Do you want to create killer online marketing campaigns? Although many small businesses believe campaigns are expensive and time-consuming, in reality, this isn’t necessarily true.
A well-planned digital marketing campaign isn’t that difficult to set up, and it doesn’t need to break the budget. And, it can generate a huge amount of web traffic and sales.
If you want to know more, here’s a simple, step-by-step guide to creating and implementing a successful online marketing plan for your business:
Step 1 - Know your ideal customer
This step is absolutely essential. If you don’t already have a clear and defined customer persona in your business plan, you need to do this before building your marketing campaigns.
Start by thinking about your ideal customer, including their key information like their age, gender, location, income level, occupation, budget, interests, and problems.
Additionally, you need to consider what the product or service will be used for, whether it will be a repeat purchase or one-off, how much time they spend online, and which platforms they use.
After answering these key questions, you should have a better idea of who you’re targeting and how you plan to do it. You should also be thinking about where to post your campaigns to suit your target audience, as well as the style of the copy and types of images or videos.
Step 2 - Pick some suitable platforms
Next, you need to decide where to place your ad campaigns. There are lots of platforms to choose from, but it’s best to choose a handful of sites that are visited by your target customers.
Using a multi-channel approach is best for online marketing, as it increases visibility. It’s also a good idea to cross-promote your content on different platforms, including offline ones.
For example, if you visit events or meetings offline, make sure you add your social media details to your business cards. If you need to create new cards for this, you can make some for free using an online tool like BusinessCards.
Step 3 - Choose the right type of ads
When using paid online ads, there are a number of options to choose from. Facebook, for example, is incredibly popular with businesses as the platform has over 1.69 billion users.
Facebook ads, which also post to Instagram, are relatively low-cost and can be tailored to suit very specific audiences - which is fantastic for small companies. Some alternatives include Pinterest, Snapchat, and Twitter ads, as well as others.
Step 4 - Create your online ads
Once you have an audience and budget in mind, you can start to create your ad content. Online working is most effective when you focus on just one or two things. So, even if you have a large product range, pick your most popular or highest selling items, to begin with.
Then, think about what you’re selling and what problems you’re trying to solve for your target customer. Then, you can tailor your ads according to this, trying to convey the right message.
Online ads work best if you use pictures or video content alongside the text, so make sure you create some visuals. If you’re not experienced in this area, you can create your own graphic design work using an online tool like Canva.
Step 5 - Monitor the results
Lastly, it’s important to track and monitor your campaign results, such as your click rates or conversion rates, so you know what works well and what doesn’t.
There are many online tools to help you track your performance, and most of the big social media platforms offer their own reporting options to help you stay up-to-date.
Running a successful online marketing campaign is something that all businesses can achieve. Whatever your budget, by following these steps, you can create an effective campaign.