Writing a digital marketing strategy is more than just writing about products and services. It’s thinking about what your company offers and how you can position yourself as an expert in that field. It’s defining goals and strategies for achieving those goals.
It’s figuring out who your audience is and which messages will appeal most to them. And it’s developing solid messaging and content that will connect with people and strengthen your brand image.
Writing a digital marketing strategy is also one of the hardest things you will ever do as a business owner. You have to think hard about what you are trying to achieve, and then figure out how to get there.
That’s why many entrepreneurs fail when they try to develop their own style or personal touch in their advertising. Even bigger brands lose interest once they realize that creating their own voice takes work and effort.
Now that you have an idea of what types of content your website or channel should produce, how these contents should be organized, and what messages and campaigns you want to convey, the next step is to actually write down all of this information and organize it into something meaningful and useable.
If you find yourself struggling to make your ideas sound coherent and logical, then there may be some other priorities in your business that need attention before creating your digital marketing strategy. You can always return to this later!
At the very least you can start with making lists, grouping similar items together, and organizing them by degree or level. For example, if your site wants to promote new products, do it at the product level first, then the introductory price level, and finally the reduced price level.
One of the biggest mistakes business owners make when writing their strategy is not giving enough examples. They may try to be very general, but they lack detail.
If you are trying to convince someone about something, chances are they have seen it done before!
By using real life examples, you will clearly show how your idea works. By doing this, them seeing the proof helps solidify the argument.
Digital marketing strategies are no different. If you do not include information in your plan, then people cannot apply what you want them to.
Provide at least two examples of your digital marketing strategy or risk being ignored.
As we have discussed before, being an experienced marketer is great, but it is not a prerequisite for having a successful business. Being an expert takes a lot of work and time that most people do not have. Therefore, unless you are very gifted with money, I would suggest trying to be a smart marketer instead.
Being a smart marketer does not mean doing things like buying expensive marketing tools or investing in flashy advertisements. These are all fine if you really feel they will help your business succeed, but they are not must-haves.
Instead, look into ways to improve your digital presence through social media, search engine optimization (SEO), paid advertising, and more.
You can start small by adding some of these strategies to your repertoire and then advancing once you see their benefits.
A well-written marketing strategy includes defining your target market, determining what messages will appeal to them, and creating content that fits their needs.
Your marketing message should be relevant and clearly expressed. If you try to talk about things that people already know, then how could it matter to them? They have heard this information before!
Content that no one wants to read goes out of its way to make an impact nothing more than self-advertising. Great advertisements tell a story or bring in some sort of theme, but they always achieve that in the final seconds.
Take Google’s “Google It!” slogan. While it may not sound like much, it conveyed a strong message and got a reaction. People laughed, shared the link, and started using the tool productively.
Your business can use a similar technique by creating engaging, informative content that gets reactions.
Writing a digital marketing strategy is not like writing any other type of business document. You do not want your potential customers to read over or even completely lose track of what you are trying to say.
Your audience will be thinking about how they can use your services before you have time to tell them who you are and what you offer.
So, make sure that your message gets through quickly!
Also, keep it short and simple. The internet has plenty of “experts” that could give you a longer explanation but whose advice people disregarded. A short, straightforward statement will get rid of most doubts as to whether you know what you are talking about.
It also helps if you are the kind of person who doesn’t waste time with unnecessary details.
After deciding what kind of content you will produce, how you will promote your content, and where you will publish this content, it is time to link all these pieces together into one overarching digital marketing strategy.
A good way to do this is by creating an internal or external linking structure. This can be done through using keywords in various ways, having linked pages and domains, etc.
For example, if your goal is to increase traffic to your site, then start adding links to your domain from relevant sources. If your goal is to gain followers on Twitter, create a profile and use that to connect to others.
And once you have connected everything, make sure to keep up-to-date! Avoid letting months go by without changing anything about your online presence.
After reviewing your current strategies, you will need to make an adjustment or two. If your website’s main goal is to generate business through sales, then it is time to look into other ways of generating traffic and interest.
Running a social media account is not a one-and-done activity anymore. People expect you to be active every day, if not constantly, which can easily burn out someone who started using the platform years ago.
By adding additional sources of content that focus more on educational information, like YouTube videos, you will create an even bigger buzz.
You can also start creating blogs and engaging in discussion forums to draw in new readers. Having multiple channels allows you to spread your digital marketing message across different platforms without having to develop new strategies completely.
Another way to update your strategy is by investing in new technology. Different software packages such as Google Analytics, Adobe Photoshop, and Slack have become standard tools for most professional marketers.
Why should I invest in these apps? Because they are free (or very inexpensive) and their use grows rapidly.
Now that you have an idea of what your website should do, it is time to measure how well you are doing in achieving those goals!
The first step towards improving anything is measuring it. You will need to find ways to track your online efforts so that you can make changes and see results.
There are many different types of metrics to monitor, such as visits, bounce rates, engagement, conversions, etc.
But one of the most important things to track is revenue or profit. By tracking this, you can determine if your strategies are working and help bring about improvements where needed.
