Marketing Overview: Digital Why should an online marketing strategy be confusing? Think of it as regular marketing – it starts with goals, a plan, tactics and a budget. Read the article and links to get a better idea as to how to prepare your own marketing strategy. Here are some one liners to think about: “Digital marketing shouldn’t be separated from regular marketing. The approaches need to match!” “Google is the largest market in the world- it needs investment & attention.” “Who are we writing to?” “There are many tool salespeople in my industry. They sell a trick, an app, a piece of tech. Marketing still is about strategy, messaging, branding and getting people interested!” So, what is a good phased approach to building a digital marketing strategy? Phase 1 Strategy What are your goals – use numbers. Think “hockey goals.” Market share, $ sales, # clients, employee turnover, profit margin. What are your objectives (how do you look to the world)? The biggest, the best, the cheapest, the most reliable, etc. What is your promise? What emotions are you trying to evoke? Phase 2 “Your website needs to be a soft Landing” Can I find you? Are you Google-able? Does your URL make sense? Does it convey a benefit to the user? How does your site look and feel? Is it welcoming? Do I learn something every time I go? Is it a tool, or just a brochure? Are you applying Social Media correctly? Are you answering the 4 questions? Who is the client? What is his/her problem? What is our solution? Why is our solution better? Phase 3 Using the tools Many people lead with these tools. “You need a Facebook campaign.” But it starts with a strategy. Once you do that, you can look at which tools (tactics) to use. Some of them include: Ad tech Blogging SM Multiple offers Keywords Back end tagging Audio/video/text The key though, is using content that is relevant to the problem you solve Phase 4 Budgeting How do you build a marketing budget? There are really two ways to do it. The best is according to you strategic goals and objectives. But it is also possible to say: “we have X dollars, what can you do with it?” Budgeting should not be taken lightly. It is a mathematical blue print of your marketing plan. And it keeps everyone on the same page. Email me!