Right off the bat, digital marketing is not just about creating a website or social media account and hoping for the best. Digital marketing encompasses a wide range of strategies and techniques designed to reach and engage with customers in the digital space.
Creating a cohesive digital marketing strategy that aligns with your business goals and maximizes ROI (Returns on Investment) can be a complex process. However, thanks to this article you will learn all about digital marketing, and how to employ winning strategies to the success of your business.
Keep focus…
What is Digital Marketing?
This is the use of digital channels to promote products and services to customers. It involves the use of a wide range of strategies and techniques designed to reach and engage with customers in the digital space.
From search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to email marketing and social media campaigns, digital marketing is a multifaceted approach to promoting a business or product online.
According to Investopedia, any digital marketing strategy is composed of sources and receivers. You or your employed advertisers are commonly referred to as sources, while recipients of the targeted ads are the receivers.
As you create your targeted ads or a marketing campaign, there are 5 main stages you will have to go through to ensure an effective digital marketing strategy.
Below, is a simple infographic with the stages you will need to employ for a successful digital marketing strategy:
With definitions well understood, let’s dive into the main steps of digital marketing:
General Steps to Consider as You Start Digital Marketing
Follow these, step-by-step…
#1. Define your business goals
Identify your business objectives, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or driving sales.
So how will you define your goals?
The best way of defining goals in a digital marketing strategy is to have a business plan.
And yes, I know creating a business plan is quite hectic.
However, you will have to weigh between seeing your business succeed and having a shoddy marketing strategy that will not sum up to anything.
Here is a quick tutorial on how to structure a professional business plan.
If you can’t do it yourself, consider hiring an expert who will work with you, making a business plan that will point out important details such as a SWOT analysis, your Unique Selling Proposition (USP), business goals, marketing and financial strategies, etc.
Attention: Affiliate Marketing in Kenya with Amazon – Full Guide
#2. Identify your target audience
Who are you targeting as a business?
Are they farmers, bank owners, forex investors, campus students etc.?
Knowing who your audience is will save you from shedding tears after a marketing strategy goes sour. Once you know who you are targeting, your work is made easier. For instance, if you decide to use PPC advertising, targeting a small group of like-minded people will achieve more results than targeting a very broad and unspecific online population.
Determine who your ideal customers are, their demographics, interests, and behaviour patterns. This will help you tailor your digital marketing campaigns to reach and engage with them effectively.
#3. Choose your digital marketing channels
Numerous marketing channels are out there, and you don’t need to use all of them. All you need is two or three that work out for you and employ the best strategies to make conversions.
A few popular strategies in digital marketing include:
- Social Media – Here, you can use your social media accounts to promote your business. If your socials are not strong, don’t worry. Here is a brief tutorial on social media growth and marketing strategies. Popular social media channels to employ include:
- TikTok
- WhatsApp Business
- Email Marketing – According to Smart Insights, email marketing is still ranked as the most effective marketing channel, beating out social media, SEO, and affiliate marketing. Sending regular emails to your customers will go a long way toward building a good customer-business relationship. Here is a guide.
- Paid Advertising – This is simply paying a platform such as AdSense, Bing, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook or any other PPC platform to market your goods or services on your behalf.
- Content Marketing with SEO – Once you start a business, you will need an online presence, and part of this is having a website and publishing relevant content regularly. More on this later on in this article.
If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business
Bill Gates
#4. Develop your messaging
Once you settle on your preferred marketing channel, you will need to craft an appealing message that resonates well with your target audience.
Say, for instance, your personas are recent college graduates looking for jobs, your message should target their immediate needs, i.e., getting a job.
If you, for instance, provide a CV or Resume crafting service at an affordable fee, you will probably make a lot of conversions. Further, utilizing the necessary keywords will push more clients into purchasing your goods or services online.
Digital Marketing Institute, lists several power points that you should follow when crafting your marketing message.
Relevant points include:
- Keep your message brief but captivating.
- Add personalization
- Add a sneak peek of what to expect
- Use a rhetorical question, especially at the beginning of the message.
- Utilize Action verbs, e.g., “Join Our Power House Community and Gain Skills!”
- Include emojis – They add a human touch to your message.
#5. Create a content plan
As you delve into marketing, you will soon realize that you can utilize more than one marketing channel. Content writing and Search engine Optimization (SEO) will work wonders for you.
As you start writing and pushing helpful content, your business will start ranking higher in SERPs, and consequently making conversions for your site.
So how many times should you publish content on your company website?
Marketing Insider Group did a survey and discovered that for any company, the SEO sweet spot is 11 articles per month.
Further, they explained publishing more than 11 posts per month, increases traffic by 3.5 times in comparison to those companies that only blogged once a month.
#6. Implement and measure your campaigns
Implement your digital marketing campaigns across your chosen channels, and use data analytics to track and measure your campaign performance.
Blot out what is not working for you and focus on what is bringing in conversions.
If YouTube ads are generating lower than email marketing, then by all means, drop that channel and focus on what is working.
However, remember that each channel has its own rules and therefore, you may want to consider a change of strategy before dropping it entirely.
#7. Review and adjust your strategy
Keep reviewing your digital marketing strategies and techniques to ensure it aligns with your business goals and maximizes your ROI.
According to Neil Patel, every 1$ spent on email marketing (statistically speaking) should yield $36.
In simple terms…
Return on Investment is crucial to the survival of your investment. Whatever you spend on marketing should be compensated for in your daily or monthly returns.
This is just a sneak peek into a cohesive digital marketing strategy for your business. Following the above steps will work to maximize your ROI. Remember to be flexible and adaptable as digital marketing channels and tactics are constantly evolving.
Keep in touch for more on marketing.
Thank you for highlighting the importance of networking and building connections in the business world. Collaborations and partnerships can significantly impact one’s money-making potential.