You probably aren’t a stranger to the term ‘Digital Marketing’, but it’s hard to have a comprehensive view on the subject unless you’re working with it. Digital Marketing, just to put it out there, is a collective term for all the marketing activities carried out on the Internet and allied devices, and forms the basis of most marketing campaigns today. It can be broken up into Social Marketing, Email Marketing, Paid Marketing (PPC), SEO, and marketing for mobile and other devices.
We at Amura strongly believe that Digital Marketing is becoming an indispensable part of a company’s marketing strategy to be successful in today’s ‘digitizing’ market space. Many organizations have already reaped the benefits of our services by using the unique digital marketing processes that we have developed. They’ve been able to maximize their Return on Marketing Investments(ROMI), enhance brand engagement among their Target Group(TG) and generate quality business leads.
So how’s it done? Through a systematic process with a variety of steps.
In this how-to series for digital marketing, we thought we’d outline the various steps – the first one being ‘campaign planning’.
Before we take on campaign execution, we plan what we need to communicate, who it is that we are ‘talking’ to and the optimal medium we need to use to achieve the maximum result.
And so we take into consideration the various insights from previous campaigns, analyze the target group’s response to those campaigns, and then incorporate the learnings in planning the subsequent campaigns. While this may be also done by other service providers, what makes our process exceptional is the Big Data solution that we employ to help us gain extraordinary insights.
Here’s the list of activities carried out in campaign planning:
Campaign Goals/Targets
We define what we are trying to achieve from each campaign, with targets that are measurable and achievable. The targets are then broken down into short, medium and long-term goals.
Campaign Messages
It’s important to plan the key content and messages in advance, to ensure that you’re in compliance with the client’s brand guidelines, brand identity and/or previous campaigns, and also ensuring that the value proposition of the product is communicated effectively. The messaging is also kept in alliance with the client’s other media campaigns (TV, Offline, etc.).
Defining the Target Group
The second stage in the campaign planning process is defining the target group and mapping their online or digital behavior. This involves a study that addresses questions such as – Who are they? Where do they hang out on the Internet? What newspapers/trade journals do they read online?
For any campaign to be successful, it is important to get a good understanding of the target group, and classify them based on characteristics like geography, demographics and psychographics.
Target Group of One(figuratively):
There are subsets within a target group that have their own unique characteristics and requirements. These can be addressed in a better manner on the Digital Media as you can tailor the messaging for each of the subset within the TG, effectively micro-targeting them. This has a positive effect on customer engagement and as a result, on sales.
If you can reach the right TG, you’ll get the right customers.
Identify the Value Proposition of the Product
With a plethora of competitive products available in the market, it is paramount to identify and zone in on the key value proposition of the product being marketed. It is essential to communicate to the TG the key benefits or solutions that they value and which our product is offering, to gain an edge over the competition.
Budgets and Expectations
It is important to allocate budget according to the type of campaign under consideration. For instance, allocate budgets for different online media. If the campaign is branding campaign, make sure you cover every channel in digital media and allocate budget accordingly.
Campaign Period
The campaign must run within a specific period, which should be calculated as per market demand, type of product, budget, and other parameters. A specified campaign period is important to hit the right customers at the right time. Ideally, the campaign period should not be greater than 3 months.
Competitor Study
A complete list of a client’s direct and indirect competitors is prepared and their digital marketing strategy is evaluated.
A promotional plan is then developed to ensure that our clients product offering stands out. The Internet being a diluted space with hundreds of competitors with similar offerings, it is necessary to capture consumer interest quickly, before the competitors.
Identify Sources/Channels
Considering the marketing objective, the TG and the competition, the digital channels that can be used are identified. The channels include:
Search Engine Marketing – Google, Bing, and Yahoo etc.
Social Media
Professional Networks
Partner and Affiliate Marketing
Mobile Advertising
Display Advertising
Email Marketing
Media/Campaign Scheduling
The campaigns are scheduled according to the client’s nurturing capacity, with optimal scheduling of budgets over the campaign period. The media strategy is planned in a way to result in the best possible market response.
Plan Review
The marketing plan is reviewed with the Digital Marketing Head. Peer reviews are also done for the campaign plans.
Approval on Plan
The marketing plan is presented to the client for their suggestions, feedback and also to ensure that the brand positioning in the campaign is spot on. The expected outcomes of the campaign, the campaign timelines, budget and media plan are also reviewed jointly with the client. The plan is then executed as per the approved parameters with regular feedback shared with the client regarding the campaign performance.
Stay tuned for the next topic on Campaign Design
Credits: Vinayak Katkar and Siddharth Bhakay
Contributions: Sonia Phad, Vaidehi Mirashi, Ruturaj Mokashi and Jayanta Rudra
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