The twenty-first century has brought a lot of news. Before this “digital revolution” forced by the pandemic, we saw the advent of the internet and mobile phones. So in a few decades the world of communication has found itself upside down. In traditional marketing strategies, a target audience and its habits were identified with expensive surveys and polls, and then tried to intercept it with a radio / television commercial or thousands of flyers were distributed in the places most frequented by the chosen audience, hoping to be able to catch some consumer concerned.Thanks to digital means, today all of this has been replaced by more targeted and profitable marketing techniques. Companies have tools at their disposal that allow them to select the user interested in purchasing and to propose the right offer at the right time.
WHAT IS DIGITAL MARKETING?
By digital marketing we mean all the strategies that use web tools and channels to carry out sales and promotion activities for the company. This group includes websites, blogs, SEO content optimization, social media, banners and newsletters. Being specialized activities, they are entrusted to agencies that are responsible for creating an effective and active communication strategy.A new tool that is to be introduced is the digital event or fair: it is the revolution in the world of communication, a new means of making your products or services known all over the world from the comfort of your office.
1. DEFINE THE TARGET
Before developing a strategy or using any tool, it is essential to define the target audience. You need to know who you are addressing, to know their habits and preferences. In digital marketing strategies, an ideal audience is chosen with a series of precise questions:
- Are they male, female, both?
- How old are they?
- Where do they live, what language do they speak?
- What kind of work do they do?
- What do they like to do, what interests do they have?
- What kind of content and information are they looking for online? Where, on which channels?
- All this information is the basis of a good project, they are a solid foundation on which to build all the subsequent steps of a digital marketing strategy.
2. ESTABLISH GOALS
Knowing where you are and deciding where to go helps you not to lose your way. It seems easy to set goals, but you have to keep correct canons. It’s easier if you follow the SMART scheme:
SPECIFIC
the goal is well defined and tangible. It is easier to achieve if it is concrete and defined. You have to ask yourself what you want to achieve and why this goal is important for the company.
MEASURABLE
the resources used to achieve the goal must be monitored and thanks to the numbers obtained it is possible to understand how the project is progressing. If corrective measures are needed, there is still time to act.
ACHIEVABLE
the goal you choose must be accessible with your knowledge or finances. Deciding to undertake a project beyond one’s means generates only a loss of energy and discouragement. Better to be cautious and go step by step than to lose everything in one fell swoop.
RELEVANT
Is it worth the effort to achieve this? This is the question to ask to understand if this objective has a reason to exist in the strategy that is being built.
TIME-BOUND (WITH A PRECISE DEADLINE)
Establishing a precise date to achieve the goal makes it even more concrete and feasible. It allows you to place all the necessary activities in a time line, to establish a rhythm of work that would otherwise be casual and dispersive.
3. ORIGINALITY
The marketing strategy must be adapted to your needs and based on all the information collected previously. It is not possible to copy another company’s plan because it would be like wearing a suit made by a tailor for another person: some parts may be perfect, but many others will fail.Creating your own strategy is a process that takes a lot of energy, but it always pays off.
4. SOLOMO: SOCIAL, LOCAL, MOBILE
The acronym SoLoMo means social, local and mobile. It indicates that a good marketing strategy takes into account the social aspects, the local presence and the use of cell phones (mobile).
SO
Social are platforms such as facebook, instagram and linkedin. Most of the users have an account and frequent them on a daily basis. They are a great environment in which to intercept users and disseminate useful information. With paid ads, you can select users who are profiled by interest, age or geographic location. This makes communication even more effective and targeted.
LO
A good digital marketing strategy must be combined with a traditional marketing one, because the target is made up of physical and real people who need human contact. Public relations are valuable and should not be underestimated.
MO
We all have a mobile phone and use it for various activities. The communication must adapt to the format of the viewers. Making the user’s navigation pleasant and comfortable is now a golden rule. Through the mobile the public can reach the web channels and be reached at any time. Media exposure increases the likelihood of company-customer contact.
5. COLLECT DATA
Digital tools allow you to collect a lot of data about user preferences and in particular to collect e-mail addresses of those who give the authorization. In this way it is possible to send targeted communications to interested users, increasing the probability of purchase. Through the navigation data it is possible to establish user satisfaction and understand if the marketing strategy devised is effective or if adjustments are needed.
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