For persons who may not be tech-savvy, formulating a workable marketing strategy for their business may appear challenging, especially at the initial stage.
In fact, some business managers are often at a loss as to which digital marketing methods are best for their businesses and why.
With new tactics emerging every decade, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and indecisive on the methods you should adopt and which ones to overlook or discard.
However, an easy way to resolve this conundrum is by first understanding the important steps involved in creating an efficient digital marketing strategy.
That is because, a viable strategy does not emerge from pure luck. Rather, it requires a thorough evaluation of your enterprise, its target market, and customer behavior. In the same breath, an effective campaign should also deliver measurable results.
Below are the eight steps you should follow when devising a virtual marketing campaign as well as some of the most effective marketing strategies you could employ while at it.
1. Brand definition
Understanding and defining your brand is the first step in every marketing campaign.
This involves identifying the brand’s Unique Selling Points (USP) or what makes its products stand out against those of its competitors.
In an era when people are inundated with information, it serves you well to have a campaign that communicates your brand’s USPs quickly and effectively.
Therefore, whether it is through email marketing or social media marketing, your bite sized nuggets of information should always aim to deliver your USPs as quickly and effectively as possible.
2. Formulate your buyer persona
Every enterprise has a target market. Determine who your target market is and create the relevant buyer persona(s) that you are targeting within that segment.
A buyer persona represents your target audience and helps you determine what your brand voice will be during the campaign.
After all, when conducting your cold calling or email marketing, the last thing your business wants is to sound flat or disengaged from its audience. Knowing your buyer persona beforehand helps you connect with your audience better during the marketing campaign.
To help you determine your buyer persona(s), consider your target market’s age, goals, job title, needs, location, etc.
3. S.M.A.R.T goals
Next is to determine your campaign goals.
The campaign should be aimed at achieving Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely (SMART) goals. Here, it is vital to include both short-term and long-term targets.
The goals you hope to achieve shall inform the types of marketing strategies you will employ since different tactics yield different results within varied timelines.
For instance, if your brand’s goal is to grow its online presence and audience, the use of social media marketing, influencer marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO) methods is a good bet.
Meanwhile, targeted cold calls and the use of email lists will serve you well if you are hoping to solicit new clients or inform your prospects about a new product.
4. Choosing your marketing methods.
Based on the aspects covered above, narrow down your digital marketing methods.
These should consist of the most efficient yet trendy tactics that are most likely to render the results your brand requires.
Some of the popular digital marketing strategies include pitching to new clients via cold calls and email marketing, keeping your prospects in the know and answering their queries through content marketing, etc.
The strategies you choose should be capable of reaching your widest possible demographic.
5. Budgeting
Having decided on your intended campaign tools and tactics, determine the applicable budget for each of these strategies.
Here, you might need to research how much a particular method is likely to cost. Is it more cost-efficient to handle the campaign yourself or will you outsource it to a lead generation agency?
For instance, when considering the cost of email marketing, you might need to decide whether you shall enlist the services of an Email Services Provider (ESP).
An ESP is an agency that provides you with verified email addresses of warm leads thus allowing you to conduct a highly targeted email marketing campaign.
These lists connect you with key industry decision-makers, thus increasing the likelihood of conversions.
6. Fine-tuning your strategy
Detail your timeline for the marketing strategy and outline particular tasks within that framework.
For instance, if your campaign entails content marketing, create a content calendar detailing when such content should be generated and published.
The same applies to social media marketing and all other forms of digital marketing. Have specific milestones with identifiable tasks and deadlines within them.
Within that framework, you may also break down the allocated budgetary spend on each milestone.
7. Campaign launch
With all your ducks in a row, it is time to launch your campaign!
By now, your business should be having various dedicated accounts and social media handles across major platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
While your choice in these is mostly determined by where your audience is likely to be, having a presence on each of the major platforms is always recommended.
To maximize impact, it is also ideal to have a simultaneous launch across all your social media channels.
8. Tracking your progress
It is essential to keep track of the progress of your campaign. You may do this by using free services such as those provided by Google analytics.
Also, if your business intends to handle the marketing campaign directly, always opt for social media platforms with inbuilt tracking features.
However, should you opt for the services of a B2B Lead Generation Agency, the agency may handle all the sales outreach and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) aspects, including analytics.
Tracking your results allows you to tell which strategies have a good Return on Investment (ROI) and are worth scaling upon and which ones should be abandoned altogether.
