To succeed in the future, businesses and other organizations will need marketers, strategists and agencies with up-to-date knowledge of the latest online marketing techniques. In this article, we will introduce how to create an online marketing strategy by selecting the best tools to grow your online presence. We’ll cover the most important digital media which you will likely be familiar with, such as search, social media and e-mail marketing, but also some lower-cost techniques you may not know of but are particularly important to startups and small businesses.
To summarize, an effective online marketing strategy should:
- 1. Be aligned with business and marketing strategy (for example, many companies use a rolling three-year plan and vision), with more specific annual business priorities and initiatives.
- 2. Use clear objectives for business and brand development and the online contribution of leads and sales for the Internet or other digital channels. These should be based on models of the number using the channels.
- 3. Be consistent with the types of customers who use and can be effectively reached through the channel.
- 4. Define a compelling, differential value proposition for the channel which must be effectively communicated to customers.
- 5. Specify the mix of online and offline communication tools used to attract visitors to the company website or interact with the brand through other digital media such as e-mail or mobile.
- 6. Support the customer journey through the buying process as they select and purchase products using the digital channel in combination with other channels.
- 7. Manage the online customer lifecycle through the stages of attracting visitors to the website, converting them to customers and retention and growth.
