- Digital marketing strategies can provide competitive advantage in today’s world.
- Marketers need to incorporate certain strategies to excel in digital marketing.
Digital marketing is a strategy that uses electronic devices or the Internet to achieve objectives. These six strategies can be used to surpass the competition. Marketers use many things, such as websites, mobile applications, social media posts, etc., for online advertising and email marketing.
Businesses and marketers use digital channels to promote products or services to reach the target audience online. Marketers include Search Engine Marketing (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), content marketing, and online advertising.
Digital marketing strategies facilitate two-way communication between businesses and customers. This form of communication helps with brand engagement, loyalty, repeat purchases, and more. Plus, it is measurable through website analytics and other tools.
What is a Digital Marketing Strategy?
A digital marketing strategy is the roadmap for achieving specific business goals through online channels. The strategy goes beyond just posting on social media or running ads; it is a well-defined plan that considers the target audience, uses the best channels to reach them, and incorporates various tactics to convert them into paying customers.
A Statista Digital Market Outlook study asserts that 26% of retail sales worldwide happen through e-commerce. This demonstrates the importance of a solid online presence. Note that around 4.62 billion people use social media globally, highlighting the potential reach of social media marketing strategies.
Why Create a Digital Marketing Strategy?
After understanding digital marketing, let’s explore why you should create a digital marketing strategy. Imagine navigating a maze blindfolded—that’s what marketing is without a proper plan. A well-defined digital marketing strategy can act as a roadmap, guiding light, or blueprint for achieving desired business goals.
A study conducted by the Content Marketing Institute revealed that around 40% of marketers admit to facing challenges in proving the Return on Investment (ROI) of their marketing efforts. According to Smart Insights, businesses incorporating content marketing strategies are 13 times more likely to receive positive ROI.
Digital Marketing Strategies Businesses Can Incorporate for Success
Multiple digital marketing strategies can be incorporated by businesses to surpass the competition and achieve specific business objectives, some of which are discussed below.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Content Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Paid Advertising
- Social Media Marketing
- Influencer Marketing
Incorporating either in unison can provide a breeding ground for success on multiple avenues.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
In digital marketing strategies, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial for any business to stay ahead of the competition. It’s the art and science of optimizing a website and online content to rank higher in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). SEO focuses mainly on Google, which holds the lion’s share of the search market.
A study conducted by Search Engine Journal asserts that organic traffic has a higher conversion rate than related sources like social media. SEO-driven visitors are more likely to convert into leads or paying customers. Backlinko statistics further show that top organic results on SERP receive over 30%, emphasizing the importance of ranking higher.
The two main pillars of SEO are On-Page and Off-Page.
On-page SEO focuses on optimizing the elements within the website that search engines can crawl and index. Marketers must invest in keyword research, content quality, website structure, and technical SEO to implement On-Page SEO. Keyword research is about identifying relevant keywords and key phrases that the target audience is searching for and incorporating them strategically through website content, page titles, meta descriptions, and headers.
Content quality focuses on providing high-quality, informative, and engaging content that provides value to the audience. It helps keep visitors on the site while signalling expertise in search engines. Website structure ensures that the website has a clear and logical structure with proper internal linking. Technical SEO optimizes the technical aspects of the website for speed, mobile-friendliness, and image optimization.
Off-page SEO focuses on building authority and trust for the website through external factors. To implement Off-Page SEO, marketers must focus on link building, brand mentions and social media engagement. Link building focuses on acquiring high-quality backlinks from reputable resources, which can be crucial in higher rankings on search results.
Brand mentions focus on encouraging mentions of the brand name or website on social media, forums, and other online platforms. It can help increase brand awareness and indirectly influence search engine rankings. Social media management allows active participation on multiple social media platforms to connect with the target audience, as social media shares can send a positive signal to search engines.
- Content Marketing
In the dynamic and ever-changing world of digital marketing strategies, content marketing stands out as a powerful tool for building brand awareness and loyalty and can help attract new customers. Content is the undisputed king of digital marketing, and its strategy focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content that resonates with target audiences.
Demand Metric’s statistics show that high-quality content marketing can increase customer engagement by up to 8 times. Engaging content can foster trust and build lasting relationships with the target audience. Consistently creating informative and insightful content helps establish the brand as a thought leader in the industry.
To leverage the benefits of content marketing, businesses must know their audience, provide content variety, prepare a strategic content calendar, and infuse SEO integration. Understanding target audiences’ needs, preferences, and pain points is crucial for addressing their challenges and interests through content marketing.
Marketers must go beyond blog posts and experiment with different content formats like infographics, videos, podcasts, ebooks, and webinars to cater to the audience’s diverse learning needs. Furthermore, they must plan the content strategy via a calendar to ensure consistency. Optimizing content with relevant keywords improves search engine rankings and organic traffic.
The strategic implementation of content marketing strategy includes a content audit to evaluate existing content and find gaps and areas for improvement. Competitor analysis focuses on the type of content competitors create and identifies differentiation opportunities.
Creating content might not suffice, and marketers should focus on promoting it through social media, email marketing, etc., to reach the right audience. Marketers can also track key performance indicators like website traffic, engagement rates, and conversions to measure their effectiveness.
- Email Marketing
Email marketing remains a powerful tool in digital marketing. It helps nurture leads, and foster loyalty. It’s the art of sending targeted and engaging emails to a permission-based list of subscribers. A study from Litmus Email Marketing suggests that email marketing boasts an impressive average ROI of $42 for every $1 spent.
Unlike social media posts, which might get lost in the shuffle or algorithm, email lands directly in target subscribers’ inboxes, offering a more personalized touch. Marketers must focus on segmentation, personalization, mobile-optimized emails, and automation for successful implementation.
Marketers must first segment the email list based on demographics, interests and purchase behavior to send targeted and relevant content that resonates with each subscriber group. They can go beyond just names, personalize email greetings and product recommendations, and offer an engaging experience.
Litmus Email Marketing Benchmark suggests that most customers open emails on mobile devices. Hence, marketers should ensure compatibility. They can utilize email marketing automation tools to send triggered emails based on subscriber behavior, such as welcome emails for new subscribers or abandoned cart reminders.
To skillfully implement email marketing in digital marketing campaigns, businesses and marketers must focus on building the email list and crafting compelling subject lines that can persuade subscribers to open the mail. They must also focus on value and avoid bombarding subscribers with promotional emails. Finally, they must use email marketing analytics tools to track the campaign’s effectiveness.
- Paid Advertising
Paid advertising can be a powerful tool for driving targeted traffic, generating leads, and achieving specific marketing goals quickly and efficiently. It focuses on buying ad spaces on various online platforms to promote the brand, products, and services to the target audience.
Paid advertising platforms provide detailed analysis and reporting tools, allowing marketers to track campaign performance and precisely measure return on investment (ROI). Unlike traditional advertising with scattered reach, paid advertising will enable marketers to target ideal customers with laser-focused precision.
It further allows marketers to define demographics, interests, online behavior and purchase history to ensure that ads reach the most relevant audience. Paid advertising can deliver immediate results compared to organic marketing strategies, which take time to build momentum.
For profound results from this marketing strategy, businesses can experiment with different platforms and explore popular options like Google Ads, Meta Ads, YouTube Ads, and LinkedIn Ads, depending on the target audience and marketing goals. Create high-quality visuals and compelling ad copy to grab attention and communicate the value proposition.
Moreover, they must ensure that landing pages are optimized for conversions, are visually appealing, offer a clear call to action, and are relevant to the brand message. A/B testing will be used to test different ad variations, targeting strategies, and landing page elements to resonate with the target audience.
- Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is a powerful tool for brand engagement, community building and driving real-time conversations. It’s the art of leveraging the prowess of popular social media platforms to connect with the target audience, build relationships and promote brand awareness and products/services.
Kepios’s Social Media Users study shows that there are around 4.62 billion active social media users worldwide, presenting a massive opportunity to connect with potential customers. Social media facilitates two-way communication and allows you to interact with the audience directly, address their concerns, and build brand advocacy.
Social media platforms are evolving quickly, offering new features and trends. Marketers can stay active and agile in adapting their strategy to position themselves at the forefront of customer conversations, ahead of the curve and surpass the competition.
To successfully leverage this marketing strategy, businesses must focus on the right platform and identify the platforms frequented by the target audience. Create engaging and visually appealing content to resonate with target audiences. Pay strict attention to what the audience says online, and use social listening tools for that. Foster a sense of community through social media pages, as all these can enhance the effectiveness of social media marketing.
- Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is slowly gaining traction and becoming a powerful tool for reaching new audiences, building brand trust, and driving sales. The strategy involves collaborating with social media personalities or content creators who have established credibility and a dedicated following within the target audience.
Influencer Marketing Hub’s statistics show that consumers are 4.9 times more likely to trust recommendations from influencers than traditional advertising. Leveraging an influencer’s established trust channel translates to higher engagement and purchase intent for the brand.
Influencers cater to specific audiences, and partnering with relevant influencers allows brands to access a highly targeted audience interested in spaces similar to your brand or product. Understand that influencer marketing goes beyond just displaying a product; influencers can creatively integrate the brand into content, facilitating a more authentic and relatable approach.
Marketers must focus on the following to skillfully implement the influencer marketing strategy and capitalize on its benefits. Identify the right influencers, someone who resonates with brand value. Focus on micro-influencers as their engagement rates are higher. Ensure campaign transparency in influencer collaborations, and consider building a long-term partnership with a select group of influencers, allowing more creative and impactful campaigns.
Benefits of having Digital Marketing Strategies
A well-defined digital marketing strategy has multiple benefits, as discussed below.
- Increased Online Visibility
Consumers research products and services online before purchasing in today’s digital world. Having a solid digital marketing strategy enhances brand discoverability. For example, A bakery with blogs related to delicious recipes can leverage SEO to rank higher for searches like “Easy Dessert Recipes,” it increases website traffic and brand awareness.
- Targeted Audience Reach
Unlike traditional marketing, which has a scattered reach, digital marketing allows brands to laser-focus on ideal customers. Through social media advertising and targeted email marketing, brands can reach their niche. For example, a fitness center can create targeted social media ads promoting its offerings to reach the target audience in their area.
- Measurable Results
A significant aspect of digital marketing strategy is measurable results. Multiple analytical tools are available that can track key metrics like website traffic, engagement rates, conversion rates, etc. For example, an online clothing store monitors its social media campaigns and makes alterations to receive the highest possible engagement.
- Improved Return on Investment (ROI)
A well-thought-out digital marketing strategy strategically allocates resources and focuses on measurable goals, helping a brand maximize its return on investment (ROI). Marketers can track the effectiveness of their campaigns and adjust their tactics to ensure they’re getting the most out of the allocated budget.
For example, a local restaurant can run targeted social media ads for a special weekend promotion or a band to increase footfall. They can also track the number of website and application reservations generated by the campaign. This allows them to measure the effectiveness of the ad and better optimize the budget allocation for future promotions.
In conclusion, a well-thought-out digital marketing strategy can be a powerful tool for any business looking to thrive online. It can help them navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape, target the right audience and achieve specific marketing objectives. Strategic investment in a well-defined strategy can provide multi-pronged benefits.
