Digital Marketing Strategy: Defined and Explained

If you have an online presence for your business, or your business exists entirely online, a digital marketing strategy is a necessity. However, oftentimes when people hear this, they hear the word marketing and get a little scared. How would you even define digital marketing strategy, nevermind implement it?

I get it, marketing seems confusing and overwhelming, filled with a lot of jargon and seemingly a thousand things to add to your to-do list. Maybe just the thought of marketing makes you want to run the other way. Learning to market the right way has been the hardest part of my business and it still sometimes feels unnatural. 

Marketing Definition

According to HubSpot, the definition of marketing is the process of getting people interested in your company’s product or service and marketing pertains to all aspects of a business. Based on that , no wonder marketing seems intimidating. There are so many choices as to how to market and marketing is important in all aspects of a business. It can feel like if you don’t do everything perfectly, everything will fail. 

So what is a digital marketing strategy and why is it essential? Trust me, it’s not more jargon that will only confuse you. When implemented, it will actually make marketing a lot easier, you might even enjoy it!  

The Basics of Digital Marketing

Let’s first look at digital marketing. Digital marketing is any type of marketing that takes place online. There are a ton of platforms for digital marketing, everything from blogs to search engine optimization to video and social media. While you certainly can spend money to advertise and promote your content, this isn’t a necessity. This means that there is often a lower cost to entry than a traditional ad campaign, but it is in no way easier. 

In fact, digital marketing can seem even more overwhelming because there are so many strategies you can try and types of content to create. Plus, if you aren’t spending much money, you’ll need to be spending time creating content and making sure that it will be appealing to your ideal client.

Why Your Website is Key to Digital Marketing

Your website will be the cornerstone of your digital marketing because it will be the information hub for your business. You want your digital marketing to be driving people back to your website so that they can learn more and learn how to work with you. Digital marketing can be a “long-game”, where you are building interest slowly over time, but eventually, the goal of most digital marketing is to get people back to your website. 

Digital marketing is important because no one can just set up a website and expect it to become profitable. This is a time where “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t really ring true. If people don’t know you exist, they are going to have a hard time finding your website. This is where things like social media and search engine optimization come in. These tactics allow you to be found by potential clients who don’t know that you exist yet.  

Strategy Makes Marketing Easier 

So why do we need a strategy around digital marketing? The digital space is crowded, you can’t just send a message out on a platform and expect it to immediately reach your ideal clients, never mind resonate with them. 

In addition to the vast numbers of people using the digital space, there are a lot of channels that can be used. Are you going to podcast, focus on social, or write a blog? You are probably being told to do all three and use 4 other channels as well. Trying to do too many things will only lead to overwhelm and is not the best advice. 

Digital Marketing Strategy Meets People Where They Already Are

That’s where a digital marketing strategy comes in, you don’t need to be doing all the things, you need to be doing the right things. Digital marketing strategy looks at where your ideal clients spend time online, what problem they need to be solved and what they respond to. 

You want to meet your potential clients where they already are in order to make them aware that your business exists and that you might be able to help them. You also need to look at what their problem is and how they respond to solutions being presented.

By looking at all of those elements, you can create a strategy that allows you to spend your time on the right marketing activities that allow you to reach your ideal clients where they are, in a manner that they will respond to and not waste time on everything else. 

You Matter Too in Marketing! 

Obviously meeting your clients’ needs is the most important thing, however, in order for digital marketing to be successful, there has to be buy-in from the business and staff as well. The right digital marketing strategy also takes into account the strengths of the business and content creator. If you can’t stand the thought of being on video, your digital marketing should not be centered on video mediums. 

The Key to the Right Digital Marketing Strategy

The right digital marketing strategy combines where your clients are and what types of content you are able to create. Additionally, you need to look at the time you are willing to put into content creation, whether you will be doing the content creation or you have a team member handling it. The best digital marketing strategy is one that you can stick to, otherwise, it will be hard to get the traction you want in the digital space.

Use strategy to simplify marketing 

Now I am not going to lie and say that implementing a digital marketing strategy isn’t going to still be time-consuming and require work. However, you will be able to skip the second-guessing, wondering if you should be on this platform or that platform and wondering if you are just wasting your time. 

Now that you know what the definition of digital marketing strategy is, you can start to apply it to take your business to the next level. Although digital marketing strategy can take some work to establish, in the long run, you are going to spend less time and see better results by identifying the right activities that will attract your clients. 

Ready to find the right digital marketing strategy for your business? Let’s talk.