What are the four elements of a successful digital marketing strategy?

Today digital marketing strategy is a staple of every business’ marketing plan.   

With almost everyone going online to source the products and services they need, your success is dependent on devising and implementing creative and workable strategies to make sure you get found, start new conversations and stay in touch for the long-term. 

The key to digital marketing success is to have a cohesive plan that spans the four major elements of digital marketing strategy.  Operating in shifts and dipping in and out of these elements simply won’t cut it.  It’s impossible to know which channels people are looking at and being influenced by at any particular time.  You need to bring all four together and use them consistently. 

But what are these four elements?  They are … 
 

1. Email Marketing 

Although it’s sometimes viewed as a little dated, email marketing still works well if it’s done well. 

Yes, you can send out news but with the proliferation of new content that’s exploded out of the various lockdowns, your news needs to be eye-catching, valuable, practical and bang on the money if it’s going to be noticed. 

It may be better to change tack slightly and use your emails to deliver promotional offers, free trials, and rewards.  

Or keep it short and punchy by sharing testimonials and reviews. 
 
However, while these types of emails are proving more engaging, if they are going to work they have to be directly relevant to the recipients.  This means you will need to be more disciplined in the way you manage and segregate your data (while staying on the right side of GDPR).  It also means you’ll need to be more flexible in terms of the way you construct your mail pieces so exactly the right messages hit the right inboxes. 

Yes, this will take a greater investment of time and effort, but it will also increase your conversion. 

 
2. Social Media  

Social media use is almost incalculable (not to mention still growing fast).  As a result, most businesses now use social media to interact with their markets.   
 
It’s appeal is obvious.  It’s reach is vast.  It affords you total creative control.  And it’s free! 

You can post limitless promotional updates and content but you can also actually talk to your customers, encourage questions and actually make your markets feel part of your business. 

The flipside is everyone else is also trying to leverage as much as they can from social media.  This means those managing your social accounts need to work hard to keep your audience engaged.   

Some of this is about consistency (there are untold competitors waiting to muscle in if you’re taking too long between posts).   

Some of this is about creativity and – dare we say – experimentation so your posts remain fresh and interesting.  

An awful lot though is simply about staying relevant, finding the right tone to really connect with the people you want to connect with. 

3. SEO  

As we said at the start, today almost everyone jumps online to find the products and sources they want.  This means you must make sure you are on the first page in all the most relevant search results. 

You can have the most beautifully designed website and beautifully crafted content and creative but if it’s not at the top of the search results, it won’t be found.   

I know it’s soul destroying to hear but 67% of people get past the first 5 search results and only 5% of people will go to page 2 of the search results.  This means you need a fully formed SEO plan and be prepared to resource it as SEO is a constantly moving feast. 

4. Paid Ads 

Paid ads and pay-per-click campaigns are proven ways to improve your clicks and new enquiry rates and strengthen your organic SEO rankings.   

Therefore, if you are planning to sell a lot of your products/services online, it’s a cost you should include in your marketing budget.  

However, different types of ads do different things in different markets.  Before you spend a penny, you need to sit down with someone who really understands all the vagaries of the online advertising world and design the strategy that suits your business best. 
 

If you would like to discuss how you could improve your digital marketing strategy and find new ways to generate more online enquiries, please get in touch.