Easy Digital Marketing Plans for Starters
Although each company's marketing needs are different, there are some core tasks that can be applied to all digital marketing efforts. This is a basic plan for digital marketing that can be used by start-ups and businesses looking to incorporate digital marketing into their overall marketing plan.
Three things should be considered when developing a digital marketing strategy:
Your campaign components are low-risk. This includes a low price tag and high success rate. You can build a website, launch an SEO or PPC campaign, and so on.
Your campaign components are scalar, meaning they can grow with you.
You can easily terminate any component of your campaign. This will ensure that you don't get locked into a long-term agreement for a solution that isn't working.
You can track the components of your campaign, which will allow you to calculate your return on investment (ROI).
Your digital marketing plan should be cost-effective, flexible enough to grow with your business, enable performance tracking, and be easily exitable. Your marketing plan is crucial to ensure that your business succeeds after two years.
Low risk, high ROI digital marketing plan
You need a website. You may need to redesign a website you have already created to make it mobile-friendly, more resourceful, and look as good as the websites of your competitors. It is a good idea to shop around for designers. Talk to their clients, look at their portfolio and determine the best pricing. Website design prices vary widely between firms. A higher price does not necessarily mean a better website. A 20-page website that is simple and does not require a lot of programming should cost less than $3,000. The design company should also be trustworthy. This is an essential component of any digital marketing plan and you should not allow it to fail.
After you have chosen your design company, it's time to search for an SEO company. Many people wait until their website design is complete before looking for an SEO company. This is a mistake. Your SEO company will ensure that your new website is SEO-friendly. You have many options to make a website that is not search engine friendly. This will cost you your time and money. Website design companies that claim to be SEO experts should be avoided. You'll get better results if they place SEO at the top of their service list.
Be thorough when choosing an SEO company. Most SEO companies are either malicious or incompetent. About one in ten SEO professionals will be truly skilled. You need to be careful when searching for an SEO company. Talk to clients and search ranking examples. Get as technical as possible. It's not enough to make a sales pitch. You need to be able to hire competence. Your diligence will reap big rewards. SEO is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy. You must master it. SEO has the upside that it will likely give you the highest overall ROI of all the digital marketing components. It is possible for a website to take several months before it kicks-in if it is new or if your business is new.
Next, you should consider setting up a PPC Campaign, preferably using Google AdWords. Google AdWords can generate large amounts of business for your company, as well as draining your bank account. As running an AdWords campaign well-tuned can be quite complicated, we recommend hiring a professional. PPC can do two things: (1) it will drive immediate business, and (2) it will allow you to manage growth. SEO is slow to start, but PPC can be done quickly.
SEO and PPC should be your main digital marketing components. These are the two most important components of your digital marketing plan. Your business will be successful if they work well. These are the best digital marketing solutions to master before you start working on other tasks.
Higher Risk Digital Marketing Tasks
After you have mastered search (organic, PPC), it is possible to explore other digital marketing options. These include Social Media and ReTargeting as well as Banner Advertising (Display ads), and Blogging. All of these hot topics have the potential to become profitable.
Blogging/Content marketing - Blogs can help you increase your website's footprint. More content means more people will find you. This can also help you to establish yourself as an authority online. Your blogs should be of high quality content. It will be more appealing to your audience if the business owner or key employees are able to write the content. You should ensure that your blog is outsourced to a company that can produce quality content that adds value to your visitors.
Social Media - Very few companies have successful social media campaigns. We all know the hype around social media. Social media can be extremely effective in certain situations, but it will not work for everyone. Imagine this: Water starts to gush in your basement. Upon investigation, you discover that the pipe has burst. You should not follow a plumber on Twitter at this point. You can simply use your smartphone to search Google for a plumber. You found the company via SEO or PPC and not Twitter or Facebook. Social Media has its advantages. It allows your customers to communicate with you. Referring happy clients to your company can help you build your online reputation. For a low-end campaign, we recommend you (1) hire a higher-end social media agency or (2) manage social media in-house. However, you must be active (minimum two posts per month).
ReTargeting is a great solution for complex sales cycles. This works best for large companies that have a strong brand. However, this is not true for new or small businesses. PPC has a higher ROI than other methods, so don't forget about PPC. Use ReTargeting instead to grow beyond what PPC can offer.
Display Advertising - CPM-based banner ads have historically performed very poorly. It's unlikely you will be able to maintain a profitable campaign. While big companies can do better than small businesses with new brands, this is not the best place to start. We recommend Google AdWords if you are interested in display advertising. You can pay per click rather than per month. You should also ensure that your campaign can be tracked and that you can follow the ROI of each display network you use.
These are the key components of a digital marketing strategy. While there are many other options, we recommend you stick with the most proven technologies first before trying anything new. You'll eventually master these components and have an idea of what works and what doesn't.
SharpNet Solutions is available to help you start a digital marketing business if you don't have a company yet.