Consider this. You frantically wave to get the attention of a cab driver. When you get in, the driver asks, “Where to?”
“I’m not sure, let’s just drive around aimlessly until I see something I like,” you say.
What a waste of time, effort, and money!
What’s the purpose if you don’t know where you’re going? Surprisingly, many businesses do this without a strategy when they begin digital marketing.
What Is A Digital Marketing Strategy?
Fundamentally, marketing identifies customers; their wants or needs; then determines the optimal product design, price, place, and promotion to satisfy those needs profitably.
Digital marketing is a marketing component; thus, it works to fulfill marketing’s goals. It can’t exist in isolation.
Marketing Strategy is the marketing logic by which the business unit expects to achieve its marketing objectives. – Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing
A strategy—quite literally—keeps everyone running in the same direction. It provides a framework for decision-making¹ and thus informs the digital marketing plan.
Let’s call it the blueprint from which you will create detailed designs of your digital marketing activities.
What does a digital marketing strategy do?
A digital marketing strategy:
Aligns to business objectives.
Looks at the long-term, big picture.
Provides the general direction to which all online marketing activities should head.
Is not a plan; it provides the decision-making policy for future projects.
Focuses on the company’s value proposition and key messaging.
Identifies opportunities and anticipates threats to improve planning.
A digital marketing strategy sets clear, actionable and measurable marketing goals in a single comprehensive document.
The benefits of a digital marketing strategy
We’ve placed quite a bit of emphasis on the direction that a strategy provides. Albeit significant, that’s not the only benefit of strategising your online marketing and digital media.
You’ll find a delicate ecosystem of business advantages:
1. Goals give you benchmarks against which you can measure your success
2. A big-picture view ensures the optimal allocation of resources, allowing you to:
Define tasks, roles and responsibilities.
Choose the most relevant online media channels.
Eliminate wasteful spend.
3. A defined purpose and value proposition ensures consistent messaging, which strengthens your brand identity
4. Unified messaging and exposure on the right digital platforms helps you to establish a strong online presence.
5. In turn, strong online presence and brand reputation encourages positive word of mouth (sharing and reviews), thus greater exposure to potential customers.
Key Take Outs
Without a digital marketing (or media) strategy, you’re running a rudderless ship.
A strategy keeps you (and your team) focused on the end-game.
You’ll save and make more money by investing in a solid strategy.
If someone offers online marketing services and doesn’t ask about your strategy, run.
FDM – Digital Marketing Strategy
Where to from here?
If you’d like to get an effective digital marketing strategy in place, speak to us. We apply years of business, marketing and digital experience to develop a tailored and effective online strategy for your business.
Our digital media strategy development and management service takes strategy one step further by providing practical, step-by-step action tasks for your team as well.
Let’s develop your digital marketing strategy. Click Here to get in touch.