Technology has changed the face of marketing. Traditional marketing channels are becoming less effective - but thankfully digital marketing has stepped up to give consumers what they want, while meeting the marketing needs of businesses.

Technology has changed the face of marketing dramatically over the past decade.  It has enabled consumers to access information at a time and place that suits them.  The businesses that can't provide this information are often missing out on sales.

In fact, traditional marketing channels are becoming less effective. We fast-forward through TV ads and even when browsing the internet we look at what we are interested in, ignoring the ads and banners.  So marketing, especially digital marketing, has evolved to provide value to consumers.  This value is what encourages customers to learn about your product or become aware of your brand. 

What is Digital Marketing?

While most people probably associated digital marketing with the Internet, the term digital marketing can also apply to text messaging, podcasts, digital TV, digital radio channels and mobile apps.

A digital marketing plan will usually include the digital marketing approaches (like content marketing, inbound marketing and lead nurturing) a business intends to use to provide customers with value while also promoting their own brand or products and services. 

Why Have a Digital Marketing Plan?

The process of creating a Digital Marketing Plan (or strategy) will help you clarify what you want to achieve, understand how to engage your target market online and outline the actions you need to take to market your business digitally and measure the effectiveness of your actions.

Because the realm of digital marketing is so broad, a Digital Marketing Plan can be a huge step for a business who has never promoted themselves online outside of their website. 

If you have never promoted your business online or via social media, or if you are using social media but are not confident that it's working for your business, we suggest you start small.... with a Social Media Plan.

What's a Social Media Plan?

If you are new to marketing your business online, then a social media plan can be a good place to start. It will make you think about what you want to achieve, who you are marketing to (and how) and provide a ‘plan of attack’. We don't believe this should be a huge document that takes days to create. A pragmatic 1-2 page document of considered and careful planning can be just as effective (often more effective) for getting your organisation engaging with potential customers on social media. Check out this article on How to develop a social media plan. Also have a look at Social Selling - using social media to engage with your prospects.

Note: At the bottom of this article please find a Social Media Planning template which will talk you through creating a simple plan to get your organisation using social media effectively.

I think I need a Digital Marketing Plan

If you are looking for more than a Social Media Plan, or are confident you have social media under control then a Digital Marketing Plan should be your next step.

To the uninitiated the realm of digital marketing can be overwhelming. Pay-per-click marketing, AdWords, Remarketing, Inbound Marketing, Social Media Planning, Content Marketing, Lead Nurturing, In-display ads, In-stream ads, Click-through... the jargon used can be confusing to say the least. 

To help we have developed a Digital Marketing Plan template which is ‘simple’ strategy  written in such a way to educate a ‘non-marketing’ person on the key terms that are important to understand when defining a plan. It also includes example projects which you can adapt to be your own.

Note: At the bottom of this article you will find a Digital Marketing Plan template which talks you through the steps you need to take to create an effective Digital Marketing Plan.

Publishing Calendar

Regardless of whether you are following a Digital Marketing Plan or a Social Media Plan it's useful to have a publishing calendar. The calendar will help you keep track of the content that is planned, the person responsible and what metrics will be captured to measure success.  It's important to plan your content in advance to make sure you have a cohesive structured approach to your organisation's presence online.

Note:  At the bottom of this article is a Publishing Calendar Template to help you track what you will publish and where.

I'm not sure what I need

If you not quite sure whether you should start with a Digital Marketing Plan, a Social Media Plan or something else, have a look at the image at the bottom of this page.

Want to know more?

If you have any questions or need advice, you can get in touch with the Digital Journey team at hello@digitaljourney.org.

Digital Journey works with individuals, businesses and organisations of all types across New Zealand. We provide FREE online digital assessments and resources, as well as training, coaching and project management services.

Our vision is to help everyone get the most out of the Internet, online tools and digital technology. Find out more at www.digitaljourney.org.