Introduction
Online marketing is one of the most powerful tools in any business owner’s arsenal. The internet gives you access to a global audience, and it allows you to measure your success in ways that weren’t possible just ten years ago. But with so many different channels to choose from and such a wide variety of tactics available, how do you know where to start? And how do you make sure your strategy is working?
That’s where we come in! In this post we will walk through the process of developing an effective online marketing strategy for your company by identifying some key steps along the way. By following this guide, we hope that you will be able to create a plan that works best for you and your business goals!
Start with the end in mind
You’ve probably heard it before: “Start with the end in mind.” But what does that mean? It means you should start by defining your business’s goals, not just setting out to achieve them. You see, when we set our sights on something, we sometimes get caught up in the details of how to get there and lose sight of what we’re actually trying to accomplish. If you want to develop an effective online marketing strategy for your business, it’s critical that you first define exactly what problem needs addressing—and then work backward from there.
Before developing a plan of action for tackling any challenge or opportunity at hand (or even just thinking about building one), ask yourself these questions: What does success look like? What are my goals? How can I reach those goals using this particular tool, service or program? If there’s no clear path toward achieving your objective—if it seems impossible from where you’re standing—then maybe this isn’t the right way forward after all!
Determining your marketing goals
The first step in developing your strategy is to determine what you want out of it. This includes defining your goals and setting milestones for every phase of the process. However, before we go into detail about that, let’s take a look at why goal setting is important in the first place.
- Goal-setting helps us set priorities and focus on what matters most
- It provides an objective metric against which we can measure our progress
- It encourages us to make decisions that align with these goals
Identify your target audience
Before you can develop a targeted marketing strategy, you need to know who your audience is. If you don’t know who they are or what they want, how can you craft a message that will resonate with them?
The first step in identifying your target audience is to ask yourself some key questions:
- Who are my customers? Are they male or female? What is their age range? Do they have children? Where do they live (city, state)? How much education do they have? Do I sell products that appeal more to certain demographic groups than others (for example, sports equipment vs. toys)?
- What do my customers want from me and from other businesses like mine? What value am I offering them now—and what additional value could I provide in the future as well as currently offer at no cost (e.g., coupons for discounts on future purchases).
- Where does my customer typically shop for similar goods/services—and where else might she go if she were unsatisfied with those options available locally today but would likely find something closer to home tomorrow if given another option through the Internet!
Understanding buyer behavior
Every buyer is different. Understanding how buyers think, what they value and their decision-making process will help you tailor marketing messages that resonate with them. Use analytics to identify commonalities among your buyers and the actions they take on your website. Then, use that information to guide the development of your content strategy.
Find out where your customers are online
Find out where your customers are online. Use a tool like Google Analytics to see where your customers are coming from and what they’re searching for. This will help you create an effective digital marketing strategy that speaks directly to the needs of your target audience.
What makes great content?
To develop the right content for your audience, you have to know your audience. That means you need to do market research and define who you’re targeting. Once you have a general idea of what makes them tick, it’s time to start brainstorming ideas for topics that will engage and inspire them.
Here are some tips on what makes great content:
- Make it valuable: The most successful blogs and articles are those that provide something valuable to the reader—how-to tutorials, DIY guides, inspirational stories or advice from experts in the field. They may not be the most exciting things in the world (and may even take some time), but they’ll help build trust with your audience by giving them something useful or inspirational every time they visit your website or social media pages like Facebook and Twitter.
- Make it shareable: If people can’t talk about it on social media then there’s no point in creating it! Good quality images work well here as well as video clips or audios where appropriate – anything which encourages others connect with each other through sharing their experiences and knowledge is good enough!
How to create Facebook Ads that actually convert
So you’ve got your Facebook advertising strategy in place, but how do you make sure those ads are going to convert? There are a few key things to keep in mind when creating your Facebook ads:
- Target audience. It all starts with knowing who your target audience is and where they hang out online. If you don’t know how to find them, it can be difficult to create the right ad for them. Once you have a handle on this crucial step, the rest of the process will come naturally.
- Create an engaging (and relevant) ad text that speaks directly to potential customers so that they immediately understand what makes this product/service/event so great for them as consumers. Remember: brevity is always king when it comes down to short attention spans! Be sure not only include images but also videos for maximum effect on clicks through rates (CTRs). If possible add links that lead back into their site from within ads too if there’s room left over after everything else mentioned above has been added – this way any visitor who was interested enough after seeing these posts will follow through with further exploration before making decisions about whether or not purchasing anything related might actually be worth their while later down stream when needed (which could happen sooner than anticipated even).
How to make a good Facebook Ad on the fly
The first step to creating a good Facebook ad is to understand what it is that you want. Do you want to sell something, build brand awareness, or generate leads? If your goal is to sell products and services, this can be achieved by using buttons in your ads. However, if you’re looking to increase brand awareness then it’s better to use an image as opposed to text because more people will see it rather than clicking on the button itself.
If your goal is lead generation then make sure that the call-to-action (CTA) button has a clear purpose and communicates what action users should take after viewing the ad or landing page. For example: “Get My Free Guide!” or “Schedule Your Appointment Now!”
You also need an image which will attract people’s attention when they’re scrolling through their newsfeeds on Facebook without any effort at all from them end since there are plenty of other things competing for eyeballs out there too such as videos with compelling storylines and images containing beautiful landscapes etcetera…
How to figure out if your digital marketing plan is working
- You should use analytics to track your progress.
- You should use a marketing automation tool to track your progress.
- You should use a CRM to track your progress.
- You should use a marketing team to track your progress.
- If you can’t do any of the above, try a combination of the above!
Conclusion
Now you’re ready to set up the perfect online marketing strategy! If you follow these steps, we can guarantee that your business will be on its way to success in no time.
