Introduction to Online Marketing Strategy
Online marketing strategy is when a company plans to establish a presence online through online channels, including organic search, social media, and paid ads. It maximizes paid and earned media. Before you can create a new online marketing strategy, it’s important to audit the current state of an organization’s assets that are already in place. Part of a marketing strategy for online purposes is identifying what goals must be in place to achieve the result. Tactics feed into promptly putting the plan into action and reaching the goals planned out beforehand.
The Core Components of an Effective Online Marketing Strategy
You must build a strong foundation for a successful online marketing strategy. You need to look into the core components that make up having an effective online marketing strategy in the first place. Some of the core components of a strong online marketing strategy are:
- Audience Targeting and Segmentation: The STP process, which stands for segmentation, targeting, and positioning, is part of the online marketing strategy. Segmentation is grouping customers together and determining the characteristics of customers. Targeting is selecting the segment of customers they need to focus on. Positioning is when you create a value proposition for the company that appeals to a specific customer segment.
- Content Creation and Distribution: Content creation is usually in written form on a company’s website and distributed on their blogs or resources page. The content pulls people into wanting to learn more about the company.
- SEO and Organic Search Optimization: SEO stands for search engine optimization. SEO optimizes content by having keywords in it that people are searching for. Organic SEO is when you use methods to obtain a higher placement on your website’s page.
- Paid Advertising and Retargeting Campaigns: Paid advertising is anything the company pays for on social media platforms and has a certain amount of money it spends daily on the ad. Retargeting campaigns are split into two categories, which are pixel-based and list-based. Pixel-based is re-displaying your material to anonymous site visitors. List-based retargeting is uploading a list of email addresses to retarget a marketing campaign and the platform will identify people on that network, serving retargeted ads just to them.
- Social Media Engagement and Branding: Social media engagement refers to liking comments on social media posts and retweeting, replying to comments and questions, and answering direct messages. Branding is more abstract in that it concerns the core values and the brand’s purpose for someone interested in looking more into it.
Why Your Business Can’t Ignore Online Marketing
Online marketing is part of the digital era that we continue to be in. It’s part of the ever-changing technological environment the world is part of now. A business can’t survive without an online presence, which is part of the factors of online marketing. It’s hard to keep up with trends and methods of digital marketing, but not being up to date in general with your website and online platforms can hurt your business. Online marketing is a data-driven decision regarding strategy, not a touch-and-go situation. The other reasons a business can’t go without online marketing are:
- Reach customers you can’t connect with locally: People who don’t live near your business can still search for your company and find it easily.
- Educate more people who have never heard of your brand and what you stand for. Part of educating people on your brand is showing them what makes your business stand out over your competitors.
- There’s an expectation for businesses to have an online presence: If your business doesn’t have an online presence, it turns many customers off and less likely to want to learn more about your brand. It’s important to have an online presence so people can easily locate and know what your business is all about.
- Expand the verticals on promoting your brand: People are drawn to videos, tutorials, and social media content. They like something more interactive.
The Benefits of an Online Marketing Strategy
When implementing an online marketing strategy, your business will reap all the benefits of an online presence. Most people with buying power are part of the more tech-savvy generations who grew up on social media. The benefits of an online marketing strategy are the following:
- Boosted Brand Awareness and Visibility: You build a strong foundation for your company and increase brand awareness by showing people what you do. You will have more people understand and be intrigued by what your company’s brand stands for and spread the word about it, gaining visibility and awareness.
- Increased Traffic and Conversions: More people will search and find your site or social media displaying your content. Each click and impression increases traffic and conversions.
- Enhanced Customer Loyalty and Retention: Customer loyalty increases with people recognizing and liking the brand and returning, which leads to retention and keeping customers for a long time.
Adapting to Changes and Trends in Online Marketing
Since technology and online trends are always changing, it’s important to have an online marketing strategy to adapt to these changes. Not only do your website and online platforms need to reflect the trends and changes in the online spheres but you need to constantly be on top of the trends with research and constant feedback from the strategy you implement and adapt to it.
The extra effort put into keeping up with trends can only help your online marketing strategy and keep you top of mind for customers and others who venture out to your online platforms. When changing to a new trend, the strategy must encompass all platforms and new content that adapts to the change to be consistent.
The Future of Online Marketing Strategy
Online marketing strategy continues to be the most innovative way to increase brand awareness and stay top of mind with customers and consumers. Digital marketing in general keeps growing and changing due to the constant developments in technology and trends in the online space.
Staying on top of what’s prevalent and most important in your specific industry is something that should be adapted to educating and spreading awareness on the topics via blogs and social media content to clients and prospective customers. This is a proactive approach to marketing and ranking higher and higher within your industry, but this only happens with background research and staying on top of what’s happening in the digital marketing sector. To learn more about how to get an online marketing strategy that can help your business, call Blue Interactive Agency at (954) 504-9105.
