SMART Goals

10 Min How to create a Digital Marketing Strategy for your business Written By Erick Kung’u Date 17 Oct 2022 Facebook native.wav3 Instagram native.wav3 LinkedIn native-wave Date 20 Apr 2023 Facebook native.wav3 Instagram native.wav3 LinkedIn native-wave How to create a Digital Marketing Strategy for your business Life has become better as technology evolves; in turn, we develop alongside it. We are becoming more digitalized, and spending more time online, which has influenced how businesses operate. With each day, more businesses have moved to an online presence with a different strategy from their offline presence. Digital marketing is more than ever a crucial component in an online and offline business. With all the information swarming the internet on digital marketing, has it ever left you feeling confused, frustrated, overwhelmed, or all three combined? I know all three left me lost and defeated but I managed to simplify things to get started on my side hustle. So I got you! By the end of this article, you will figure out your mission, target audience, goals, and channels you need to have a long-lasting booming business. So let’s dive in. Define your Mission and Unique Selling Point. When you pitched your business or business idea to your mentor or friends, have they ever asked you why you chose that particular business or business idea? What problem your company seeks to solve? The answer automatically becomes your mission. Let’s take “Pick up Mtaani” as a case study. There was a gap created by the limited, expensive delivery options businesses could use. They have made delivery convenient and cheaper for both E-commerce sellers and customers. Automatically, the aspect of convenience and affordable became their unique selling point. By finding the element that helps you to best solve your customer’s problems, shape it to make your business irresistible. Niche Down. A narrowed, detailed buyer persona allows you to customize your content to reach your desired outcome. By looking at demographics, interests, background, and income, you can get your user/buyer personas. This is where google analytics comes into play. By doing a careful analysis of your marketing efforts, you will identify what’s working, what’s not, and what your business needs to be successful. Ask yourself, “why would I buy this?” List out every reason. It will help you understand the ideal demographic, background, and marketing channels. For businesses that already have a stream of customers, a survey helps to get a more in-depth look into your audience’s mind. Questions like, What are you struggling with most when it comes to [insert problem]? Or What is your biggest fears about [insert problem]? The trick behind effective surveys is to avoid making assumptions as much as possible. Survey Monkey is an excellent platform for source surveys to capture your audience’s opinions and voices. For a free option, check out Jotform, or Wufoo. Segment your audience into small batches to test out your survey to know what works for you. Set SMART(Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) Goals. Having specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound plans make outlining your message easier. For bloggers, a SMART goal would look like “Reach 5000 visitors in a month, every month within 3 months. I will do X, Y, and Z to make it happen”. From this, what are the specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound aspects? Set your Marketing Funnel. With 4 basic steps, you can make your brand known, engage with customers, convert and get brand ambassadors. The ultimate desired outcome for a lot of businesses. Remember how step 2 requires people to know you? Well, a marketing funnel will help you answer questions like How are we going to make strangers aware of our business? Once they are aware that we exist, how are we going to connect with them? And once we connect and they fall in love with us, how are we going to convert them into buying customers? Choose your Medium. Mobile phones have become so integrated into our lives to the point a day can’t pass without being online. Take the simple task of watching TV at home, ever found yourself being on your phone at the same time watching something? Or during your 10-minute break from work, you gravitate towards Instagram, Twitter, or Tiktok to unwind. The 10-minute break becomes a 1-hour break. I’m guilty of this. Instagram reels have a hold on me that I can’t seem to break free of. It’s now my guilty pleasure that I fully enjoy. Anyway, the point is choosing the right media to market your business goes a long way in terms of increasing brand awareness, engagement, and conversions. For instance, a plumber will most likely profit more from local listing on Google than advertising on Facebook while a Vintage clothing site will profit more from adverts on Instagram and Facebook at a lower cost compared to Google paid adverts. Examples of local directories/listings to use include; Google my business, Bing Business, and Yahoo local. When it comes to local advertising, use local directories, search engines, review sites, and social media to your advantage. Including contact features, and maps make your business easily accessible for locals to get in touch. In short, keep these 3 rules in mind; Only choose marketing channels that contain your audience Prioritize your marketing channels based on effectiveness To determine what is most effective, consider your business services and most importantly, your buyer persona. Define your Content. You have your audience, USP, and channels set. Now, how do you pull people into your marketing funnel and pull them down until they convert? Did I hear you say “selling them value’? You’re right! By focusing on the value, you have a higher conversion rate. Note that a friendly tone creates a one-on-one conversation vibe, like a direct chat. Now content encompasses different forms such as video, podcasts, social content, google ads, or blogs. Depending on your user browser preferences, getting relevant keywords to customize your content will have your marketing strategy target the relevant audience.