Digital marketing nowadays is really just marketing – you’ll struggle to find a marketing strategy that doesn’t involve digital channels. No, really… Last weekend we saw a lemonade stand advertised in a Facebook group.

That’s why the ‘digital’ part shouldn’t scare you off. If anything, it’s going to make your life easier. Whether it gets your message in front of more of the right people or makes it easier to see if your strategy is working, digital is pretty handy.

So now, down to business.

What’s a digital marketing strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is what you put in place to achieve your business mission. It’s built up of smaller goals or campaigns that all contribute to the outcome you’re after.

These smaller campaigns all play into your overarching digital marketing strategy. It could be as straightforward as including a sign-up form on your website (to capture more potential customers), or as in-depth as producing an instructional video that makes your brand the hero.
So, how do you make a digital marketing strategy that’s right for your business?

Start with the big picture.

There’s no way of creating a digital marketing strategy without knowing where you want to go. So decide what you want for your business, and be clear about it. Maybe it’s a goal, or maybe there’s a problem you need to solve.

It might not be about the dollar figure, either. It could be more important at this stage to build a loyal customer base or improve your customers’ digital experience. The more specific you get, the easier it will be to put things in place to achieve it.

See if a SMART goal could be right for you.

Figure out the ‘how’.

You know what you’re aiming for, now here’s the tricky bit: how are you going to get there?

When you’re at this stage, make sure you spend some time pushing past the immediate answers. Instead of getting more sales to increase growth, maybe you put more time and energy into advertising to people you know are bigger spenders.

There are a few things that will help you:

Knowing your brand really well
Identifying your target markets
Analysing competitor activity
Considering the resources, you have to work with (staff, budget, tools)
Going to market: [Our top tips]
Once you’ve considered the things above, it becomes easier to form a strategy that’s true to your brand and plays to it’s strengths.
Everything you do in the digital space that serves that strategy is your digital marketing strategy.

1. Know your customers

The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to sell to them. So, create buyer personas that cover the ages, genders, locations, likes/dislikes, habits, interests, life stages and values of your customers. Hubspot has a great guide to creating detailed buyer personas.

These will help you in two ways:

One, you’ll be able to make sure your ads appear in front of more of these people, and

Two, you’ll be able to make sure your ads and content appeal to them specifically.

Take a wine bar for example: they probably have young singles and older married couples among their buyer personas. But by targeting these groups separately, they can send a more appealing message – for younger audiences, they’re the perfect date spot; for the older audience, they’re a special place to get away from the kids.

Remember: the buyer personas you target should always be consistent with your strategy.

2. Pick your platforms

Maybe you want to target a certain group within your existing customer database using an email campaign. Or, maybe you want to reach more people from an audience you know you appeal to via social media.

Whatever you do, don’t spread yourself too thin – trying to be everywhere creates a lot of work, sometimes with little value to you. So, start with one, get it right, then move onto the next. And always make sure your activity is consistent with your strategy.

3. Create value (not content)

“Nobody reads advertising. People read what interests them; and sometimes it’s an ad.” – Howard Luck Gossage

It’s easy to think of content as stuff you have to churn out 24/7. Instead, try to look at it as something that’s going to be valuable to your customers. It can be as simple as a good photo taken on your phone, or as complex as a white paper – it all depends on your business.

Remember, what you can produce will depend on your resources. When you’re putting together your strategy, make sure you’re not biting off more than you can chew.

4. Use the tech

This is digital, after all.

Knowing there are tools out there to help you with things like analytics, social media post scheduling, customer relationship management and eDM mail-outs make it a lot easier to bring a digital marketing strategy to life.

But remember, the tools work for you (not the other way around). So get your strategy together first, then pick the ones that are going to help you carry it out.

Once you’ve set the wheels in motion, keep returning to what you’ve done and how effective it’s been. The best thing about digital is you can chop and change things to figure out what works best.