Creating a Digital Marketing Strategy – How to Know Where to Start

Less than a decade ago, marketing tasks were relatively easy. With a good analog marketing strategy on print, radio and television, you as a business owner could be assured of reaching a wide audience. However, the rise of the digital age has completely transformed the way in which you, as a business owner, marketing professional, CEO or sales professional can connect with your target customers.

Traditionally, the goal of marketing was to inform your customers about your brand, and those who were interested would learn more about you, and this would naturally lead to more clients and sales. This method of casting a wide net was not only costly, but also highly inefficient and wasteful. Today’s digital world requires efficiency and agility so that you can target businesses and individuals with ease.

Understand Your Audience

The first step in formulating a digital marketing strategy is to comprehensively understand your target audience, and ensure that their expectations and needs are well understood and met by your company. With the rise of data and analytics, it is now possible to acquire this information and prepare a marketing strategy that makes this connection. Not only will you understand your clients better, but you would be able to design a strategy that effectively and efficiently reaches the specific customers at the right time.

Simplify Your Message

You need to know and understand what your customers are looking for, and how to provide each one with the right information at the right time. Your customer also needs to know and understand who you are, and what you are offering as quickly and as efficiently as possible. In addition, customers now need to feel a sense of transparency, trust and connection with you. Brand-making is therefore more than simply informing your customers about yourself.

Seamless Integration

So, how and where do you begin to formulate a digital marketing strategy for your business? Experts in the field argue that a digital marketing strategy cannot be divorced from the broader (traditional) marketing strategy, and the two must be developed as one seamless, coordinated program. While traditional marketing can reach a broader audience, a digital marketing strategy will ensure that you have a strong, unique and relevant online presence and voice that is unique. The platforms might have changed, but ultimately, the goal remains the same: connecting you with your clients and customers. Harnessing the power of business to business digital marketing can help you expose your business to a large, targeted audience

It’s Not Just About a Business Website

A well designed website that is concise and content driven can achieve these goals. Digital marketing is however more than a decent website. There are multiple online platforms through which various customers and clients can be reached, including websites and social media; and all these can be tapped, streamlined and customized to your business for positive results. Using a business to business digital marketing campaign can help you use multiple avenues to get in touch with interested parties.

Conclusion

First, define your short term and long term goals and how they will be measured. Then find out who your target customers are and what they need. Figure out the most efficient ways and platforms to connect with them, and what tools you can deploy to increase your engagement. Finally, you need to determine your budget. A good digital marketing strategy will combine many different elements, allowing you to target specific individuals and companies through the integration of a business to business digital marketing campaign with a larger overall strategy that will meet your company’s objectives. Contact Simplemachine for any questions you have regarding a digital marketing campaign for you or your  business.