and a blog
- Insufficient resources devoted to planning and executing
- Money and time wasted through duplication
Why Your Business Needs Digital Marketing
There are many benefits of digital marketing that will transform the way your business can reach and engage your target market. Here are some of the top reasons your business needs digital marketing:
- It is the most powerful form of marketing. With the right strategies and effective implementation, small businesses can increase their reach and conversions in just a matter of months.
- It is the most cost-effective way to market your business. With affordable digital marketing tactics, small businesses can get more for their marketing spend and produce quicker results.
- It is the most measurable form of marketing. With analytics you can see which tactics are working and which are not and then adjust your campaigns accordingly for greater success and to improve future campaigns.
- It allows you to target your ideal buyers by ensuring that the right consumers are viewing your content.
- It allows you to improve your visibility online and connect with people on mobile devices, tablets, and desktop computers which is important since most buyers begin their search online.
- Using relevant keywords that help describe your product or service offering can help you bring more targeted traffic to your site.
Types of Strategies
There are various types of digital marketing you should be aware of. Some are highlighted here:
- Site improvement (SEO) - The science and specialty of getting your site pages to rank higher in SERPs or “search engine results page”. These are the pages that Google and other search engines show in response to a user’s search query.
- Pay Per Clic (PPC) - A digital marketing channel that businesses use to drive traffic and conversions from search engines. Pay-per-click is an online advertising model where advertisers run ads on a platform such as Google Ads and pay a fee every time someone clicks on it. Businesses use PPC to drive traffic, sales, or inquiries from their target audience.
- Social Media Marketing (SMM) - Regularly posting of convincing and effective content will prompt it being shared by individuals via web-based media and make your social media presence inviting and relevant.
- Content Marketing - The process of creating and distributing digital assets (e.g., blog posts, videos, e-books, and technical and solution briefs) is a lead generation tool that increases brand awareness, helps educate customers and potential customers about your products and services, builds stronger customer relationships, and create a sense of community around your brand.
- Email Marketing - A form of marketing that can make the customers on your email list aware of new products, discounts, and other services, and educate your audience on the value of your brand or keep them engaged between purchases.
How to Create a Good Digital Marketing Strategy
A marketing strategy is a plan for reaching specific marketing-related goals in a focused and achievable way. It takes into consideration your overall business goals, what your business is currently doing well, and what might be missing to accomplish your objectives. Within that strategy are digital marketing campaigns which are the building blocks and actions that move you toward a specific goal. Steps to create a good digital marketing strategy are:
- Create buyer personas that are accurate and highly-valuable for your business.
- Identify your goals and the digital marketing tools you'll need.
- Evaluate your existing digital channels and assets.
- Audit and plan your owned, earned and paid media campaigns. What is currently working? What is not? This will set you up for success when planning future content.
- Bring your digital marketing campaign together. A digital strategy template can help. This template will walk you through your business summary and initiatives, help you build your target market and competitor information, and map out the actions you’re going to take to achieve your goal over a period of time.
If you need help developing a strategy or creating content, our digital marketing company is here to help. We have a free, editable PDF of a template for a marketing strategy that you may use to develop a digital marketing strategy for your business.
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TikTok is a hard field for many to navigate. The content needs to perform well in the first 3 seconds or else people keep scrolling, and your video stops being pushed. Instagram Reels are the same. Content needs tell a story, be fast moving, intriguing to the eye, and all under 10 seconds. The exception is when you are doing an informative video. These tend to be longer. For a typical Reel, or TikTok, however, stick to the above suggestions. This can seem like a steep undertaking, but a great way to accomplish this is to jump on trends. Use popular sounds, copy movements, and add your own info to make it work for your market. BAM! The result is a quick and easy video. If you aren’t active on your TikTok or Reels page you may struggle with finding the content to use for inspiration, but again, don’t worry! It’s easy to find! Just type key words associated to your niche and they will pop up! For example, “Social Media Tips”, “Social Media Manager”, “Mortgage Broker” etc. If you ever feel stuck, send us a message and we can help you get your creative hat on!
Everyone loves a good story. Stories are powerful. Every memorable story is built on a simple framework: A hero has a problem, meets a guide who gives them a plan and calls them to action. Failure would be devastating but the hero is guided to success.
