3 Steps For The Digital Win

Digital consists everything from email and websites to SEO and social media, and everything in between. Yes, it can be overwhelming. But it’s this complex mix of components that makes a digital strategy a vital investment.

From defining KPIs to understanding consumer behaviour, a well planned digital strategy can help propel your business in the right direction. More than a third of Chief Marketing Officers say that digital marketing will account for 75% or more of their spending within the next five years. Additionally, global digital media spend is expected to accelerate in 2017, expanding to 29.3% of the overall share of the ad market, up from 27% in 2016. So deciding how and where to distribute the digital portion of your budget is crucial to maximise ROI and stand out amongst competitors.

A Strategy Planning Framework

In a recently published study by Smart Insights, it was found that 50% of the surveyed organisations that carry out digital marketing activities lack a definitive strategy. A strategy’s role is to help you define your company’s current state and where you ultimately want it to be. Without the guidance of a fully integrated plan, you’re essentially left with no direction.

The first step is to have a clear understanding of your business’s operational landscape as it stands now. Are you undertaking any marketing activity and how much of this is digital? What resources are available to you, such as budget and expertise? What percentage of your target audience are customers? Questions such as these will get you thinking on the right track to highlight the progress you’re aiming for and plan your journey.

The success of a strategy heavily depends on a clear set of objectives from the start. These should guide the steps you’ll need to take in order to deliver them in the most time and cost-effective way.

Get to Know Your People

Through customer data, feedback, analytics and personas, you must get to know your target audience as best you can. Their individual wants, needs, motivations, reactions and even expectations should be central to your objectives – influencing everything from the content you put out, to the tone of voice you use in communications. Whilst it’s important to be optimistic, aim to outline specific targets that are measurable but also attainable.

When it comes to choosing digital channels for your campaign, it’s important to refer to your initial goals, and more importantly, identify where your demographic is active within the digital landscape. 71% of internet users are more likely to purchase from a brand that they are following on a social networking site such as Twitter or Facebook. If your target audiences are active on these platforms or others, you want to be there too, acting as a barrier between them and your competitors.

Monitor, Evaluate and Refine

A good strategy should act as a framework. That doesn’t mean you can ‘set it and forget it’. It should be reviewed and refined based on the effectiveness of your activities. Without careful monitoring of your performance, you won’t be able to adjust your activities to meet outstanding objectives.

By investing in digital, you’ve already got the upper hand. But the impact of your investment will rely on how proactive you are with using these resources to your benefit. Picture it as a continuous cycle, where you’re constantly using the insights you gain to plan your next move. Remember, testing is key, and it can take several changes to your strategy before you start seeing results.

Whether you’re just beginning your digital journey or feel your existing strategy is in need of a shake-up, why not get in touch. We’d love to chat and see where we can help out!