There’s no question, in 2019, a big part of your Marketing Plan is Digital.
Consumers and businesses are always On-line. When you are growing your own business, this ever-
evolving landscape can be overwhelming.
So, what is a Digital Marketing Plan?
“It is a series of actions that help you achieve your companies’ goals through online marketing
channels. These include, paid, organic, owned media and can all support a common campaign goal
for your business.”
It’s a Plan of Action! For example, it could be a plan to hit your desired goal of generating 30% more
leads via your website. It will consider SEO, analytics, Social Media, Goals, and Metrics.
How does a Digital Marketing Plan benefit you?
– To attract, convince, convert and make your customers fall in love with your product /service.
– It will plan all the strategies and actions to reach your target market.
– To segment your marketing campaign to provide value at every stage.
How can I use it in my Business?
According to a ‘Managing Digital Marketing’ study by Smart Insights, 46% of brands don’t have a
defined digital marketing strategy. 16% do have a strategy but haven’t yet integrated it into their
marketing activity. But, if you don’t have a plan in place, how can you expect to grow and innovate,
to measure meaningful results and to learn from past mistakes?
So, it’s time to start crafting your Digital Marketing Plan or getting in a professional. Here are our top
tips for creating a meaningful, effective Plan
1- Set your Objective.
What is your mission? You need to know what you want and set KPI's on how you will measure
success. e.g. google analytics.
2- Analyse the past.
What worked before, what mistakes can you learn from and what was the feedback. Use this
information to benchmark your success this time.
3- Spy on your Competitors.
How are they using digital media? What is working for them? Look at their SERPS, Social Media and
Website. Use this information in your Plan.
4-Know your audience.
Speak their language, get inside their heads and find out what motivates them. Start by listing your
demographic info such as age, gender and location of your audience. What do they want to see from
you?
5-Identify your means.
How are you going to do this? We mean, Budget, what digital channels you will use and who will
deliver it. Audit your existing channels and plan from there. E.g. email, referral traffic, social media.
6- Plan and Review
Use all the information to structure your plan. Use a digital marketing Calendar to structure it.
Review your plan regularly and identify changes needed, perhaps a monthly review.
7- Measure
Digital Marketing Plans are quantifiable and measurable. Use SMART as performance indicators.
A great example of a good Digital Marketing Plan comes from Wayfair.
A Home furnishing and decor business with an innovative Instagram Strategy.
Instagram allows companies to show their followers a more intimate side of the brand. Its more
personal and often gives insights on the business, showing off employees and events that make the
organization what it is.
What Wayfair has done isn’t just about nice photos and company culture. They have turned it into a
Sales Window.
Using Instagram’s tags, Wayfair has taken amazing interior shots and tagged with product and price.
Consumers can not only see how it looks but how much will cost, and they can buy right out of
Instagram!
Conclusion
Don’t jump in getting your business on as many platforms as possible. You need specific goals and a
clear plan of action.
A digital marketing strategy will give you results because you have the right content, going to the
right place, with your specific audience in mind.
