This is the ultimate guide to creating an online marketing plan that will help you succeed in the digital world of business.

Whether you’re just stepping into the online marketing sphere or you’re already a marketing expert, this plan will help you work out what you need to be doing and how you should be doing it. You will discover various online marketing strategies, including SEM, SEO, and content creation.

You will also discover multiple ways to measure the effectiveness of your plan, including analytics, search traffic, and social media metrics.

With this plan you will be able to take the guesswork out of strategizing for your online presence and can get back to focusing on what’s important to you, your business, and customers.

Overall Objective

When you’re strategizing your online marketing plan, you want to consider what is the overall objective you hope to achieve by taking this approach. For example, do you want to raise brand awareness? Do you want to drive traffic to your site? Do you want to develop a brand affinity among your customers?

The point is to have a clearly defined goal in mind before you get started. Without one, it’s difficult to know exactly what you’re aiming for. Are you trying to attract a certain audience? Are you looking to expand your customer base? Identifying the key performance indicators (KPIs) to track along the way will also help you determine if you’re on the right track.

Digital Marketing Specialties

One of the things you should consider is whether you have the skills to pull off this plan. Do you have the marketing skillset to implement this strategy?

Even if you’re a genius when it comes to offline marketing, you may not be prepared for the digital world. Being able to implement a digital marketing strategy requires specialized skills that you may not have.

It’s important to consider that not all marketing professionals are created equal. While some specialize in SEO, content strategy, and digital marketing, others may be more familiar with traditional forms of marketing such as television ads or print publications. 

The Difference Between Direct and Indirect Marketing

A lot of times when people think of marketing, they think about TV adverts or paid-for magazine articles. But that’s not all there is to marketing. So, it’s important to understand the differences between direct and indirect marketing. 

When you think about traditional forms of marketing, you probably think about TV adverts or billboards. These are forms of direct marketing. When you see a billboard you saw a message directly to you. Now think about the difference between that and email marketing. With email marketing you may not see an immediate effect (unless you’re complaining about the spam). But over time, as you get to know the company and the products, you may start seeing benefits.

When you’re implementing an email marketing campaign you’re not necessarily aiming your message at someone directly. You’re trying to hit as many people as possible with the message. So it’s a form of indirect marketing.

If you’re not sure which form of marketing is right for your business, we recommend you try both. While TV ads may seem like the obvious choice, you might discover that growing your audience through email marketing is easier and more effective. Plus, you have the option to measure the effect of your marketing campaign—whether you’re measuring opens, clicks, sales, or leads—in a way that TV ads and magazines simply cannot.

Types Of Marketing You Can Implement

Once you have your overall objective in mind, you can begin to map out the different types of marketing you can implement to achieve it. Consider whether you’re launching a new product or establishing your business brand.

Here are a few types of marketing you can implement:

Product Marketing

If you’re launching a new product, you’ll obviously want to market it. But beyond that, you can implement product marketing to build awareness, generate interest, and drive purchases. This could include using guest blogging, video content, or social media to discuss the product. You might want to create a separate, dedicated digital marketing channel for product announcements and reviews.

The key thing to remember is that while you want to promote your product, you also want to engage with your audience.

Service Marketing

When you’re marketing a service instead of a physical product, you have the opportunity to be more creative with your strategy. You can use a variety of tactics, from SEO and content strategy to social media and email marketing—and even some tricks from the old school like radio ads and billboards. Remember, all of this happens on the internet so it’s all about strategy and performance measurement.

The point is to have fun with it while also being effective. So, if you’ve got a marketing strategy conceived in a vacuum, get out there and have some fun! Just make sure you measure the results of your efforts and continue to evolve your strategy according to what’s working and what’s not.

Branded Content Marketing

If you’re looking to establish your business brand, you can use content marketing to further your cause. This is where you get creative with your strategy and implement all the tricks in your digital marketing toolbox. Consider creating content that is branded to promote your business and grow your audience. This could include creating product descriptions, landing pages, blogs, and social media posts that are all about your business.

By doing this you will establish your authority and credibility in your industry. Furthermore, you can use content marketing to engage with your audience, drive traffic to your site, and boost your conversion rate. This strategy will put you in direct competition with businesses that are already established and gaining popularity.

User-Generated Content Marketing

If you’re looking to further your business cause through a content-based website, consider implementing a strategy where the bulk of the content is user-generated. In other words, content that is curated from, or includes contributions from, your target audience. This is known as user-generated content (UGC) marketing.

The point is to get content that is as close to perfect as possible. Perfect content will engage your audience, drive them to take action, and eventually, make them into paying customers. The content should also be of good quality so that your audience does not feel as though they are being fooled by using substandard content.

Social Media Marketing

If you’ve got a business page on Facebook, you’ve got a marketing channel already!

What is social media marketing (SMM)? Social media marketing is often branded as “Internet Marketing” or “Online Marketing.” However, it can be used to promote products and services in a variety of settings, including Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn. Essentially, it’s about using social platforms to gain credibility and build an audience.

The great thing about social media is that you can take it further than just marketing. You can use social platforms to engage with your audience, get feedback, and even drive action. For instance, if you have a service business, you could potentially have customers who are already on your side waiting for your next tweet or Facebook post.

Content Creation

Finally, we have content creation. This is where you get back to what is most important to you as a business owner. If you’re a content creator with a background in marketing, design, or something similar, you can use your expertise to create content that supports your business objectives. When done right, content creation can be a major boost to your marketing strategy.

Some of the content you will create may be used directly in online marketing, while other content may be used solely for promotional purposes. But either way, you’re using content to achieve a certain goal. This is why content creation is a key part of any digital marketing campaign. Without it, you’re simply throwing money at ads with no real strategy behind them.

Do you have a team of people working hard behind the scenes to make sure your business is always online and accessible whenever customers want to find you? Do you want to create online marketing materials to help you market your product or service? Do you need someone to help you figure out your online marketing strategy, or already have one in mind?

Getting Started

To get started, simply create a Google Doc and enter the following information: