According to research, the global digital marketing industry grew 44% in the last year, making the industry now worth a whopping $100 billion dollars.
Say goodbye to newspaper ads and brochures, and welcome digital marketing plans that include social media marketing, digital advertising, search marketing, and content marketing.
A proper digital marketing plan can help you to build a relationship with prospects and turn them into loyal customers.
However, without a proper plan, you could get overwhelmed and waste precious time and money on pointless online ads with no objective.
So the problem is, how do you create a digital marketing plan that will actually work so that you can skyrocket your business and not waste your time and money?
Keep on reading as we cover everything there is to know about putting together a digital marketing plan that will boost your brand and your business.
Benjamin Franklin had it right when he said: "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail". Without a clear vision of what you want the outcome of your digital marketing plan to look like, you will just be spinning in circles with no success.
Take some time to go over your objectives, and ask yourself:
The more clear you are on your intentions, the more you can narrow in on achieving your digital marketing goals.
For example: Instead of saying "I want more visits to my website," say: "I want 25,000 views with a low bounce rate per month, four months from now."
Knowing your target audience will help you to develop an effective digital marketing strategy. When you are clear on who your buyer persona is, you are able to streamline your content around showing them that your brand can solve their problems.
This not only helps your audience to relate to your brand, but it also helps you to the power to connect on a deeper level with them when they know you understand them.
To do this, check your Facebook Audience Insights and your Google Analytics for the quantitative data. This is not a guessing game, your buyer persona needs to be based on factual evidence on who is actually following you.
Now that you have narrowed in on your buyer persona, you now need to know where to find them. Certain demographics will use specific social media platforms more than others, and other demographics you will only be able to target by using email campaigns.
There are some tricks to discovering the best way to reach your audience:
If you have some competitors doing well on social media, they are obviously doing something right. Take a look to see which platforms they are using, and who their audience is on each platform. This helps you to make sure you are not missing out on any opportunities to target the right audience.
If your content is more text-based, then opt for using Facebook, email marketing, Twitter, and Reddit. If your audience seems to be engaging more with your photos, then use Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.
When looking at your engagement and you notice that your videos are receiving a lot of views, then focus on creating videos on YouTube, and even Instagram TV (IGTV).
Or perhaps your audience doesn't use social media at all, then you need to focus more on Google Ads, blogging, and SEO.
Just because your audience likes reading your Instagram posts, does not mean that they will become subscribers to your email list and purchase your product.
Unfortunately, in today's "spammy" world, not many people are willing to give out their information very easily. In order to get their information for your subscription list, you need to provide them with some sort of incentive.
Essentially, you are offering them something for free in exchange for their contact information instead of their money. This is known as lead generation or "opt-in" and can be in the form of:
A webinar gives you a chance to display your energy, your expertise, and allows for a connection with your audience. It also is a great way to pump a product or service.
By creating a free course, you are offering a high value of information to solve their problems. All for the low price of just their contact information.
Ebooks are a great way to share your knowledge, without putting too much energy into it. This does not have to be very long, but you need to pack it full of value in order to keep your audience interested.
This is where social proof comes in, tell the subscriber that they will be joining thousands of other people who subscribe for weekly information that could make their lives better.
According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the need to belong is a huge motivator for people to join an online group. Everyone wants to feel accepted, so psychologically, an invitation to join a team or group is hard to resist.
A successful digital marketing plan is not something that will work overnight. It takes constant analysis, measurements, and adjustments in various areas to make it right.
The purpose of your strategy should be to achieve your marketing goals and get you to the next phase of growth for your business.
Want some help with designing your digital marketing plan? Check out our directory to find a professional digital marketer who can help you achieve your goals.
