Everything you need to know about building a marketing strategy
OK… Maybe not everything you need to know about building a marketing strategy, but definitely all of the pieces you need to consider when you are putting your strategy together. Regardless of whether you run a big business or a small business, there are certain parts of a marketing strategy that are always going to be present for you to be successful. In today’s world you need to consider the following key elements of your marketing strategy.
Brand Development
Your marketing strategy has to start somewhere and that place is your brand. I’m not talking about just your logo, it’s your brand story as a whole. You need to be able to articulate who you are as a business and what you stand for. Once you can do that, you will be better able to connect with your target audience.
Digital Presence
A website is a glorious thing, unless you don’t have one or you didn’t take the time to build it right. Your website is the hub of your digital presence – a one-stop-shop for all things about your brand. Once you have your website in place (or you’re working on it), you can start to focus on other digital tactics such as social media, advertising, and community engagement. The goal should always be to connect with your audience and you need to give them easy ways to find you online.
Content
How many times have you heard “content is king”? The way in which you tell your brand story is important. You need to be able to find the balance between value, entertainment, and brand awareness building to draw your audience in every time you post new content, whether it’s on your website, blog, social media etc.
Public Relations
Public Relations (PR) has a few different components to it – media & influencer relations and experiential are two big ones. It’s not just about generating buzz in the media, it’s about finding the right people to tell your story at the right time in the right way. Consider your overall marketing efforts and use PR tactics strategically to highlight what is happening with your brand.
Sales
Believe it or not, many small businesses forget that sales needs to be addressed separately as part of the overall marketing strategy. You can’t just rely on writing blogs and posting on social media to close the deal. You need to have processes in place for when traffic is driven to your various channels.
Marketing is never black and white. It exists in shades of grey (bursting with creative colour, of course!). While there is overlap with the above pieces to the puzzle, it’s important that you have all of the pieces to create your strategic masterpiece so you can realize success with your marketing efforts.
If you are trying to build a marketing strategy but you are stuck, or you feel like your current strategy just isn’t cutting it, we can help you with that. Call us!