Do I Need a Digital Marketing Strategy? | Vertical Measures, An Investis Digital Company
- Updated on: 2019-10-20
- Read original article here
We’re here today, not to talk about why digital marketing, but why you need a documented strategy in order to help your digital dollars succeed.
Let’s face it, if I need to convince you to optimize your website and market online at this point — you’re already behind!
Now that there’s a consistent shift in marketing dollars to digital platforms, you may be asking yourself, “Do I need a digital marketing strategy?”
Let’s dive in and find out.
Vertical Measures travels across the country each month, teaching our digital marketing workshops to agencies and marketers alike.
And, one of the first questions we ask when we get up on stage is, “How many people have a digital marketing strategy?”
Typically, half the room raises their hands, thinking they’re doing it right.
Then we ask, how many have a documented strategy. Almost all the hands drop back down!
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where we see success with digital marketing drop off.
A written digital marketing strategy should assess all possible digital channels and highlight your company’s areas of opportunities. It should align your business goals with your audiences’ needs and act as a roadmap for success.
So, what all should be included in a Digital Marketing Strategy? These 7 elements are essential:
Understand your audience and what forms of content they prefer and engage best with online.
Check out the content, calls-to-action and user experience your competitors are providing online. What’s working for them? What can your brand do better?
Look at not just Facebook and Instagram, but also LinkedIn and YouTube. What does your current engagement look like? Are you sharing content and do you have effective calls-to-action?
If you have any sort of current database or subscriber list, engage your owned audience with helpful emails. Use your strategy to assess your email content and number of touchpoints in order to not only grow new customers, but reoccurring sales and brand advocacy.
Remember, when addressing paid media, you’re not always trying to just capture the consumers ready to make an immediate decision, but also aiming to reach people who are not yet aware of your brand or are still trying to compare and make buying decisions.
Detail all the tactics within each digital channel to achieve your established marketing goals.
Last, but not least, outline the various content topics and formats you’ll need in order to achieve these tactics and goals across multiple platforms.
As your business goals change and you learn from the successes and failures of ongoing campaigns, your Digital Marketing Strategy should be updated and reassessed based on accurate measurement.
With this documented strategy, you’ll be arming your business with a plan that not only aligns all goals, but holds your team accountable to get everything implemented.
For example, Vertical Measures executed a Digital Marketing Strategy for a regional ophthalmology center with more than 20 locations in March of 2016.
Since then, we’ve helped them implement and optimize their campaigns and strategic initiatives to align with and exceed their business goals.
Let me paint this picture for you.
That is an increase of 299 sales qualified leads per month. All from setting a written strategy in place and utilizing the various digital outlets available.
Without a documented strategy, you’re really just using the throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach — and while that might convert on a rare occasion, we’re sure that a strategy based on data and research yields better results.
Whether you’re having trouble generating traffic, obtaining leads, boosting revenue, or just trying to be found on the first page of Google – we want to help get you started in the right direction.
Learn how we can become your comprehensive marketing partner today.
Give us a call at the number listed below (602-314-3460), or contact us today.
