Don't you want to read? Try listening to the article in audio mode 🎧
If you are a publisher or a retailer you know you need to do some digital marketing campaigns to thrive, especially into a business ecosystem that has become more crowded and hyper-competitive. Unfortunately, many people think that you can simply rustle up a brilliant campaign, launch it and wait for the results to roll in. In reality, things are much more difficult than that.  The truth is that without a solid digital marketing strategy, it’s often very difficult to reach the achievements you dream of. Only with a carefully planned and executed strategy can you be sure of doing the right action at the right time to reach the desired results. However, that’s easier said than done. Even understanding the right goals it’s not that easy. Why? Let’s review the 5 main reasons why you need a digital marketing strategy!

Reason number 1: to be sure to get there, you should know where you’re going

It may seem obvious, but many companies start digital marketing campaigns without having a defined strategy, which means a defined objective to reach, and better yet, split into sub-goals and intermediate steps. If you don’t spend some time, BEFORE starting, defining the results you want to achieve and why, it’s almost guaranteed that you are not going to reach them.  Not surprisingly, the Digital Marketing Master by Talent Garden starts by teaching participants how to define solid objectives, grounding them in their (or the client’s) business needs! Defining a strategy in some way forces you to define your goals, and this is why you need a digital marketing strategy.

Reason number 2: to avoid losing market share, you should know your competitors and your customers

Depending on the kind of products you sell or on the contents you produce, you’ll surely be interested in a specific target audience (or multiple), and so will your competitors. If you don’t have a defined marketing strategy, it’s quite unlikely that you will be able to identify and reach the exact target you need...but maybe your competitors will, resulting in you losing market share. This knowledge will help you also in defining an efficient content plan, choosing how to optimise your media presence, adopting the right mix of paid and owned media and improving your channel mix.

Reason number 3: a strategy is essential for defining what you need and who you need

Finding yourself in the middle of a campaign and discovering that you are missing an essential resource to reach your goals would not be a pleasant experience. But it could be exactly what you face if you don’t outline from the beginning what you need to carry out your campaign, be it money, tool, human resources, time, competencies, knowledge or whatever else.  While if you act according to a well defined marketing strategy you know before you start what you are going to need. Also, you know the role of each person during each stage, and you can ensure everyone is on board when needed.

Reason number 4: it helps you to avoid all that is unnecessary

While a strategy surely helps you in understanding what you need, it’s also essential in defining what you DON’T need. Typically you end up wasting lots of time and resources in things that will not help you in reaching your goals, even though they may seem appealing in the short term. A digital marketing strategy helps you in evaluating whether a certain thing may be a working part of the entire picture or not, and if not you can happily prune it!  Also it may be really helpful in defining an integrated marketing strategy, putting together experts from various fields (e.g. SEO, copywriters, social media managers, content writers, etc) and avoiding losing time looking for someone you didn’t think you needed.

Reason number 5: Timing is everything, and having a strategy helps you nail it!

Reaching your objectives is important, but equally important is when you reach them. If you set up a digital marketing strategy, you know that every element, to be useful, must happen or be achieved at a certain time, with certain dependencies. But this is something that is evident only if you have a defined plan.  Delays in launching a campaign, posting at low engagement times of the day, missing key days of media interest etc., all these timing issues can severely hinder performance. Setting clear milestones for your strategy means everyone is aligned on what needs to be delivered at what time. Failure to include timing in your plan can cause excess stress on the entire team and cause major damage to your digital marketing campaign and to your company’s results. The only way to avoid that is setting up from the beginning a clear, well structured, efficient digital marketing strategy.
Article updated on: 09 August 2023
Talent Garden
Written by
Talent Garden, Digital Skills Academy

Keep reading

Hybrid Humans - The Worker of the Future

If you ask a friend how they believe technology will alter the job market within the next twenty years, odds are they ...

Coworking 101: Everything You Need to Know About Coworking Spaces

Coworking has become the buzzword as we move towards 2021, but do you know what coworking really is? Many of the ...

Startup investing: everything you need to know

If you are a medium to small investor, you’ve probably never considered investing in a startup: too risky, too ...

Startup Funding: 3 Options a Founder Should Consider

You’ve got a great business idea, a new product or service that you are sure is going to rock, and want to build a ...