If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either a) a marketer who is looking to grow their business or b) a marketer who has a small business and is looking for ways to market it online. If you’re in the latter camp, then this article is for you. It’s going to walk you through the steps of creating a budget and plan for your digital marketing strategy in 2021.

Budget

The first and most critical step to taking your small business to the next level is setting a budget. Every business is different and some things may come more cheaply than others. There are a few things you should consider before you create your budget though.

Firstly, does your marketing plan include any paid advertising? If so, how much are you spending per month? Secondly, what social media platforms do you use and how much time do you spend on each platform? Thirdly, what are your website’s traffic stats like (e.g. daily average, daily peak, monthly average)?

All of these will help you determine how much you can (and should) spend on marketing in 2021.

Marketing Plan

Now that you have a good idea of how much you can spend, it’s time to flesh out your plan. This step is more critical than you’d think. You’ll want to consider everything from what types of content you’re going to create to how often you’re going to post on social media. In addition, you can also include things like content marketing, email marketing, and possibly even physical store expansion in your plan (if you’re running a brick-and-mortar).

The goal of this step is to answer the following questions:

• What are my marketing goals for 2021?
• How am I going to achieve these goals?
• What strategies will I use to achieve these goals?

There are a few different types of marketing plans that you can use. Depending on your resources, you can either create a comprehensive one or you can break it down into smaller chunks. If you have a lot of money to spend, then you can hire a strategist to help you put together a full plan. The most critical thing to keep in mind though is that this is not something you do once and it should be continuously refined and updated as your business changes.

Marketing Execution

Now that you have a good idea of what you’re going to do and how much you’re going to spend, it’s time to get into action. There are two important things to keep in mind when executing your marketing plan:

• Consistent execution is important – Don’t expect immediate results from your strategies. Instead, you’re going to need to consistently apply your strategies over a period of time before you see any significant changes. In addition, you can also use analytics to track the success of your plan.
• Measurement is critical – Without measurement, you have no way of knowing if your strategies are working or not. You’ll need to consider getting a digital marketing analytics tool to track the results of your plan. This way you’ll know if you’re achieving your goals and can refine your plan as needed.

These four steps are a perfect formula for getting your business to the next level. If you’re looking for tips on how to approach marketing your small business, then this article is a great place to start. It’s going to walk you through the basics of creating a marketing plan and how to effectively implement it. Looking to grow your business in the coming year? Then this is a good place to start.