‍It’s time to think forward and put the next 12 months on your digital marketing strategy. The market is changing rapidly, and the competition for consumer attention is only going to get more complex and more challenging. Success does not just happen, it requires a roadmap.

In this blog we’ll share a step by step framework for putting together your digital marketing plan. We cover how to link your digital strategy to your business goals, identifying core metrics for measuring success, setting clear targets based on your metrics, then making the plan actionable.

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Link Your Digital Strategy To Your Business Goals

A good digital marketing strategy should always be aligned with an overall business plan.

It is vital to have a clear understanding of what exactly your business wants to achieve. It should focus on specific marketing objectives which can be measured and evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively.

To do this, you need to think about the overall goals of your business (for instance: revenue growth, new customer acquisition or raising awareness for your brand) and then identify the core 3-5 marketing metrics that will directly relate to achieving these specific business objectives.

By aligning digital marketing to business strategy, you are ensuring that your marketing is progressing the business in the right direction.

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Identify Core Digital Marketing Metrics For Measuring Success

Identifying the key metrics for your brand is a critical first step in developing your digital marketing strategy. To determine which metrics to focus on, you have to know what you want to achieve. You should have a specific goal in mind. For example, if your company’s top priority is to create customer loyalty, then you would want to track engagement and retention rates. If your goal is to increase sales, then you would pay attention to key performance indicators such as revenue or conversion rates.

Your digital marketing strategy should be based on the key metrics which are most relevant for your business. These might include:

• Revenue generated from different sources;
• Customer acquisition and conversion rates;
• Sustainability of referrals and repeat visitors;
• Conversion funnels, including bounce rates and conversion rates;
• Meaningful engagement with social media channels (for example, retweets or number of comments); and other key performance indicators (KPIs) related to your audience demographics or user behaviour.

The more clearly defined your goals are and the more targeted they are towards improving your business, the better will be your chances of achieving them with a successful digital marketing strategy.

We advocate that Identifying some key measurable metrics at each stage of the buyer journey helps you more clearly make digital marketing decisions.

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Awareness Metrics

• Social Impressions
• Social Followers
• Website rankings
• Website backlinks
• Website visitors
• CPM
• CPC

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Consideration Metrics

• Lead Magnet Downloads
• Landing page conversion rates
• Cost Per Lead from paid traffic
• Email Sign Ups
• Email Click Through Rate

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Decision Metrics

• Conversion Rate (website, paid, email, social, landing pages)
• Cost Per Acquisition
• Average Order Value
• Average shopping cart abandonment rate

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Delight Metrics

• NPS
• Lifetime Customer Value
• Repeat Purchasing Frequency
• Positive social reviews / ratings

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Make It Actionable

Once you determine your key metrics, rank them in order of importance. The goal is to achieve the highest possible return on investment by focusing your efforts on the few that matter most.

After determining your most important metrics, put them in order of priority and decide which will be most valuable to track. Then identify projects that will move those metrics forward.

Break out initiatives into chunks that can be achieved within the next year and assign ownership to the team member who will be responsible for those objectives. This will help you measure success at the end of each quarter and each fiscal year.

Last but not least, make sure people review their progress and adjust accordingly throughout the year. Quarterly reports are always helpful for this purpose.

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In Summary

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So, there you have it – a simple framework for creating a digital marketing strategy to put your business on the right track. It’s never too early to start planning, especially in this volatile time when the digital landscape is always shifting and changing. This is just a general planning guide to keep you on track and help you plan out your next year. If you need more advanced guidance in building your digital marketing strategy, feel free to contact us to discuss your individual needs and we’d be happy to walk you through this process further.