DIGITAL$$ How$to$write$an$eﬀec-ve$Secrets from the professionals DIGITAL$$How$to$write$an$eﬀec-ve$ MARKETING$ STRATEGY$

Secrets from the professionals

How to write an effec-ve

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY

Results The market Objec-ves Strategy Content

Wri-ng an effec-ve digital media strategy comes down to t h r e e t h i n g s : c o n t e n t , connec-ons and consistency.

When building a digital marke-ng strategy, it is important to think strategically about what you are trying to achieve. Is it designed to increase brand awareness, is it to drive sales or is it to educate? Whatever your objec-ve, you need to understand fully the market, your audience, your mediums and the impact your campaign will have on your objec-ves.

This pack is designed to help you create a compelling digital media strategy by giving you a clear process, template forms and a list of insighPul ques-ons for considera-on.

K n ow y o u r t a r g e t a u d i e n c e , a s s e s s compe-tor tac-cs and align your messaging

Set your strategic aims a n d d e fi n e t h e objec-ves and specific goals

Develop your strategy to deliver the objec-ves inline with your target market expecta-ons

Create a consistent s t r e am o f q u a l i t y content and distribute it at the right -me, in the right way.

Measure the impact of the campaign against p redefined ta rgets . What should you stop, start and con-nue?

www.digi-a.co.uk | @digi-a_

The market

A market is never saturated with a good product but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one. Henry Ford

“

Unl ike any other broadcast medium, digital channels allow direct engagement with each member of the audience.

Stage 1 -‐ Research the market Start by searching out your top five compe-tors and look at the following things: •  Where do they rank on Google and for

what sorts of content? •  What social media channels do they use

and how? •  What kind of content do they share on the

web site and how is it distributed more widely?

•  What are they promo-ng on their site and how?

•  How are their customers engaging with them and why?

It’s a good idea to follow top compe-tors through your own social media feeds to keep up to date with news, promo-ons and campaigns. Likewise, keep an eye out for adverts and banners and see what is being promoted beyond the obvious mediums.

Stage 2 – Research the audience: It is important to know who your perfect buyer is but more so to know what they respond to! Try the following: Look at compe-tor social media feeds and analyse: •  the language used by the companies and

their customers – look at words, phrases, slang, tone.

•  The type of content shared – is it funny stories, is it real life videos, is it graphics, is it useful links, is it offers / discount codes, is it celebrity based?

•  What content / posts generate the most interest but dig into why – read some of the comments.

•  What is not working? What have compe-tors shared that failed to generate interest in the form of RTs, shares and comments.

•  Client type including age, gender, ethnicity, educa-on, class, loca-on etc.

Market

Crea-ng a digital marke-ng strategy 4


Compe:tor Social pla<orms Content types Key lessons for Key lessons against

Company 1 Twi_er (5k+), Facebook (3k+), Linked In (1000+), Pinterest (250+), YouTube (3.5k views)

Links to videos, inspiring quotes, photos of team

Non sales messages working best, par-cularly inspiring quotes

Videos rarely geing likes on Facebook – is it due to content or medium?

Example planning template

Market


N.B Just as you might have collected leaflets and clippings in earlier days, collect links to good content and great social media posts to help generate ideas in the future!


Objec-ves

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.

Jim Rohn

“

The biggest mistake people make in digital media is they fire content out with no real purpose and no real alignment to a strategy; just hope.

Broad objec:ve groups: Whilst each brand will have its own specific aims and objec-ves, they can normally be aligned to one of these four main groups: •  Building consumer awareness to

create a demand •  Direc-ng customers to the point of

purchase •  Educa-ng and informing about a

par-cular topic / service •  Improving rela-onships through

improved communica-on.

Key considera:ons: In our experience, objec-ves need to: •  Be aligned to the wider business

strategy because digital media is another medium for reaching your company objec-ves.

•  Be specific and -ghtly -mebound. For example ‘increase hits to the site from 500 – 1000 in September, from 1000 – 1500 in October.

•  Be realis-c. Don’t expect massive leaps. Digital media takes -me to kick in so stage your objec-ves to reflect this and make sure you know where you are star-ng from in terms of current hits, followers, sales etc.

•  Wri_en down and printed off so you don’t forget the point of the ac-vity…it’s too easy to go off track!


Objec-ves www.digi-a.co.uk | @digi-a_

Objec:ve Owner Measure of Success

Increase hits to the web site as follows: September: From 500 – 1000 October: From 1000 – 1500 November: From 1500 – 2300 December: From 2300 – 3000

Lisa Google Analy-cs report to be checked weekly to ensure we are on track. To be checked monthly to asses posi-on.

Generate a 50% increase in web site sales over the 4 month period Mark Quarterly sales figures. Will review monthly and weekly sales figures to ensure we are progressing and to iden-fy which tac-cs work best.

Increase Twi_er followers from 3000 – 7000: September: 3500 October: 5000 November: 6000 December 700

Jo Monthly recording via Twi_er.

Objec-ves




Strategy

We are in the throes of a t r a n s i - o n wh e r e e v e r y publica-on has to think of their digital strategy Bill Gates

“

Shiv Singh, Director of digital marke-ng and social media at PepsiCo, and author of ‘Social Media Marke-ng for Dummies’ states: “Digital strategy means something that wi l l change my b o A om l i n e i n 3 -‐ 6 months.”

Broadly speaking, there are 3 types of strategy you could employ: Direct – email Ouen email marke-ng involves sending out a newsle_er -‐ which is filled with useful informa-on for customers -‐ reminding them of your services and temp-ng them to visit your site! Watch out though, email marke-ng can be seen as ‘spam’. Paid – adverts and PPC: Using paid media is the fastest way for businesses to adver-se their products and services. It can involve paid banners, paid SEO results and paid promo-ons on e.g. Facebook. However, it doesn’t last! Organic – SEO and followers Organic traffic can be gained through content marke-ng, search engine

op-misa-on, social media or editorial pieces. Organic media does not involve tradi-onal adver-sing, and it is the complete opposite of paid media. It is a way of promo-ng your business by genera-ng engaging content people want to like, share and consume. Of course, this is only one way of looking at it. Another could be basing your strategy around a theme such as Coke’s ‘Share a Coke’ campaign which they promoted through a mixed digital (and print) media strategy. Ini-ally, you might want to fund your message to help it reach exis-ng advocates who in turn will share it with friends who in turn will be influenced to share it further…

Strategy



Direct Paid Earned

Strategic combina-on 1 Email campaign with 3 useful stories, one offer coupon and a

customer story

PPC click ad campaign driving traffic to XX (par-cular

service / page)

Monthly blog agenda – 8 blogs per month based around a

par-cular theme

Strategic combina-on 2 Email campaign with special offer, limited -me

Advert on top online news forum in business sec-on

4 blogs, 3 video tutorials, posted to You Tube. All linked to compe--on give away

Strategic combina-on 3

Strategy


Try mapping out various combina-ons of the three op-ons and pick the combina-on that makes most sense in terms of budget, reach and feasibility.



Think about your Web site’s “front page” as a collecIon of pages, not one home page

Conten

t plan

Geing informa-on out of the internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.

Mitchell Kapor

“

Digital is the great equaliser and re la-onship bui lder . Humans by their very nature a r e c ommun i c a- v e a nd inquisi-ve, and digital channels allow brands to interact with their audience on both levels.

In order to drive traffic to your web site, build your credibility and encourage sales, you need to ensure your content is: up to date, personable, informa-ve, fun, sharable, diges-ble and / or on trend. It’s a tall order but the whole idea is based on one fundamental principle: buyers do not want to be sold to anymore; in fact some-mes they don’t even want to buy! They want to browse, learn and compare so that they can make an informed purchase. Think about what kind of content your perfect customer might want to see.

Here are some ideas to get you thinking: •  Top -ps blogs rela-ng to your

industry •  Free giveaways ‘RT to enter!’ •  Useful links to complimentary

sites •  Photos of customers using your

product / service •  Inspiring quote graphics from

relevant sectors / celebs •  Industry spsecific news stories /

analysis •  Tes-monials •  Case studies •  Opinion blogs on hot tops.

Content



Week Theme / Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Week 1 -‐ Launch of new web site

PR and graphics to launch new web site

Week long PPC trial for new site

Photos of team celebra-on

News story 2 – TITLE

Interes-ng story 1 – TITLE

Blog 1 – TITLE

Week 2 -‐ Compe--on announcement

Compe--on announced & promoted on Twi_er & Facebook

Email campaign sent out about compe--on

Blog 2 – TITLE Quote graphic Compe--on Results

Blog 3 – TITLE

Week 3 – ‘Dare to Share’ campaign starts

PR 2 – TITLE Blog 4 – TITLE .Quote picture Paid Ads on Facebook

Blog 5 -‐ TITLE

Content


Start by theming your weeks / months and think about what content will meet the theme. Then start to ‘plot it’ in the table below to give your plan some overall structure. You should then write out your Tweets / posts per day with links lined up to the relevant content. Save this all in a folder to keep it in one place!



The Art of TwiAer is in the Retweet. You Must be InteresIng. However, you must also ensure the content on your web site is engaging enough to keep the visitors unIl they are ready to buy.

Results

However beau-ful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.

Winston Churchill

“

Key performance indicators are the metrics by which ROI (return on investment) and performance can start to be es-mated and eventually measured. Measurement ideas: •  Page views •  Ac-ons completed •  Visitors •  Total purchases •  Sales through the site •  A u d i e n c e d o w n l o a d i n g

applica-on •  Leads generated through contact

forms •  Audience forwarding viral videos

Key ques:ons to ask: •  Did the strategy meet / exceed

the goals? If so how much by and why?

•  Where did you see unexpected benefits?

•  What was learnt? •  What would you do again /

refrain from next -me?

Results


It is so easy to skip the ‘campaign analysis’ stage but it is so important to assess what worked and what didn’t work to give you the founda-on for the next campaign.


Target (from objec:ves) Results Comments

Increase hits from 500 – 1000 (September) 1200 Excellent outcome. Biggest contributor was…

Increase sales by 50% 32% Disappoin-ng result although 22 more leads to follow up on as result of PPC.

Increase followers from 400 to 600 590 Good result although need to increase par-cipa-on in more Twi_er sessions to increase numbers




Results

Google AnalyIcs is an absolute necessity so you can track where your web traffic comes from and which pages are more popular than most! Another great tool for tracking your social media impact is Moz. Have a look at www.moz.com.

Secrets from the professionals


DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY

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DIGITAL$$ How$to$write$an$eﬀec-ve$Secrets from the professionals DIGITAL$$How$to$write$an$eﬀec-ve$ MARKETING$ STRATEGY$