A Comprehensive Guide to

Digital Marketing Strategy

digitalmarketinginstitute.com
 Introduction
“Digital Marketing is the marketing of products or services using digital
technologies, mainly on the Internet, but also including mobile phones,
display advertising, and any other digital medium,” according to Wikipedia.
It is a great definition, but it is rather broad. “Internet”, for example,
might encompass many things – the list of channels one can use to reach
customers online is vast.

As if this isn’t enough to accelerate our heartrate, Wikipedia further states:

“Digital marketing methods such as search engine optimization (SEO), search
engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content
automation, campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce
marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, email direct
marketing, display advertising, eBooks, and optical disks and games are
becoming more common in our advancing technology. In fact, digital
marketing now extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media,
such as mobile phones (SMS and MMS), callback, and on-hold mobile ring
tones.”

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 That’s a beast of a list. And this list isn’t even complete! No wonder 49%
of businesses do not have a clearly defined digital marketing strategy
(according to Smart Insights). It’s not easy trying to wrap your head around
every single path a buyer takes on his/her purchase journey, using dozens
of channels and one of hundreds of possible customer-brand touchpoints at
any single point in time. But that is precisely the reason your company needs
a solid digital marketing strategy.

Credit: Smart Insights, https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-

strategy/percentages-businesses-digital-marketing-plan

First things first though. Let’s look at the definition of strategy. The English
dictionary describes a strategy as ‘a plan of action designed to achieve a
long-term or overall aim’. A successful strategy is an approach based on
specific goals, targets, budget and timeframe.

Over the years, however, the words ‘strategy’ and ‘tactics’ have been used
interchangeably. That’s a mistake. There is a difference between strategy and
tactics.

Strategy is the what you are planning on executing, why and where.
Tactics are specific actions taken to achieve the strategy.
Sheer scope and scale of digital marketing is the key challenge/block in
producing a meaningful digital marketing strategy. There is a huge number
of digital marketing techniques across dozens of channels to be considered,
and within those techniques there are a lot of specific tactics to be executed.

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 Each needs to be evaluated and prioritized based on the effectiveness and
performance.

Using the tactics without a thought-out strategic plan is still very much
commonplace because it is easier to do so. In doing so, digital marketers
are missing the huge benefits of longer-term planning married with the
short-term optimization. They are missing opportunities for better targeting,
messaging and optimization, for better customer retention.

It is a bit scary to think about the strategic scope you are thinking of tackling.
But don’t panic. We can overcome this challenge together by breaking down
our task into more manageable pieces.

If yours is one of the companies that doesn’t have a digital strategy yet, I
suggest the following approach:

• Step 1: For each subset of the marketing need or channel, create a

separate plan defining transformation required.
• Step 2: Produce an integrated digital marketing plan that aligns all the
above elements in a cohesive and comprehensive strategic approach.
But in doing so, make sure that your plan has a phased approach for
cleaner execution path.
• Step 3: Make the case for investment and outline the key missing pieces
for making the plan a success.

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 “Perception is strong and sight weak.
In strategy it is important to see distant
things as if they were close and to take
a distanced view of close things”
— Miyamoto Musashi, legendary Japanese swordsman

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 Word of Caution:

Your strategy is a live organism. Even though your annual objectives might
not change, the execution plan should evolve and be optimized based on the
real-time performance and insights around business impact and customer
behaviors.

Key Strategic Components to

Consider
To help you understand key components of creating a successful strategy,
I’ve created a ‘4Cs’ framework: Customers, Channels, Content and Clarity.

Customers
Knowing your customers is the first critical step. As you are building out
the strategy, you need to consider your buyer’s decision-making path. The
easiest model to use here is the traditional marketing funnel. As you are
thinking through the various stages the customer moves through, you
need to adjust your approach, content and channels to each one of those
stages. Just Google ‘marketing funnel’ and you’ll see a ton of suggestions on
strategies, key performance indicators (KPIs), and tools to use during each
one of the stages.

What’s critical here, however, is to map out the customer path based on your

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 customer personas to ensure relevance of channels, content, and delivery
timing. Moreover, you will need ways to continue profiling your customers in
real-time as their preferences and perceptions shift and change constantly.
This is where you shouldn’t rely on your static customer relationship
management (CRM) systems, but move beyond those into social media
profiling. This will ensure targeted personalization and customer retention.
In addition, you should look at implementing actionable customer feedback
loop for continuous improvement of your products and services.

Channels
Digital marketing strategy is often called omni-channel digital marketing
strategy. There is a reason for that. The channel you use to connect with
your prospects and customers is critically important. It differs depending on
where in the marketing funnel the customer is and you need to adapt the
content format and message to that specific channel.

It’s not easy to do. Why? Just look at the list below. Impressive, isn’t it?
Consider that some of the items on the list have dozens of additional
channels built in (such as social media channels, for example).

Here is a comprehensive list of traditional, digital and social media

channels to spark your creativity:

• Ads
• Blogs
• Chatbots
• Customer communities
• Digital magazines
• Email
• Events
• In-store signage
• Mobile apps
• News outlets
• Podcasts
• Print
• SMS/text

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 • Social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest
etc.)
• TV/film product placements
• Voice/audio skills
• Virtual assistants
• Website
• Applications
• Product packaging

As you are creating the strategy, you need to account for different channels
and their specific requirements. Consider that your audience will vary
depending on the channel (even though there might be some overlap, the
big percentage of your audience will be different either in demographic,
interests, or content-sharing expectations).

Word of Caution:

Prioritize owned channels such as your website and your blog.

Social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, though huge in reach
and engagement, are just rented land. You have no control over the channel
beyond managing your own communities on those channels.

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 Content
Content is the fuel behind everything you do in digital marketing. Effective
storytelling through a variety of content formats is what drives awareness,
consideration, and ultimately purchase of your product or service. Everything
you design is shaped around content in some form or another.

Here are some examples of content you can use for both organic and
paid media:

• Blog posts
• Images
• Infographics
• Memes
• Presentations
• Whitepapers and eBooks
• Videos
• Cartoons
• Cinemagraphs
• GIFs

Your goal is to become a trusted guide in your area of expertise. You need to
become a reputable source where people go to learn more before making
the decision to purchase. This helps you build trusted relationships with
customers.

And happy customers eventually become evangelists for your brand. The
key to captivating your target market is to create content that is not only
engaging, but helpful, timely and personalized.

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 Take your website, for example. Here are some of the things you can do
to spice up the content on your website:

• Make sure your homepage is visually appealing and clear about what
your company does.
• Don’t overuse stock photos. People prefer a personal touch, something
that tells your own story and highlights real people.
• Make sure your branding is clear and consistent throughout the site.
• Make your language simple and use the right call to action.
• Break up the content with images, videos, bullet points, icons etc.
• Make your content relevant. Every section of your website should add
value and have a purpose.
• Use SEO tactics to ensure you are using the right keywords and lingo in
your content.
• Your blog shouldn’t be a fountain of self-promotion. It should be a
helpful resource with the articles that answer your customers’ pressing
questions (how-to videos, Q&As and advice).

Use creative teams, either in-house or within your partner agencies, who
specialize in writing, graphics and design to create meaningful content to
attract prospects from all types of industries. Good writers know that the
right words combined with the most appropriate images can tell the story
of your brand in that micro-moment which ultimately captivates a prospect.
Experienced writers and designers create the tone and voice that helps your
prospects connect with your brand on a personal level.

Pay attention to content trends and ‘flavor of the hour’ discussions.

Designate a part of your budget to real-time or ‘always-on’ programs which
would allow you to test different tactics of agile content creation to stay
relevant with the latest and greatest.

Using listening tools and anecdotal insights into the conversations within
your brand communities, be flexible in shifting your content topics where
the customers’ interests or needs currently lie. Nowadays a big chunk of your

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 budget should be allocated to real-time content creation in a variety of visual
and snackable formats to accommodate the needs and formats of different
channels.

Content needs to not just engage, but educate and help. It’s good to
entertain and make people laugh – that shows you are human and drives
traffic to the site. However, in their hour of need people want real-time help
with no fluff. Be that trusted guide.

Clarity
Clarity comes from insights. Business insights are the most valuable and
important elements in evolving your strategy. Real-time analysis and insights
are critical to understand what works and what doesn’t. Based on that, you
can change the ration of your budget allocation to ensure you get the biggest
bang for your buck.

Look at the performance of your content and your ads, and understand
the impact of each on the channels you are active on. Create a list of the
KPIs and metrics you should not only track, but also report to management.
Without this element, everything else in your strategic deck is useless.
Without solid data, you won’t know what elements of your strategy work
well. Without trial-and-error tactics and taking risk on new formats and
channels, you won’t be able to innovate and stay ahead of the competition.

And a Bonus…
There is an additional C to consider, and that is Competition. As you are
designing your strategy, keep an eye on the competition: the tactics they
use, the programs they run, the mistakes they make. There is a huge caveat
here though – and that is the definition of the word ‘competition’. When you
hear it, I am sure you immediately think about the competitors within your
industry. I suggest you rethink the term and think bigger.

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 Word of Caution:

If you benchmark against your direct competition, you are already behind.
Some of the most innovative companies in the space benchmark against the
market leaders independent of the industry or product. They benchmark
themselves against best-in-class companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, Apple,
Amazon, and others who lead in the digital marketing space.

One of the resources I suggest you use as you are looking at your strategy
is this great infographic created by Helene Hall of Gravytrain. It gives you a
high-level framework to consider.

“The reason most people never reach their

goals is that they don’t define them, or ever
seriously consider them as believable or
achievable. Winners can tell you where they
are going, what they plan to do along the
way, and who will be sharing the adventure
with them”

— Denis Waitley

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 Mapping Out Your Strategy
So we’ve talked about the importance of strategy and the key elements to
consider while blueprinting it. Now let’s start putting it together.
As you are creating the strategy, remember that the strategic document
isn’t just for you to use as a North Star, it’s the approach that will need to
be approved by your executive team. Thus, I suggest crafting what I call
a Strategic Story – a presentation that tells the story of not only what you
propose to implement (the ‘what’ and the ‘how’), but tells your management
the ‘why’ and outlines the necessary ‘how much’ and ‘what is needed’ to
achieve your goals.

Here are the pillars of a successful strategy.

Current State of Digital Marketing Within the Organization

When you are creating a strategic proposal, you must always consider the
past first. To truly sell your strategy to executives and stakeholders, you
first need to show a solid understanding of the current landscape or state
of digital marketing within your company: what has been done in the past,
what worked and what failed, and what new things you have tried.

It sounds simple enough: just summarize the past initiatives. Right? But it
isn’t. To create even one slide that summarizes the current state of affairs,
you need to do a thorough audit of not just past programs, but the current
state and effectiveness of all the channels and customer touchpoints, as well
as the lessons learned. In addition, it would require outlining the key data
points and KPIs. Auditing done right takes time and thought.

I suggest going one step further and doing a thorough digital marketing
SWOT Analysis. SWOT analysis (or SWOT matrix) is a strategic planning
technique used to help a person or organization identify the Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to business initiative or project
planning. It is intended to specify the objectives of the business venture or
project, as well as identify the internal and external factors that are favorable

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 and unfavorable to achieving those objectives. SWOT analysis will not only
help you think through all the elements of the proposal on a deeper level,
but will add credibility to your pitch when it comes time to present to your
management.

Global Digital Trends and Industry Trends That Impact Business

This part isn’t always included in the strategy document and I think it’s a
huge miss. This is especially true if you are in a new role that still requires
education and a certain level of persuasion across the organization.
Unfortunately, digital marketing and social media disciplines are still
considered rather new and oftentimes fall into that category.

Hence, providing data that supports your vision becomes critical when you
are lobbying for the budget needed to execute your proposal. It shows that
you not only know the industry, but you are also on top of the latest and
greatest in global digital trends and have a clear understanding of how they
might impact the business in the future.

There are a lot of research firms (such as eMarketer, Altimeter, Gartner,

Forrester, and others) that will provide market data – and most importantly
digital adoption data – across a variety of topics and industries. If you read
other digital and social marketing publications, you will stay abreast of the
news in digital marketing that will boost your ability to use real-life business
case studies and best-in-class program examples.

The Suggested Strategic Approach and Its Benefits

This is the heart of your strategy. Start by outlining your vision – where you
need to go in the next three, six, 12, 18 months and what you believe needs
to be done to get there.

Outline the proposed strategic approach by highlighting your goals and

objectives (make sure they clearly align with the corporate charter). Then
state what needs to be accomplished and make sure to highlight key
priorities and key executing drivers that will help you achieve them.

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 Always include proof points and any insights that you uncovered during your
prior audit. Proof points are necessary to lend credibility to the path you are
suggesting.

It would be helpful if you could also specify any existing and potential
challenges for achieving success. There will always be some, no matter
your role or organization. Specifying them up front is helpful because
your executives need to be aware of where they can provide their help in
eliminating the obstacles you face. Unfortunately, a lot of the obstacles are
cultural and political – in these cases you definitely need the help of a senior
sponsor in removing the hurdles, which – to be successful – will need to be
done in a diplomatic way.

An essential element of the proposal should be a phased approach for its

execution. You need to clearly define what steps need to be taken to get
there. You don’t have to outline every single tactic, but you need to know
how you will accomplish it.

The reason for a phased approach is human nature, really. If you present
a large proposal, it will always look like a huge unattainable goal. And nine
times out of 10 you are guaranteed to be strapped for resources (both
financial and human) to achieve it right away.

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 If, however, you break it down into manageable steps – a phased approach –
this will help you create a narrative that is easy to comprehend and execute.
If your company is a global enterprise, the scaling part becomes even more
critical. It isn’t easy to scale across geographies and business units – it
requires through-out process and time.

One last thing I recommend you include in this portion of your strategy
is examples. Who within or outside of your industry have successfully
attempted a similar approach, and what worked and didn’t work for them?
This isn’t as easy to find as you think. If you are attempting to implement
something very few have in the past, the chances are you won’t read about
it in industry publications. You will have to go out and connect with other
brand marketers and find out who has implemented similar initiatives in the
past, or is currently attempting to do so.

Establish a network of peers who can provide you with valuable information
that you need. The easier approach would be to become a member of an
organization that can connect you with such peers. Another approach is to
go to the digital marketing and social media events to meet other digital
marketers and listen to their stories.

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 Necessary Resources
To successfully implement your strategy, you will need a host of people
and technologies, let along financial support. Be sure to outline your needs
clearly.

Consider these questions:

• Do you need to hire new people?

• What tools and technology will you need to accomplish your goals? (This
one is usually the heaviest budget item)
• Will you need help from external partners (such as creative agencies)?

Don’t just ask for money, however. The biggest mistake people make is
thinking that getting a solid budget will solve all their problems. That’s not
the case. Here are some additional things to ask for:

• Executive support. If you haven’t found the sponsor who would help
spearhead your initiative at an executive level, ask for one. Without the
sponsor your struggle for strategic and ideological adoption will multiply
severely.
• Process changes and cultural shifts necessary to accomplish the goal.
You need to be clear on what must be done differently in order for your
plan to succeed. Sometimes cultural obstacles or the “we’ve always done
it this way” mentality can be a bigger problem than the lack of budget.

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 Outcomes and Metrics
Be crystal clear on the outcomes:

• What they look like

• How you will measure them
• How you will report on them
• Your plans for real-time optimization for higher investment effectiveness

Create high-level strategic KPI dashboards and specific SaaS KPI dashboards.
Make them visible and report on your progress often.
As I mentioned earlier, your strategy is a living document and shouldn’t be
static. Evolve as you move along and learn from your mistakes (and yes, you
will make mistakes!). The important part is to perfect the approach before
you scale it across the organization. So real-time optimization and learning is
a must.

Stakeholders
Be clear on who the internal and external players are. Ensure everyone
knows who sponsors the strategy on the executive level. Don’t be afraid to
call on internal peers from other groups where you need support and advice.
The more you involve them into your process, the more interest they’ll have
in seeing it succeed.

Timelines
Lastly, specify the timelines of your phase approach. Set expectations
around the execution and deliverables.

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 Conclusion
Digital marketing strategy isn’t just a document or a flashy presentation.
It’s much more than that. It’s a North Star that guides your team. It’s an
approach that allows you to innovate within your organization. It is an
opportunity for you to show what you and your team can do. It is a factor
that gives executive team confidence in your team’s ability to contribute to
positive business impact.

Yes, a lot of digital marketing teams don’t have a clear strategic guidance
from executives. But that’s no excuse for you to not have a strategic plan in
place. It does take time and effort to produce. But once you have it in place,
you will see a huge positive change in your team’s execution and confidence
level of internal stakeholders.

In eternal words of Sun Tzu:

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route

to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise
before defeat.”

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