Digital Marketing Strategy: What it is, Types and How to Create One

A digital marketing strategy encompasses actions designed, studied and considered to achieve a specific goal. This strategy can be designed for the short, medium or long term, depending on the objectives of the company or business.

Digital marketing strategies include various value propositions , as well as a competitive advantage within the market.

It is also a matter of constant planning that can be subject to configurations and innovations based on the needs, not only of an audience, but of the organization itself.

It should be noted that these types of strategies are determined by the prevailing commercial objectives .

Digital marketing objectives

The objectives of digital marketing, as well as its purposes, are visible as long as there is discipline, concentration and time to formulate and carry them out. In this sense, the main purposes of digital marketing are:

• Increase revenue and sales.
• Justify and support the launch of services and products.
• Improve brand positioning .
• Maximize market share.
• Giving presence and identity to a brand.
• Keep the business constantly updated.
• Gain new customers.
• Encourage customers to invest more in a brand or business.

Objectives may vary depending on the needs of each business or brand, as well as the channels through which the digital marketing strategy is carried out.

Types of digital marketing strategies

In the field of digital marketing, there are various strategies, which have different purposes and goals. Likewise, there are strategies that are customized based on the needs and goals of each business or company.

Although a wide spectrum of strategies can be found, there are some that have transcended due to their effectiveness, such as those shown below.

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Content Marketing

Content marketing is the term used to refer to practices designed to attract customers organically through different channels. To achieve this action, it is necessary to create valuable and relevant content for people so that the user feels involved or “hooked.”

It is important to mention that many types of marketing do not focus on selling, but instead choose to offer other types of benefits to those who view the content produced.

In other words, you offer something more to your audience through your content – ​​from articles with useful tips to teaching you something new, or simply content designed for entertainment.

SEM

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a marketing strategy that helps optimize the positioning of a website or web page in different search engines. SEM integrates paid techniques and practices into its strategy, which could be considered “advertising” in search engines.

Although most practices within SEM require a monetary investment , it is also important to implement some SEO practices.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) stands out as a marketing strategy whose practices and methods offer organic results .

It is true that the results take a long time to be visible, however, the ROI is greater if one considers that the economic investment was minimal.

Like SEM, SEO offers website positioning in the main search engines without the need to invest money. Although SEO and SEM do not offer the same thing, they are not hostile strategies, as they can be combined and achieve the objectives much faster.

Inbound marketing

Inbound marketing , more than a strategy, is a methodology that concentrates different marketing techniques and methods to accompany and help a client during the process of acquiring a service or product from a business.

This type of marketing methodology helps create healthy and meaningful relationships with customers. Inbound marketing also provides customers with all the necessary elements to achieve their goals.

Marketing automation

As its name suggests, it is the automation of marketing through special software . Marketing automation brings with it various advantages, one of the most important being that it offers efficiency in strategies and reduces time and personnel costs.

It is also possible to obtain greater control over marketing actions, while promoting close monitoring of their impact.

To carry out automated marketing, it is necessary to have a set of tools that allow this action. Once everything is set up and ready, the results can be seen without any major setbacks.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the longest-standing practices in digital marketing. The essence of this strategy is simple: use email as the main channel to carry out a marketing strategy or campaign.

This type of strategy is not only one of the most used and popular in digital marketing, it is also one of the most profitable and economical, as it requires less investment for its development and implementation.

Social Media Marketing

Similar to email marketing, this type of marketing strategy has as its main channels social platforms , such as: Facebook , Instagram, TikTok , Twitter, among others.

Social Media Marketing (SMM), as it is also called, helps build public relations and customer service through strategies that involve the use of social media.

Digital marketing strategies on social networks

Digital marketing on social media involves using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and others to promote your business, product or service.

The goal is to capture, engage with and retain your target audience, creating value and trust for your brand.

Some digital marketing strategies on social networks that you can apply are:

• Social Media Ads : These are paid ads that you can create on social media to reach more people who might be interested in your offer. Social media ads allow you to target your audience by different criteria, such as age, gender, location, interests, behavior, etc. In addition, you can measure the performance of your campaigns and optimize them based on the results.
• Social listening : This is the process of monitoring conversations and mentions about your brand, product, service or competition on social media. Social listening helps you understand your audience's opinion and sentiment, identify opportunities for improvement or innovation, resolve queries or complaints and detect influencers or ambassadors for your brand.
• Social media engagement : This is the level of interaction you generate with your audience on social media. Social media engagement is measured by the number of likes, comments, shares, reactions, mentions, etc. that your posts receive. Social media engagement helps you build a close and lasting relationship with your audience, improve your reputation, and increase your organic reach.
• Social media storytelling : The art of telling stories about your brand, product or service on social media. Social media storytelling helps you connect emotionally with your audience, convey your values ​​and purpose, differentiate yourself from the competition and build loyalty.
• Social media analytics : This is the analysis of data and indicators you obtain from your actions on social media. Social media analytics helps you evaluate the impact and effectiveness of your strategy, understand your audience's behavior and preferences, make evidence-based decisions, and optimize your resources.
• Social media optimization : This is the set of techniques you apply to improve your brand's presence and performance on social media. Social media optimization helps you increase your website's visibility and traffic, improve SEO ranking, generate more leads and conversions, and maximize your return on investment.

How to make a digital marketing strategy

The creation of a digital marketing strategy is based on 6 axes, which have variables that depend on the type of business or company that requires the strategy.

In this sense, to create a digital marketing strategy it is important to take into account the following elements:

Segmentation

It refers to the action of focusing on a much more limited or specific audience . This is done with the purpose of targeting the audience that is truly interested in the proposal being created. It is possible to segment an audience based on their age, gender, demographics, interests, among others. Segmentation can be as detailed and specific as desired.

Setting a budget

It is important to have an estimate of how much you intend to invest and how to do it. In this sense, you must make a comparison between the investment and the benefit that will be obtained, or, in other words, you must ensure that the ROI is adequate.

Return on investment is one of the most important elements when developing a marketing strategy, as it shows how feasible it was to implement a strategy.

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Define audience

To create an appropriate marketing strategy, it is important to find the audience to which the planning will be directed. The definition of the audience is closely related to segmentation, so various elements must be taken into account, such as:

• Age.
• Interests.
• Preferences.
• Location.
• Needs.

With these and other items it is possible to adequately define the audience, trying to achieve the desired reach and reception.

Establish the right communication channels

Depending on the audience, it is important to integrate into the communication channels that are used by the target being sought or the Buyer Persona.

It is important to define what type of channels will be used, as this will give greater strength to the messages, campaigns or methods that are planned.

It is worth emphasizing that if the right channels are chosen, the performance will be partially organic.

Definition of contents

Now that you have the target audience and communication channels, it is important to design content programs that represent the essence of the business.

To do a better job, it is advisable to start with simple campaigns that allow you to present the voice and personality of the company, as well as those who make it up.

It is also important to mention that it is possible to create a mixed plan at the beginning, that is, integrate organic and paid factors to ensure better positioning of the content.

Once the content and groundwork have been prepared in the communication channels, it is time to start putting everything into practice.

Behavioral analysis and results

It is always recommended to invest in metrics and behavioral measurement systems, since these will be the programs that will account for the results that are being achieved.

It is important to measure audience interaction, as well as to analyze whether the objective of the strategy or campaign is being met.

If the systems present discouraging data for the strategy, only an adjustment and configuration to the campaign or strategy will be necessary.

Difference between digital marketing strategy and campaign

The difference between strategy and campaign does not lie solely in the definition of each concept, but transcends the practice and structure of each.

While a strategy is characterized by encompassing a series of certain actions (previously thought out and analyzed) to meet a goal , a campaign (within marketing) is responsible for collecting activities to achieve a purpose in a given period.

In order not to confuse terms, it can be said that a marketing campaign is part of a strategy; that is, the campaign represents the operational part of the strategy .

Likewise, within each strategy there may be several campaigns that share the same goal as the original strategy. In short, the main difference lies in the way of operating to fulfill the purpose of a business or company to achieve a common goal.

Written by Moises Hamui Abadi : I am an entrepreneur, founding partner of Viceversa and SoyMacho. After leading several digital businesses and advising several other businesses, I decided to form MHA Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy dedicated to growing and empowering digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.

If you want more information on this topic or are looking for other options to profile your ideal client, you will find the solution you need at MHA. Schedule a call.