What Is a Digital Marketing Plan for 2021
What is a Digital Marketing Plan?
Last week we answered the question of what a digital marketing strategy is with the seven pillars of 2021.
The seven pillars we touched on included identifying who you are. A business needs a specific, clear, and concise definition. If you are all over the place and offer a multitude of services, you may not realize that you are giving the impression that you're not very good at one or two things, but ok at many.
Focusing on a couple of services rather than a broad range gives prospective clients or customers the confidence that you offer expertise. To read what the other six pillars are, we recommend going back and revisiting the 7 Pillars of a Digital Marketing Strategy, you may want to familiarize yourself with them as you begin to formulate your marketing plan.
What is the difference between a digital marketing strategy and a plan?
We are glad you asked!
A digital marketing strategy is a plan of action—the steps laid out that you need to follow to reach your goal. Those steps include the basics -
- Who?
- What?
- Where?
- How? and
- Why?
A Digital Marketing plan can be considered as a campaign, or the actual actions taking place.
It's where you take the information discovered in a digital marketing strategy and put them to work.
Putting together the dots!
From a Digital Marketing Strategy we can develop:
- Business Brand
- Target Market
- Business Culture
- Products
- Serving
- Needs Met by Business
Where the strategy is the "why" behind your marketing, the plan is the "how."
Since we examined the "why" last week, let's discuss the "how."
How to Create a Brand
A brand includes so much more than colors and a logo. It goes back to the origin of the word brand which means "a burning or a mark of ownership."
Your business brand should develop a word picture in the minds of your clients, employees, and associates. It's what you stand for and are known for.
Take a few well-known brands, Disney, Tesla, Apple, or Google. What instantly pops into your mind with each one?
This is what you are aiming at in developing a brand.
How to Reach a Target Market?
Once you complete a strategic plan, it should include an outline of who your potential clients or customers most likely are.
If you find yourself at a loss in determining your target market, that is definitely something we can help you with.
To get an idea of your target market, you should ask a few questions such as:
- What age are they?
- Are they primarily male or female?
- Are they married or single?
- What is their level of education?
- Do they shop online or in-store?
- What motivates them?
- What are they looking for?
These are just a few questions to ask. The more questions you ask about who would most want your product or service, the better. You want to narrow the scope to focus on those most likely to purchase your product or service.
What is Your Business Culture?
The one thing that America experienced in 2020 was the emphasis on culture and the importance its role plays out in communities as well as across the nation as a whole.
A big push in certain areas of culture was introduced with engagements on social media, the news, everywhere you went a conversation about culture was ongoing.
When you describe your business culture, it's important to consider that it reflects the attitudes and behaviors of owners as well as employees.
Culture is the way your organization will interact with each other and with your community. The business's core values will be evident in the decisions made on a daily basis.
What Services or Products will my Business Offer?
For some business owners, this is simple. They have inherited a business, bought into a franchise, went to college or a specific trade school and by default, know exactly what their business will offer.
However, your business no matter how generic it is... should always differentiate from another business exactly like yours.
What makes your product or service superior?
Knowing this is also part of your branding.
For those still searching for the core of their business, getting with a consultant to hash out these important details could be the one thing that sets you apart from any competition.
What Need does my Business Meet?
This one question is loaded with the potential to either give you the confidence you need to start your business or the key ingredient to grow your business.
Again, this is where focusing on one to three needs your business meets rather than ten to twenty. Think narrowing your focus to be the very best at one thing.
What can your business do better than any other in your line of work?
What products can you offer and how can you offer them that they are superior to all other similar products?
From Strategy to Boots on the Ground
Once your business has moved from the strategic planning phase, the outline of how you will develop and deploy your business will be the next step.
If you've discovered some of the answers to the questions above but are wavering with others, reaching out to one of our consultants could be what saves you time and money in the long run.
We are experts at helping business owners develop a workable plan to start a new business or jumpstart an established business that finds itself floundering amid all the changes this year.
Why we Exist
We help business owners create a digital marketing plan that works specifically for them. We save them time and money by developing the steps particular to a business's area of needed growth.
Businesses aren't the same and how they attract new clients or sell their products aren't the same either.
Stop wasting your time and money by copying your competitor when you should be using a distinct digital marketing plan designed to meet each season of your business.
Not only can we develop a specific plan for your business, but we have the experts that can take the pressure off of you and execute it perfectly. If you are interested in learning more about our Digital Marketing Plan product, email Mitzi at [email protected].
Our passion is helping business owners be successful! We here to help you!
