What is an online marketing strategy?
Sometimes people’s eyes just glaze over when I talk about online marketing strategy. Perhaps they’re thinking ‘I have a website and I’m on Twitter, what else is there?’ Or perhaps it’s just one of those big fuzzy terms about which people have a vague concept but no real clarity.
Well here’s what I’m talking about when I say ‘online marketing strategy’. It’s essentially a roadmap for how you market your business. It’s not just about being on Twitter or Facebook, those tools are just a couple possible pieces of the puzzle. Your strategy is a long-term plan for your online marketing that utilizes the relevant tools for your specific business and most importantly – all the parts work together to achieve your business goals.
WHY you need an online marketing strategy:
1) To help you identify where you should be spending your time and efforts
2) To help you stay on track with your business development
3) To establish benchmarks to measure your effectiveness
4) A well laid out plan will keep you from feeling overwhelmed by the task of online marketing
5) Likewise your plan can provide inspiration when you’re not sure what to do next.
6) If you have a staff, everyone needs to be on the same page – laying out a clear strategy will help.
7) Consistency in your efforts and messaging is key and having a roadmap will help you achieve this instead of blindly fumbling along.