4 minutes
Marketing genius, Simon Clayton is joining us next week to deliver our Supercharge your Digital Marketing Strategy workshop and we can’t wait!
With a track record of helping ambitious entrepreneurs achieve success with results-driven marketing and sales strategies, Simon will equip you with the invaluable knowledge that you need to get noticed by your audience.
From creating a successful strategy on a tight budget to knowing which metrics to analyse, Simon has provided some food for thought below…
What are the key ingredients to a successful digital marketing strategy?
There are six key elements I recommend any business focuses on when creating their digital marketing strategy:
- Define your SMART objectives – make sure they are Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Realistic; and Timed – these will keep you motivated and focused!
- Know and understand your target audience, including their ‘pain points’ and how you can provide a solution.
- Establish your ‘digital ecosystem’ – from your website and social media profiles through to email, PPC advertising and apps, you must choose the most appropriate and effective platforms, tools and channels which will be used to deliver your strategy.
- Create content which engages, empathises, educates, entertains and ultimately builds mutually beneficial relationships.
- Master your conversion funnel – plan the ‘journey’ you would like your prospects to take and the type of content they should consume at each stage, from awareness through to sale.
- Measure, measure and measure again – the metrics needed to monitor the effectiveness of ROI of your strategy.
What are the most effective types of content and how do I determine the digital tools to use?
There are so many different types of content that can be created and each has its own use, value and worth depending on your industry and target audience.
We must also be mindful that everyone consumes different types of content at different stages of the marketing and sales funnel.
Video and podcasts are incredibly effective as they appeal to an audience which is time-poor but eager to educate themselves about products and services, prior to purchase.
Blogs posts and eBooks offer a more informal form of communication and can present an authentic and engaging channel for business. Plus, Google loves blogs as they provide fresh keyword-rich content for the search engine.
Then there’s infographics, stories, images, gifs and memes, which provide a quick and easy visual presentation of your business and personal brand.
What metrics do I need to be looking at to know that my strategy is working?
Your metrics should always relate back to your objectives – basically what do you want to achieve and how do you know when you are reaching those goals.
There are four key areas which I advise when measuring digital marketing strategies – each will have its own set of specific metrics:
- Increase Brand Awareness – does our target audience know we exist…
- Increase Brand Engagement – is our target audience communicating with us…
- Lead Generation – does our target audience desire our products / services and when will they be ready to purchase…
- Sales (verified) – when, where and why our target audience has purchased from us…
How often do I need to evaluate my existing digital marketing strategy?
The digital landscape is fast moving and constantly evolving therefore we need to keep a regular focus on our digital marketing activities. It needs to be proactive and ready to adapt or change at any time – this year being the perfect example!
Digital technology also provides the opportunity to test the effectiveness of different types of content, tools and channels which enables us to plan a more personalised marketing strategy.
Can I create and build a digital marketing strategy with a limited budget?
Absolutely, digital marketing has provided the opportunity to be more niche and strategic, which doesn’t need a huge budget to plan and implement.
The biggest investment for any business is time. Time to plan and implement your strategy and then time to monitor and measure the results.
There are plenty of free tools to help plan your strategy, create your content and measure your activities – I’ll be sharing some of these during the training workshop.
We are delighted to have Simon join us in delivery of the DigitalCity Supercharge your Digital Marketing Strategy workshop on Thursday 5 November. If you would like to attend, please reserve your place here.
