What Is a Digital Marketing Strategy?
A digital marketing strategy is an action plan to achieve your business’s goals. The digital marketing plan includes 6 steps.
Most businesses know that having a digital marketing strategy is an ideal way to reach their target audience, but it can be complex and time-consuming.
The solution is the next-generation digital marketing strategy framework, PIEARM™.
All Marketing Must Include a Digital Strategy
50% of business owners and inexperienced marketers participate in random acts of digital marketing with no strategy.
“I need a website or I need an app. We want to do SEO, and let’s try social media.” These statements are common and allow a company to feel like they are going to accomplish something. In reality, companies are busy working but not progressing.
Without a digital strategy, digital marketing is a waste of time and money.
PIEARM™ is an acronym for plan, implement, execute, analyze, report, and measure – a six-step strategy for achieving success in your digital marketing campaigns.
PIEARM™
A 6 Step Strategy for Achieving Digital Marketing Success
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Step 1: Planning
Planning includes SMART goals, market positioning, a SWOT analysis, market segmentation, building a buyer persona and customer search intent research.
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Step 2: Implementation
Implementation focuses on creating content including website content, ad content, video content, photography, social media content, press releases and more.
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Step 3: Execution
We align people, processes and technology to help companies increase revenue using marketing automation, strategic web design, SEO, social and paid media.
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Step 4: Analysis
During our analysis, we review the data we collect to uncover valuable information about users, markets and business opportunities and evaluate performance.
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Step 5: Reporting
Our reporting then organizes the data into customized informational summaries to highlight specific KPIs and provides easy to understand performance dashboards.
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Step 6: Measuring
Marketing ROI is how we measure the results of a campaign. Based on those results, we provide actionable items to improve the plans, processes and results.
Step 1: Planning
Planning includes:
- SMART goals.
- Market positioning.
- A SWOT analysis.
- Market segmentation.
- Building a buyer persona.
- Search intent analysis.
SMART Goals
SMART is an acronym that refers to Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based goals. SMART goals are defined, structured and trackable with clear objectives and milestones.
Specific
Your digital marketing goals should be specific, meaning they are detailed and clearly defined. If you want to increase sales or website traffic with digital marketing, define the goals with specific numbers.
Measurable
Digital marketing goals should be easy to measure using quantifiable data. Goals like stronger brand recognition or increased product awareness aren’t measurable. Examples of measurable goals include generating 20 new email newsletter signups or 30 new contact form leads per month.
Achievable
There’s nothing wrong with being optimistic about your digital marketing campaigns, but you should create goals that are realistically achievable. You can’t expect to grow your small business into a Fortune 500 company overnight.
Relevant
No two businesses have the exact same needs, so it’s important that your digital marketing goals are relevant to your business’ needs. A real estate agency, for example, may seek additional leads from prospective home buyers, and an e-commerce business that sells dresses would want to target women.
Time-Based
Finally, your digital marketing objectives should be time-based. Attracting 30 new customers, for instance, doesn’t specify a time. It takes time to achieve a goal. And without a time frame, this isn’t an effective way to measure success.
Creating SMART goals will help to make your digital strategy a success.
Market Positioning
Benefits
Does your product provide unique features or benefits to the buyer in exceptional ways?
Price
Does your product cost less than your competitors?
Quality
Is your product higher quality than your competitors’ products?
Use
Can your product be used in more ways than your competitors’ products?
Market positioning helps shape consumer perception about a brand.
SWOT Analysis
Internal Assessment
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Strength
Strengths list everything done right either individually or as an organization. - W
Weaknesses
Weaknesses are aspects of your business that reduce your ability to win.
External Assessment
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Opportunities
Opportunities are factors that represent why your business is likely to prosper. - T
Threats
Threats are factors that could place your business at risk for failure.
Strengths
These are the factors within your organization that lend themselves to its success. To determine strengths, ask yourself what your company does well and how those abilities will enhance your potential business.
Weaknesses
It’s great to be enthusiastic about your business idea, but you also have to be realistic. Examine the prospective business closely for internal weak points and consider how to eliminate or minimize them.
Opportunities
Opportunities are external positive factors that can affect your business. For example, they can include weak competition in your niche, growth in your particular market that increases demand, and technological changes that make it cheaper or easier to deliver your product or service.
Threats
Threats are external negative factors that can undermine your potential business. For example, a home renovation business can rise or fall based on the overall strength of the local real estate market or an economic downturn.
A SWOT analysis is a key step to create a successful digital strategy.
A SWOT analysis is essential to a digital strategy. See swot analysis examples.
Market Segmentation
Market segmentation helps define the ideal target audience and customer.
Build Buyer Personas
A buyer persona is a representation of your targeted customer base. Creating buyer personas requires research and documenting your ideal customer’s background, problems and goals. It’s imperative to define how a customer benefits and how you overcome their objections.
Creating buyer personas allows you to get to know your customers better. It helps produce the appropriate messaging that resonates and converts visitors into customers.
Step 2: Implementation
Implementation focuses on creating content including website content, ad content, video content, photography, social media content, press releases and more.
Strategic Content Creation
Step 3: Execution
We align people, processes and technology to help companies increase revenue using marketing automation, strategic web design, SEO, social and paid media.
Align People, Processes and Technology
- Marketing Automation
- Strategic Web Design
- Search Engine Optimization
- Search Engine Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
Step 4: Analysis
Analysis includes reviewing the data we collect to uncover valuable information about:
- Users
- Markets and business opportunities
- Performance evalution
Discover Valuable Information
Step 5: Reporting
Our reporting then organizes the data into customized informational summaries to highlight specific KPIs and provides easy to understand performance dashboards.
Performance Dashboards With KPIs
Step 6: Measuring
Marketing ROI is how we measure the results of a campaign. Based on those results, we provide actionable items to improve the plans, processes and results.
Calculate Your Marketing ROI
Action Items Improve Plans and Results
How to Increase the Impact of Your Digital Marketing Strategy
For sure, businesses around the world have suffered significantly, thanks to the pandemic that affected virtually every aspect of our lives. And as much as we hate to say it, the effects of the pandemic are going to be apparent for years to come, a fact that should prompt everyone, and more so marketers, to be proactive in how they plan for the future.
For marketers, it is time to revamp your marketing strategies to ensure you are well prepared to take your marketing efforts to the next level. Whether it is automating communication processes or exploring new channels, here are marketing resolutions you can adopt to boost your impact:
Evaluate Your Marketing Strategy Often
As a marketer, it is your obligation to keep an eye on evolving consumer trends and the social, economic, and political factors that drive them. This involves, among other things, updating targeting, adjusting creative, and revising ad placements.
By evaluating your strategy frequently, you are able to address issues as they come up, which ensures you are up to speed with the needs of customers.
Marketers are expected to be agile, which means that they cannot afford to rest on their laurels at any moment.
The market is ever on the move, and you ought to move with it by keeping your ears on the ground for any current developments.
Increase Customer Lifetime Value
Retaining existing customers is relatively easy compared to finding new ones. Here, be sure to leverage the excellent relationship you have with your existing customers to support your marketing campaign and drive business growth. A few things you need to consider to increase customer value include:
- Identify high-value customers
- Engage your clients on all platforms
- Build a lookalike audience
Once you are able to get a grip of your customers by addressing their needs appropriately and in a timely fashion, you can be sure to retain them for the long term.
Use Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics is quite efficient in measuring and boosting return on investment (ROI). Leverage the data collected through algorithm and datasets to analyze and predict consumer behavior to your advantage. This technology is indispensable in marketing because it allows you to identify leads to customers who are likely to purchase a product or seek a service.
For your marketing efforts, use predictive analytics to plan and develop marketing strategies that are sure to produce results. In any case, marketing is all about understanding customer preferences and needs so that you can offer services that accurately address their immediate problems, and that is precisely what predictive analytics do.
Leverage Automation Technology
Automation has become an integral tool in marketing due to its ability to perform repetitive tasks, allowing you to focus on more complex activities. With the automation industry expected to grow to 6.4 billion by 2024, more businesses are integrating it into their marketing efforts to increase growth.
With automation, you can easily manage email lists, house images and documents, automate customer service operations, and perform other numerous tasks. Take time to identify services that can be performed without human intervention and automate them.
Create Content that Resonates with Your Audience
Consumers tend to disassociate from brands that bombard them with ads and emails that provide no value.
Make sure you offer personalized content for your audience to make your brand stand out as you seek to establish a connection with your customers.
Remember content is the cornerstone of your marketing campaign and should be created with the target audience in mind.
While here, keep in mind that your content should be user-centric, valuable, and relevant.
When content is sensitive to the needs of consumers, you can rest assured your emails will not be sent to spam, which is definitely good for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions About A Digital Marketing Strategy
Digital marketing is a complex subject. One of the top questions we are often asked is “what is digital marketing?”. For those of you who may have questions about what digital marketing is and how it works, here are some of the most frequently asked questions about digital marketing.
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is explained as the art and science of promoting your business online. It includes the use of digital channels such as websites, social media, email, and search engines to reach your target market.
What are the benefits of digital marketing?
The benefits of digital marketing include increased exposure, improved customer engagement, and increased sales.
What is a content strategy?
A content strategy is a plan for what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. It includes the creation of engaging, relevant, and useful content that will appeal to your target market.
What are Marketing materials?
Marketing materials are anything you’ll use to promote your business. This includes website content, social media posts, email newsletters, and brochures.
What is a brand strategy?
A brand strategy is a plan for how you want your business to be perceived by the public. It includes the development of a unique brand identity and the use of marketing materials that reflect that identity.
What is search engine optimization?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the systematic act of improving the ranking of your website in search engine results pages (SERPs). It involves optimizing your website content and structure and building links to your site from other high-quality websites.
What is a landing page?
A landing page is a web page that’s designed to convert visitors into customers. It usually contains a form or a call to action that encourages the visitor to take action.
What is lead generation?
To generate leads is to capture information from potential customers in order to identify and qualify them as potential leads. This usually involves the use of forms or quizzes on landing pages or websites.
What is email marketing?
Email marketing is the process of sending out promotional emails to your subscribers. It can be used to promote your products or services, announce new features or offers, or simply keep in touch with your customers.
What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing is the process of using social media channels to promote your business. It includes the creation of engaging content, the use of social media ads, and the establishment of relationships.
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