Whether you are a one-map operation of a vast corporation (or any business operation that falls between the two), you need to plan your digital marketing process if you are going to have any kind of benefit derived from your marketing efforts. The bigger a business grows the more elaborate and sophisticated the marketing tools become. The thing is that these tools can help anyone but unless you are on the larger side of the business pool, you probably cannot hire twenty people to analyze the global market and present a report telling you exactly where your business is, where the competitors are, what they are doing, what you need to do, how to do it, and how much it will cost for how long.
However, just because it sounds so intimidating does not mean that you can it without further thought. You do not need an army of marketing gurus in order to plan your digital marketing process. All it needs a little common sense and business acumen, both of which can be acquired through education, training, and experience.
The best to go in case you are new to the whole digital marketing game is to do what is known as "micro level planning". Micro planning is a good way to knowing exactly where you are and where you wish to go from here.
Here is how to plan your digital marketing process using micro planning.
Being by asking yourself a simple question: Why are you marketing on the digital anyway? Is it to increase public awareness, to increase sales, just to build a community, or all three? Then you should note down how much of your marketing efforts would be online and how much time you intend to spend on online marketing tasks.
There are many strategies to help you plan your digital marketing process. Make a checklist of the ones that you would like to use including but not limited to Forums, eBooks, Newsletters, Contests, Banners, Articles, and Viral Marketing.
What type of analysis will your marketing be subjected to? What is the return on investment that you expect and how are you going to monitor it? What is your annual digital marketing budget and how will this be divided among the various marketing strategies that you have selected?
Timelines are equally important because they help you to set milestones. Without timelines you are in constant danger or falling behind or getting confused within your plan for digital marketing. Keep a strict note for dates and time all projects.
