Steve Trahanas - Digital Marketing Procedure and Tactics Suggestion We often find that digital marketing strategy sessions bleed into tactical discussions but let’s not get hung up on what’s a strategy and what’s a tactical plan – time’s short; you need to know where you are going online (strategy) and how you are going to get there (tactics). So in this section we’ll cover a practical overview of both aspects. Strategy Snapshot Research and analyse your target market for your digital plan. Review your internal capabilities and outline your digital marketing goals. Research all aspects of your current eBusiness performance. Look at what your competitors are doing online. Lay out the key components of your digital marketing strategy. Document a roll out implementation plan.
Target Audience profile You need to identify clearly your target customer(s). Consider the following; Where your target audience is physically located? What industry sectors are you targeting? Who makes purchasing decisions within your target companies? Who are the key influencers in your industry? Where are your target market likely to be found browsing online e.g. forums, industry sites, blogs? Who is your ideal ‘Buyer Persona’ or target customer? Company Background Details These are the key pieces of background information to consider and document for your digital marketing strategy and plan.
What are your specific online goals & Objectives: Grow relevant traffic from x to y by year end Improve search rankings e.g. to rank for a, b, c in 6 months Generate x % of new business online by June 2016 What messaging do we need to develop to communicate these USP’s clearly to our customers?
Preliminary Online Research There are a number of preliminary research areas to look at in preparing your Digital Marketing Strategy. You may not need all of these nor have the resources to research each area in detail. However the more information you have upfront the better informed your strategy will be. There are also a variety of tools available to help you develop a more complete picture of your online landscape. We have linked to a few that may be useful in carrying out your research. This research will also help you better prepare for the potential website development stage of your digital marketing strategy, whether you are building a replacement site or starting from scratch. Search Terms Search Engines form a core aspect of any modern digital marketing strategy. Google accounts for 90% of the Search Engine market share in Europe. Luckily Google provide a range of tools for optimising and analysing your search engine marketing efforts. Understanding the search terms that your potential customers will use to find your products and services is vital for your digital marketing strategy campaign. Google Keyword Planner is very useful for determining keyword search volumes for geographical areas. For International digital marketing research we recommend using Global Market finder. This tool translates your keywords into languages used in the region that you selected and provides useful metrics to help you scope search volumes in international regional search markets. Link Building / Backlinks The quality and number of links into your website are a significant factor in how search engines determine how to rank your website in their search results. Building high quality links from trusted, authoritative and relevant sites is an important aspect of your digital marketing strategy. Social Media Social media can be a powerful channel in promoting your company, product and overall web presence. However choose the right platform(s). If your competition are not using a particular social media platform it maybe because their customers are not on it. Find out what social media platforms your customers are using. In fact Google now takes social media engagement into account in determining its search results. You can no longer say ‘It’s a waste of time or its not suitable for my business’. You have to engage with social media if you want to improve your rankings in search engine results – it’s that simple!