5 must-dos before creating a digital marketing strategy
Before you begin creating your digital marketing strategy, here are five must-dos to improve the quality of your strategy and build a stable foundation for multi-channel success.
Set a Budget - Setting a budget is the first place to begin before implementing any type of marketing. All ideas are wonderful in theory, but if you execute ideas without a clear budget, there’s a huge risk of overspending and/or butchering your return on investment (ROI). Whether it’s your business or your boss you’re worried about, overspending is a situation you do not want to be in. Set a budget before you strategise so all campaigns included will be backed by logic. Pro tip: 20% of total revenue = marketing spend. 30% if your goal is aggressive growth.
Define your Brand Guidelines - Not a suggestion - a must - this covers everything from your brand logo to tone of voice and colour codes. Brand Guidelines define how your business behaves; it directs every single move your business makes online and offline, and is woven throughout every piece of your strategy. Essentially, your strategy shouldn’t exist unless your Brand Guidelines are set in stone.
Complete a Digital Marketing Audit - The strongest strategies are built with a comprehensive understanding of who your audience is, how they are behaving, and how your content, collaborations, and paid ads are performing across each channel. This takes a strategy from subjective to objective and brings actionable insights that carry weight. If you don’t have any data to work with yet, start with audience analysis and industry benchmarks, and test from there. Include any and all platforms your brand will be working with and a competitor analysis.
Know your Content Process - When strategising, you will need to consider how much time each team needs to implement certain campaigns and collaborations. Have content batching and project management systems in place that allow enough time and space for your content team to prepare, curate, and edit quality content. Knowing your content marketing processes will give you realistic benchmarks in relation to your output, allowing you to strategise effectively and set deadlines.
Know your Market - The most successful companies are the ones who have been able to differentiate their product in the marketplace; the most successful companies online are the ones able to accurately represent this differentiation through digital content while providing value for their audience. So know your market well and where your business stands within it. That includes your competitors, your audience, and your mission.
Need help with your digital marketing? Get in touch or email styledbygracieclemens@gmail.com.
