As a small business, or one just getting started, the digital marketing landscape can be a daunting one. You understand its importance, understand why it is beneficial, but knowing where to start and how to make the most of digital marketing can be overwhelming. In this blog we want to dispel the idea that it is ‘too difficult’ to get going and make a splash with digital marketing and offer some actionable tips and advice to get you headed down the right track.
The Difference Between a Marketing Strategy and a Digital Marketing Strategy
To kick things off, it is important to determine the difference between a marketing strategy and a digital marketing strategy, as well as how they interact with each other and work together.
Hubspot say there are three parts of any strategy: 1) a diagnosis of your challenge, 2) a guiding policy for dealing with the challenge, and 3) a set of targeted actions that are necessary to accomplish the policy. In terms of a Marketing Strategy this lays out a plan for achieving a specific goal. It is important to note that this STRATEGY is a broader plan and is not the same as marketing TACTICS, which are the avenues you will use to achieve the final goal laid out in the strategy. This is where a Digital Marketing Strategy comes in. The Marketing Strategy lays out the broad goals, aims at highlighting who the company is and what they sell, and sets the end point. The Digital Marketing Strategy becomes one of the tactics and elements you will use to reach the end point.
Digital Marketing Strategy … Or Digital Marketing Campaign?
It can be useful to think of your digital strategy in terms of separate campaigns. There will be an overarching plan which aligns with the broader Marketing Strategy but then you can break down the strategy into actionable digital campaigns with their own minor goals, linking to the major marketing goals.
For example, if a broad marketing strategy was to increase leads and sales through digital platforms, then you could devise a digital campaign aimed at increasing engagement on Facebook. This campaign could implement paid ads, content creation and conversation starting with the audience. The increased engagement will bring more potential customers to your page and as a result your page will grow, increasing the likelihood of leads being generated. This campaign could run alongside an SEO based campaign to bring more traffic to the company website, and both campaigns work in harmony to work toward the major marketing goals. The idea would be to have a number of campaigns on different platforms which help build on each-other and work cohesively to achieve the broader marketing goal. The little steps to get to the big step if you will.
What Do You Need to Get Started With a Digital Marketing Strategy?
As with most things, you start with the end point. What is the major goal you wish to achieve? This goal can be based on lead generation, conversions, customer service and indeed anything else which will help build the business into the future. It needs to be a SMART goal (Specific – Measurable – Attainable – Relevant – Time-based). Once you have the main goal you can break it down into actionable minor goals and get started devising the individual campaigns to achieve them.
After you have determined the goals and end point the focus will turn to the best ways to achieve it. Again, planning is the key here. You need to have clear ideas of who the company is? What the company’s story is? The tone of voice for the business. What you are actually trying to sell. Everyone needs to be on the same page and pulling in the same direction. Who are you and what do you do? Or Who do you want to be, and what do you want to be known for? This is the marker which will align everyone and keep them on the same path, headed to the same destination.
We go into more depth breaking down how to build a Digital Marketing Strategy in THIS BLOG.