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

Transcription

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

2 Wri-ng an effec-ve digital media strategy comes down to three things: content, 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. The market Objec-ves Strategy Content Results K n o w y o u r t a r g e t audience, assess compe-tor tac-cs and align your messaging Set your strategic aims and define the objec-ves and specific goals Develop your strategy to deliver the objec-ves inline with your target market expecta-ons Create a consistent stream of quality content and distribute it at the right -me, in the right way. Measure the impact of the campaign against predefined targets. What should you stop, start and con-nue?

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

4 Market Unlike 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. 4 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.

5 Market Example planning template Compe:tor Social pla<orms Content types Key lessons for 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 Key lessons against Videos rarely geing likes on Facebook is it due to content or medium? 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! 5

6 Objec-ves Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. Jim Rohn

7 Objec-ves 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. 7 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 in September, from 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!

8 Objec-ves Example planning template Objec:ve Owner Measure of Success Increase hits to the web site as follows: September: From October: From November: From December: From 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 : September: 3500 October: 5000 November: 6000 December 700 Jo Monthly recording via Twi_er. 8

9 Strategy We are in the throes of a transi-on where every publica-on has to think of their digital strategy Bill Gates

10 Strategy 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 will change my boaom line in 3-6 months. Broadly speaking, there are 3 types of strategy you could employ: Direct Ouen 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, 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 10

11 Strategy Example planning template 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. Direct Paid Earned Strategic combina-on 1 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 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 Think about your Web site s front page as a collecion of pages, not one home page 11

12 Content plan Geing informa-on out of the internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant. Mitchell Kapor

13 Content Digital is the great equaliser and rela-onship builder. Humans by their very nature are communica-ve and 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. 13

14 Content Example planning template 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! 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 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 14 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.

15 Results However beau-ful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. Winston Churchill

16 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. 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 Audience downloading 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? 16

17 Results Example planning template Target (from objec:ves) Results Comments Increase hits from (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 Good result although need to increase par-cipa-on in more Twi_er sessions to increase numbers 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 17

18 DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY Secrets from the professionals