What will happen if your favourite football club was left on the field without any strategy? Or what if there were no goalposts either?
Even the best players need some kind of plan to direct their efforts. Digital Marketing Strategy is a culmination of everything you need to do to score that winning goal. It’s a play-by-play and minute-by-minute design to prepare your brand for all the ups and downs of marketing. Whether you on-board a digital marketing agency in London or are going for the DIY approach, having a plan is as essential as having a goal post on the field.
Right now is the best time to build your digital powerhouse by applying all the technologies in your arsenal. As more individuals are logging on to stay in touch with the world, it increases your chances of being found while reducing your overall ad spends.
Here are seven causes why you need a digital marketing strategy in 2021 to survive and thrive through the changing landscape.
1. Untapped Opportunities
Gone are the days of the slow and steady winning the race. In a constantly updating environment, the fastest finger wins the game. As the entire paradigm is disrupted after 2020, bigger opportunities have opened up for those willing to adapt. By devising a time-scaled plan, you can tap onto SEO and influencer-led campaigns, establishing authority within the industry. Content and social media marketing strategies further surface the gaps which your competitors have conveniently missed, giving you the space to carve a specialized niche.
2. Sense of Direction
By the time you read this sentence, the internet would go around the world and come back a million times over. Without a defined digital marketing strategy, you can find yourself sitting idle or waiting for social media trends to come up. Either way, your marketing efforts would hit a brick wall and put you in a stagnant position. By having a clear notion of where you want to go, you can measure your progress and alter your tactics to build a long-lasting brand image. It all starts with fixing S.M.A.R.T goals that are inclined towards building a relationship with your target audience.
3. Audience Targeting
Much like your products and services, your marketing messages will not resonate with the whole world. To see exponential gains, you’ll need to be extremely specific on who is your ideal buyer. This is where the digital strategy would come into play. By creating a robust buyer persona and gathering all the data around your consumers, you can define and target the people most primed for conversion. It would essentially increase your reach and visibility through a cascading effect of brand advocacy.
4. End-to-End Personalization
The digital world is far bigger than the real one. You can easily get lost if you’re “just another seller” on the platform. Personalization through strategy allows you to build a separate segment for yourself within the pre-existing market. Buyers now expect their engagement to be hyper-targeted and super-relevant to their needs. In fact, 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that offer recommendations and deals relevant to them. Whether it be social, email marketing or your web content, devise a plan to address the pain points in an individualistic manner.
5. Integrated and Synergistic Efforts
Digital marketing efforts can either be departmentalized or handled in a holistic manner. The way you package your strategy would dictate if the messaging is haywire or acts as a coherent network. Hence, it is crucial to create a funnel where all your channels, posts and publications come together to avoid any redundancies. Especially in the case of larger organizations, duplication and piecemeal aesthetics can hinder the brand image instead of boosting it. Furthermore, when integrated with traditional marketing methods, it can lead to a complete transformation that leverages both methods for maximum impact.
6. Increased Market Share
With undefined marketing, there shall be no consistency in your digital tactics, opening the field far and wide for the competitors to capture your market. On the other hand, you can turn the tables by indulging in intensive competitor research and targeting the gaps left open by your adversaries. Using the power of SEO, PPC campaigns, content marketing and social media ads, you’ll be looking at an elevated digital presence that runs ahead of your opposition. It shall also place you as a subject matter expert in the field, thus generating inbound leads like never before.
7. Optimized CPC and Ad Budgets
Paid ads give you an advantage over the organic players by placing your brand and company amidst them with less than half the effort. The last year saw a major fall in ad budgets due to the paradigm shift and lack of working capital. This creates an opportunity for you to rank among the veterans with lower ad costs due to fewer bids. Less competition can also be translated to higher conversions with optimized budgets and relevant clicks. A well-planned strategy shall lend vital insights into how this opening can be banked upon in an efficient manner.
Ending Notes
While there are many reasons to devise a digital marketing strategy right away, like conversational marketing, derivative UX, online events and increased email marketing prospects, the one that matters is the spike you shall see in sales and revenue. A defined plan shall also help you keep track of your growth and help you accomplish your business objectives in the long run.
Additionally, digital marketing is a winding road with complex twists and turns. To be completely aware of your next step, you need some kind of roadmap that protects your brand image, no matter the situation. When applied appropriately, it can persuade your clients and your competition of the superiority you hold over other products or services.
A strong digital marketing strategy can be the most effective tool for your business when used extensively and efficiently.