Quick Links

• Step 1: Business Research
• Step 2: Research Analysis
• Step 3: Key Objectives
• Step 4: Set Your Vision
• Step 5: Keyword Research
• Step 6: Utilising Data
• Step 7: Inbound Marketing and Lead Generation
• Step 8: Content Strategy
• Step 9: Website Strategy
• Step 10: Search Engine Optimisation
• Step 11: Social Media Marketing
• Step 12: Crisis Management
• Step 13: Search Engine Marketing
• Step 14: Programmatic Marketing
• Step 15: Email Marketing
• Conclusion

 

As businesses incorporate digital into their marketing mix, they need to ensure that they include a digital strategy that is well aligned with their broader business goals. An agile digital strategy is key for all businesses that want to succeed online, stay competitive and reach their ideal customers. 

Our digital definition of a comprehensive digital strategy is:

A digital strategy establishes the direction that a business follows online. A good digital strategy acts as a North Star for the business to follow, outlining the purpose of all online activities and aligning them with the organisations overarching goals. The digital strategy outlines the messaging, channels, assets, platforms, objectives, and tools a company needs to achieve their desired results online.

Plenty of businesses invest in digital assets like websites and databases as well on channels like social media, search engines and more - but without a robust digital marketing strategy, these activities feel rudderless and often struggle to achieve meaningful results. 

To help your digital activities reach their full potential, we have highlighted the critical steps that must be included in your business' digital strategy below.

1. Business Research

Collating research on your products or services, competitors and industry landscape, researching your target marketing, as well as existing and upcoming trends sets the ideal foundation of any good digital marketing strategy. 

It's important to also review and develop your keyword profile and keep an eye out for any potential distrupters - check out our full article on business research to make sure you have all of your bases covered.

2. Research Analysis

Evaluate your research and uncover any gaps or niches that have been identified. Outline the good, bad and neutral performance of your current digital activity. Lean on established models like Porter’s Five Forces for your industry or a SWOT on your assets, as well as your competitors. For more details on this step, check out our article dedicated to analysing your research.

3. Key Objectives

The full breakdown of your overarching business objectives should be at the heart of your digital strategy. Use these objectives to fuel your digital marketing strategy and ensure your efforts online are contributing to your broader picture - there is no point in doing digital marketing for the sake of it! 

Whatever your objectives may be, it's important to include key measurable metrics and ensure that your whole team is aligned with your objectives. Read more about setting your objectives in our article on this step.

4. Set Your Vision

Once you're aligned on your key targets, it's vital to get all stakeholders on board and set your why - this will be your company's vision; a statement that highlights what you're trying to achieve.

Your vision should answer the "whats" and "whys" behind your efforts. "Why do we need to do it" and "what do we want to be known for?" are both great starting points. Discover more about internal and external views and setting your vision with our Set Your Vision article.

5. Keyword Research

A keyword strategy is essential to ensure your website shows up at the right time. Whether it is for your SEO or your paid SEM campaigns, it's important to identify the key phrases that underpin your business' positioning online. Then you can utilise tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner, Google Search Console and others to delve into the data behind your keywords. To learn more about developing your keyword strategy check out our full article on keyword research.

6. Utilising Data

Data is critically important to any business and it is an element that is often missed in a digital strategy. It is a foundation that brings all the other elements together so that your objectives and goals can be achieved. You also need to consider what data elements you need, so you can capture the right inputs and have clear direction on how you will use it. Your data also helps qualify your audience and it should be analysed and optimised regularly. Read our article on utilising data for further details.

7. Inbound Marketing and Lead Generation

The inbound marketing methodology should be at the centre of your strategy if your products are tailored to a more complicated purchasing decision. It ensure your content, messaging and activities are customer-centric and allowed you strike a good balance between what your audience wants to hear about and what messages you as a business wants to push on them. This approach to digital marketing allows you develop lasting and strong relationships with your customers (one that overcomes the 3-second attention spans of today!) Read more about inbound marketing and lead generation here.

8. Content Strategy

Once you've completed your research and are comfortable with your keyword profile, as well as your inound marketing approach it's time to build out your content strategy. This is a key part of any inbound marketing strategy, as content fuels your online relationships with potential customers. That's why knowing your audience and keywords beforehand is so important - without these, you won't have the data to back up the actual value of the content you're creating for your target audience. Discover more about developing your content strategy in our dedicated blog.

9. Website strategy

Your company’s website is a key foundation to your digital strategy, so you must ensure your website strategy includes, a well-thought-out and tested UX (user experience), interface designs and visual guidelines, as well as web analytics and optimisation. Your website strategy should be aligned with your digital strategy's vision, goals and objectives. Read on about creating a website strategy.

10. Search Engine Optimisation

Once you have successfully created your website strategy, outline your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategy. You should consider and choose tools and assets which will help you execute your SEO as it does require quite specific data. Through, remember you shouldn't just select and forget tools. You need to continually research new tools that are in the market. Due to the dynamic nature of the industry, there will always be better tools becoming available. 

Aside from the tools, SEO is something you should consider every time you make changes to your website. Whether it's adding a new blog or removing an old page; there is always something to action to ensure these updates are optimised for Google and other search engines. See further details about SEO in our dedicated article.

11. Social Media Marketing

Social media is a crucial part of your digital marketing strategy. You need to review your target audience and figure out which platforms they frequent the ost. Whether it is Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok, you need to know which channels your customers are on - and make sure you're showing up in their feeds in a targeted, engaging way. Read more about the platforms you might utilise and how you can strategies best in our social media marketing article.

12. Crisis Management

For any social media marketing plan, you need to also have a crisis management plan in place. Things don't always go according to the best-case scenario, but you can always prepare to face any unforeseen circumstances or manage any event that might impact your business's financial standing, reputation, and assets. Discover what you might need to be prepared for and what to include in your digital crisis management plan here.

13. Search Engine Marketing

While social media marketing allows you to push messages to your highly targeted audience, your search engine marketing (or SEM) pulls users in through existing search demand. You're showing up while users search for your products or services; meaning they're already in an exploratory or buying mindset. It also differs from SEO as it is a paid alternative to ensure you don't miss out on that valuable search traffic. Uncover the intricacies of search engine marketing in our recent blog.

14. Programmatic Marketing

Programmatic marketing is recognised most commonly as display advertising. You'll see it when you open apps on your phone or visit your favourite websites. Whether it's remarketing ads or broad awareness targeting, programmatic is key to generating brand awareness and increasing your frequency and touchpoints with future customers. You can easily add programmatic to your digital marketing mix via display ads, native ads, CTV and more through Google or via other platforms like StackAdapt, Kargo and Bliss. 

15. Email Marketing

Email marketing should not be overlooked for any service or product-based business - especially with the increased restrictions around cookies. Your email marketing strategy allows you to build relationships with potential leads and warm them into customers while furthering your standing as a trustworthy brand or a source of valuable information. Your strategy here should be aligned with the goals and research you outlined earlier and should be taken into consideration for every email and subject line. Read more about what to include in your email marketing strategy here.

Conclusion:

By effectively executing the above steps within your digital strategy, you provide your business with a greater opportunity to succeed in the digital space as all aspects are considered. A successful digital strategy has the ability to increase your business, and if executed correctly, it will move your company to be thought-leaders within your designated space.

If you're wanting to build out your own digital strategy, check out our deep dive series on building out a digital strategy, starting with step one, Business Research.