Throughout my experience, numerous individuals have asked me about digital marketing strategy. In fact, this question invokes countless interpretations in the online market. So, I am not surprised to see people getting confused and paranoid while crafting a strategy to win the digital market.

Sadly, blatant and biased views flood the online landscape. Most of them fail to clear out the clouds of confusion, or alternatively pitch a sales proposal.

First, What Actually is Digital Marketing Strategy?

Before we proceed, you must comprehend the meaning of Strategic Management. This process involves employing company’s resources to formulate and implement its goals and visions. In the similar spirit, ‘Digital Marketing Strategy’ exploits available resources to achieve firm’s goals in the digital world. In other words, it controls all of your digital initiatives.

In my view, the nature of Digital Marketing is quite complicated. It is undoubtedly part of the bigger marketing chunk, but it tends to overshadow the entire spectrum. In addition, the host of digital marketing tactics makes this practice more volatile. If you ask me, there is no need to be afraid of such complexity.

Is Digital Marketing Really that Important?

We live in the digital age. If you ask me, old marketing practices are counting their last days. The modern consumer devours digital media like there’s no tomorrow. And where there are customers, businesses make a beeline.

Affordable than Traditional Marketing:

In comparison with other mediums, it costs you less money. I know that many of you would not agree with me. But, you need to consider the vast reach of digital marketing strategy. Compare investment with final results, and your opinion will definitely change.

I may sound overoptimistic here, but digital marketing carries more weight for start ups and small businesses. Their budget limitations restrict their options to the digital marketing. But, it’s actually beneficiary.

Many of our clients are small business with big vision and ambitions. In my experience, digital marketing has helped their business. Anyway, traditional marketing requires huge investment in terms of money and other resources.

Results Can Be Tracked:

The availability of analytic tools allows marketers to evaluate the performance of their campaigns. These real time results help them formulate and implement the right set of tools. They can learn from their mistakes, and even guide others to do it the right way.

Sheer Number of Prospective Clients:

The present century belongs to Internet. It’s up to you how you connect with them, engage them and finally increase your business. You must understand that people are abandoning the traditional methods of media consumption. And this trend is not showing any sign of slowing down.

How to Formulate a Successful Digital Marketing Campaign?

By serving numerous clients, I have learned many crucial things about setting up a successful digital marketing campaign in place. Here, I will share some effective tricks to get the job done like a pro. Have a look:

Tip 1: First, Identify Your Aspirations:

I have always despised a hasty approach. I know that you want to prepare and execute digital marketing plan as soon as possible. But, before you rush in, you NEED to identify your goals and aspirations. And kindly try to be realistic.

In my view, you should not expect quick results. Even though your digital goals should align with company’s goals, both are different entities.

Tip 2: Study Your Competition:

Keep your friend close and enemy closer!

In the digital world, you need to keep an eye on your competition. Study their moves and progress to evaluate your performance. Here, I am not asking you to copy their activities. But, understanding where other business stands is crucial to your strategy as well.

In my view, studying competition is an indistinguishable part of digital marketing plan.

Tip 3: Devise/find out the Right Tactics:

Of course, our profession is a tricky business. Here, you are required to make different marketing decisions. Of course, you need to weigh up your assets. The business plan should incorporate key performance indicators to extract the best results from digital marketing.

Customer’s relation with brands is developed gradually. So, you need to implement different tactics. And these tactics should align to your vision.

Note that customer’s loyalty is not constant. He is always exploring newer options, and you need to keep him/her engaged. This requires continuous updating of your tactics.

Tip 4: Learn How to Please Your Targeted Audience.

As a digital marketer, you must strive to earn trust of consumers. I know that customer loyalty is crucial in every marketing strategy, but in online world, even a single angry customer is dangerous. He can create domino effect through blogs or reviews.

It can’t be denied that most marketers are not tuned to the ground realities. Actually, all of us spend hours discussing the right ‘tricks’ to get clients. But, the right way is to think like a consumer.

Of course, your prospective customers may require division in different categories. Here, marketing gets a little complicated. Analyze client’s data base, understand where they’re spending online. Don’t hesitate from exploring multiple options, including traditional avenues.

Tip 5: Be Social in Nature:

Digital media trends are data-driven; hence, there is no point arguing the importance of social media. You probably have head the counter views, but I am still a fan of social media. Here, you need to focus on three crucial areas:

• Personality

There is no dearth of companies out there. So, what’s your story? While defining your digital marketing strategy framework, try to award a unique persona to your company. A unique design or content could do the job really well. And don’t be afraid of experimentation.

• Aim for Maximum Shares

I personally strive for viral campaigns. The secret is producing great content, and getting people share them on different social media shares. The trouble is that it is not an easy task. Sharing is completely dependent on quality of the material.

But, you should not just ‘hope’ for your campaign to go viral. Instead, take the charge and encourage users to help your plans. I know it sounds impossible, but it is not.

If your campaign is unique and compelling, it will definitely get shared across different platforms. Of course, your efforts also count in the process.

• Community:

Focus on a specific community is also effective in digital lead generation. In market, different consumer segments prevail; hence, targeting the right audience gets more crucial. In fact, targeting a community affects a bigger audience base.

Tip 6: Go Mobile:

The mobile space provides ample opportunities for search marketers. However, there is a dire need to re-think the digital strategy. And it’s not just a luxury for marketers, but a necessity. Most marketers are already adapting their campaign to suit mobile needs of users.

Tip 7: Identify Your USP

Every firm survives on a unique proposition. For example, Apple benefits from its elite status and intense customer-focus. You also need to find your biggest strength, and draw customer’s attention through it.

In fact, you should ‘brag’ a little. There is no use of being modest in the digital world. Of course, I don’t recommend going overboard. But, you MUST tell consumers about your strength(s) or speciality.

Here’s How to Project Your USP:

• Craft a compelling statement for your business. It should be concise, catchy and descriptive.
• Project your strengths.
• Promise to fix problems.
• Make promises.
• Use custom-made images in your campaign.

Tip 8: Right Execution is the Key:

Earlier, marketing strategy aimed for quick results. However, the present trend calls for step-by-step execution, and results are anticipated in a period of six months to one year. However, duration could get a bit longer.

Now, marketers need to settle on the right execution scheme. In my view, a steady approach can leverage the maximum benefits. In this approach, every step gets great attention and detailing, which is essential for a successful marketing campaign.

Final Words:

The reality is that no tool or tactic assures success in the online world. So, I recommend maintaining a balance between long-term vision and flexibility. Of course, importance of digital marketing will not go away. However, the fickle nature of digital world makes things quite.