Digital Strategy And Marketing In 2021

Having a digital strategy in 2021 ought to be an extension of any business strategy.

Just a few years ago marketing experts concerned themselves with print and broadcast media buys. That’s not what matters today.

In a 2018 article Dan Alaimo explains that 87% of shoppers now begin product searches online. their shopping with online product searches. More than half of online consumers still prefer a physical store, they will identify that store through an online search.

Don’t confuse a digital strategy with a digital presence. They are not the same thing. A digital presence is a passive approach to exposing a brand. A digital strategy, on the other hand, is an active strategy and a detailed part of an overall marketing plan. It is never static. It changes as the behavior of consumers change.

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Is A Digital Strategy Important In 2021?

Digital Strategy in 2020 — Digital Strategy in 2021

Online marketing gives you access to an enormous group of consumers who otherwise would never find you. Your brand identity can become global at a lower cost than traditional marketing.

Digital marketing can build brand loyalty faster than any other marketing strategy. With traditional marketing efforts, consumers are exposed to your brand only when presented to them.

With digital marketing consumers encounter your brand through many different digital channels and are more likely to actively share information on your brand with others. They will share links, comment on social media, and recommend your products to a large following.

Large companies now have global digital divisions. Just as they hire marketing professionals, they hire digital specialists. They understand the importance of the digital world.

Smaller businesses often work with a digital partner. They find a partner that can help them plan and implement their digital strategy. They turn to experts to help them achieve their digital goals.

Digital marketing is demanded by consumers in 2021. If they cannot find your business online, they will dismiss it as being insignificant. Even though your products or services are only available locally, potential customers will start by searching online.

They will look for reviews, success stories, and testimonials. If they don’t find any of these, they will move on to another business.

You can track customer behavior through digital marketing. For years, companies have spent considerable time and money to understand their customers.

With digital marketing you can identify your customer demographics, you can understand their other interests, and you can monitor their behavior.

Do I Need A Digital Partner?

Business Leader Doug Warner said, “In the world of digital marketing, it is important to remember that your competitor is only one mouse click away.”

Correctly positioning your business in the world of digital marketing is critical. There is a lot of jockeying for the top spot it is not easy, but it’s important.

Now, like never before, your competitor is on the same playing field. The digital playing field.

There are many reasons to go out a find a good digital partner who is willing to spend time strategizing. They have tried the different approaches and they know what works. They understand how to put together a digital business plan that is unique to your business.

Each channel in digital marketing is different. The demographic is different, as is the way to present your message. The consumer behavior within each channel is unique. If you need to direct your time and attention most effectively.

Even large companies are using digital partners. They understand that a digital strategy has to be comprehensive. They know that digital marketing is not static but requires a constant evaluation of success.

What Are Digital Channels?

Understanding digital channels is key to understanding digital marketing.

A digital channel is a specific means of communicating with your customers online. There are many channels such as email, Facebook, Google, Reddit and many others

To develop an effective digital strategy, you need to understand each digital channel. Depending on your business goals, one channel may be more effective than another. Each will have its own demographics, style of communication, and conversion rate.

Some companies will experiment with digital channels until they find the right ones for their business. They will craft the message for each channel and quantify their success. Lead generation is often a focal part of any digital strategy.

Let’s take a look at some of the channels to better understand how they can work for your business.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Your potential customers need to find you online. Until they do, they will not pay for your products or services.

As part of any digital strategy, a business will need an effective website. It doesn’t matter if you’re into drop servicing or trying to find new patients for your podiatry practice, a solid website is of the utmost importance.

Encouraging consumers to visit your site and read your content is done through search engine optimizing. Today, the only real search engine of any significance is Google.

When visitors visit your site as a result of a search, that is referred to as organic traffic. In other words, they had never heard of your business but they found you on Google.

Less than 80% of searchers will never look beyond the first ten search results. Having your business appear in the first ten results is referred to as ranking. The higher you rank, the more likely it is that your business will appear in that listing optimizing your content for Google ranking has changed dramatically over the years.

Google used to look for words that match what the user had searched for. SEO professionals would try and predict the searches and ensure their content contained those words.

Google is far more sophisticated than it ever has been. In 2021 the placement of keywords in your content is almost useless. Google’s latest algorithms look for something they call EAT.

As explained in a post by SEMrush, his new assessment is based on Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Your content is now what is most important, not the words in it. You need searches to see you as the best source of information.

In terms of a digital strategy, organic traffic to your site is the channel that you can least target. In other words, you can’t target a particular demographic, nor can you determine the general behavior of visitors to your site.

Digital Advertising

Your digital strategy may involve paid digital media. This channel is the one over which you will have the most control.

Digital advertising can be directly targeted to specific groups of consumers. You can determine who sees your ad and where they see it.

Start by developing a customer profile. Who buys from you? Try to determine your customer’s average age, gender, income level, location, and interests. The more information you have about your customers, the more targeted your digital ads can be.

In 2021, the spend on digital media buys is expected to be around 620 billion dollars. Most companies in 2021 will spend twice as much on digital marketing than they do on print and broadcasting.

Your digital ad strategy should be the same as your overall marketing strategy. The difference is that the ads are active. In other words, your ad directs a user to another digital location.

The more targeted your ad, the higher the likelihood of the consumer clicking on it.

Digital Content

As mentioned earlier, content is king for Google ranking. It is the quality and value of the content that matters most.

Many businesses make the mistake of always creating content around their services or products. They write product reviews, highlight the benefits of their services, of their customer service record. This kind of content does not contribute to Google ranking.

Think about it, a searcher on Google will rarely be typing in the name of your business. Most often they are asking a question or searching for a topic. Unless your content answers a searcher’s question, Google will not consider your content important.

The best digital content provides a consumer with information that they can’t find elsewhere. It answers their question and provides them with new insights. The content may not be about your specific service. Once a searcher finds your content, they will be interested in your business.

Longer content ranks higher. Google monitors how long a reader remains on your page. A longer article means that the visitor stays on your page longer.

Having said all of that, the type of content you create is directly related to the digital channel. You’ll create long content for your site, short content for a social media post, and infographics for sharing.

Electronic Direct Marketing

This channel is called EDM. Usually, it involves the purchasing of a targeted database of contacts. Once you have this list, you contact the identified consumer by email. The kind of database you can purchase can be targeted.

The EDM contacts for your EDM channeling can come from a variety. Many sites will encourage visitors to register using Google or Facebook. Yes, this is convenient for the consumer but is far more valuable to your business.

When you encourage a visitor to log in through social media, you electronically send through the request to that service. You authenticate the user through their account and give them access to your site. The social media service has much more to offer.

They will provide you with information like name, email address, and location. You can find out if they communicate with friends in other countries and even the age of those friends. All of this information helps you to target your EDM campaigns.

You need to keep in mind that only 57% of individuals open their emails. Only 37% of individuals said they value the email content. While EDM marketing may be a part of your overall strategy it is likely not to be the most effective.

How To Measure The Success Of Your Digital Strategy

Find your success in marketing — It’s all about finding success

There is a real misunderstanding about digital marketing. You can’t measure its success in terms of conversions. It is much more powerful than that.

Firstly, digital marketing raises brand and service awareness. It can build trust and a sense of expertise among consumers. It can raise your profile globally and change online behavior. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a healthcare organization or a donut shop.

Secondly, digital marketing is all about sharing. Most consumers are likely to share your content with others if they find it valuable. Consumers will begin to follow your social media accounts and you will build an audience for your business. A higher amount of sharing means higher rank and ultimately conversions.

Finally, consumers expect you to have a digital strategy. They expect that they can find you online. They expect to be able to communicate with you online. If they can’t, your competitor wins.

Social Media Marketing

It is estimated that 45% of the world’s population uses social media.

Over 2.5 billion people actively use Facebook. Twitter has 262 million active users. LinkedIn has 20 million, and 500 million people use Instagram. Convinced yet?

Social media marketing cannot be overlooked as part of an effective digital marketing strategy. Each social media service will require its targeted approach. For instance, content on LinkedIn can be longer than on Facebook. Instagram content is graphic while LinkedIn can be based on user interests.

An effective social media strategy will involve a mix of advertising and content. Constant ad placement is less effective than displaying ads and also content from time to time.

In 2019, the total spend on Facebook ads was $25 billion.

The total spend on LinkedIn ads was 1.9 billion. The spending on Facebook ads was $25 billion dollars. Of all consumers that contacted businesses did so through social media.

Summary

A digital strategy is an extension of your business marketing strategy.

Today, more than ever, digital marketing is the most effective way of a business communicating with its customers. It will remove the restrictive need for a physical store and will give you access to a new consumer base.

A digital strategy doesn’t happen by accident. It is not just about being seen online. It is a deliberate stream of marketing and requires the same planning and analysis.

Success in digital marketing has to be measured differently than traditional marketing. You are seeking action by the consumer. You want them to click on your ad, share your content, and interact with you online.

Failing to have a well thought out digital strategy in 2021 is to stand still as a business. The behavior of the consumer is changing. They communicate with businesses in new ways. They discover products and services in the digital world and make their buying decision online too.