Build an Effective Digital Marketing Plan for 2017

If business growth is one of your goals for 2017, we hope you have a comprehensive digital marketing plan in place! Businesses with digital marketing plans in place are more likely to experience an increase in growth and in revenue.  However, we know from experience that many business owners find the field of digital marketing overwhelming.  There are lots of moving parts when it comes to building a digital marketing strategy and the field is still constantly changing.

Measure Marketing works with small and medium sized businesses in Oakville and Burlington to help them decipher digital marketing and build a plan that delivers on their business goals.  Contrary to traditional advertising, like ads on television or in magazines, digital marketing levels the playing field and is accessible for any company to implement, but that doesn’t make it simple to do. A great place to start though, is to check in and see how your company is already using some of the key tools for digital marketing success.

Tools for Building a Digital Marketing Plan

Your Website

Your website and website design are a very key part of your digital marketing plan.  Many businesses think that once they’ve got a website in place, the work is done. Not so!  Think of your website like a system and not a standalone tool for marketing your business.  When it comes to digital marketing, your website holds a wealth of information and has the ability to really help you grow your business.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Is your website being found, indexed and read by your audience? What keywords are you using so that local and relevant users find your business online? How does your website rank when users are searching for a business like yours? SEO techniques and strategies take time and effort but are worth the investment.
• Traffic – Your website should be connected to Google Analytics and you should be analyzing that data regularly. Google Analytics can tell you who your website users are, how they found you, where they are located and much more. You can also find out which pages on your website are attracting readers and are being easily found online.
• Call to action – People are finding your website but are they doing what you want them to do once they get there? Your digital marketing plan can help convert people from visitors to customers!

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing uses content marketing, social media marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) to attract customers to your business.  We mentioned SEO already, so let’s focus on the other elements of inbound marketing.

• Content creation – Companies who consistently publish relevant and well written website content rank better with search engines and enjoy more overall visitors to their site. A content calendar should be created for each quarter to help you plan out what you want to publish (topics, keywords, etc.) and when to publish it.
• Social media marketing – Determine what platforms are best for your business and make a plan to stay active and engaged. It’s not just about posting your own content, but about creating a strategy that adds value for your community.

Email Marketing

Email marketing continues to be an overlooked avenue when it comes to building a solid digital marketing plan.  While it does take time to build your list, the return on investment for communicating to your email subscribers is high.

Delivering Your Digital Marketing Plan

It’s not enough to just take some time to think about each of the categories above and try out some ideas here and there.  An effective digital marketing plan takes all of the elements and brings them together to work towards a common goal and deliver results.  You can’t work on each digital element singularly, you have to have synergy or you’ll end up feeling like you’re just spinning your wheels.

Once you have a strategy to implement, not only do you have to move into the execution phase but you’ll also need to track and monitor results.  Some of the ways you can track results include:

• Measuring results by customer segment
• Measuring ROI on paid advertising options such as Google Adwords and Facebook ads
• Open rates for email marketing campaigns
• Referrals from social media

Want to know one of the most effective ways to deliver your digital marketing plan?  Get help! Find digital marketing professionals that can help you build and execute a plan that can support your business growth.  Their knowledge and experience in the field will allow you to implement and capitalize on way more opportunities than you could on your own.

Measure Marketing helps Oakville and Burlington businesses with all their digital marketing needs.  From Search Engine Optimization, inbound marketing, website design and more – call us to get started and make 2017 the year you achieve digital marketing success!

Arti Sharma

Arti Sharma is the Chief Marketing Strategist and the Founder of Measure Marketing Results Inc, Clikx4Health and Stryd-e. Arti has been helping businesses market themselves more effectively for over two decades. For the past 10 years she has developed her niche in online marketing and now leads a team of digital marketing strategists and content marketers that help businesses of all sizes get found online and convert traffic to leads and customers. Arti’s core mission is to inspire and influence progressive businesses, and educate them to achieve a larger impact with the right business initiatives and online marketing. Arti has been hired to speak at various industry events over the past years and now actively educates her tribe using her blog and industry publications. She was also the host of Entrepreneur TV; show produced by Rogers that aired in Ontario, Canada. You can learn more about Arti Sharma and Measure Marketing on her website at www.measuremarketing.net and www.stryd-e.ca