As 2021 comes to an end, most of us are ready to leave this year behind. But before we flip our calendars to January, there's one essential task every business needs to complete: creating a marketing strategy for 2022. Right now, while you're discussing budgets and measuring 2021 metrics, is the time to map out your marketing plan for the year ahead. With so many avenues to use your marketing dollars, this may seem like a daunting task. But we've compiled a marketing strategy template that you can follow to help you build your business and reach your 2022 goals.
| Blog content: |
| What is a Marketing Strategy? |
| Digital Marketing Strategy |
| Inbound Marketing Strategy |
| Search Engine Marketing Strategy |
| Content Marketing Strategy |
| Don't procrastinate! |
What is a marketing strategy?
A marketing strategy is a long-term and future-focused plan comprised of a series of steps to accomplish specific marketing goals in a clear and feasible way. Your marketing goals should go hand in hand with your business goals. Your marketing strategy might include several goals and moving parts, depending on the size of your business and what you're trying to achieve.
At the core of your marketing strategy are your customers, both current and potential. You can't have an effective strategy if you don't know who the audience is that you're trying to reach. You must look at their demographics (age, sex, income, geographic location, etc.) and psychographics (how they think, what challenges they face, interests, priorities). You can build your buyer personas through market research, surveys, and interviews. Once you have a comprehensive profile of your customers, you can find the best way to get your message in front of them.
While your marketing strategy focuses on your overall goals, your marketing tactics put the plan into action. Tactics are the specific methods you'll use to reach your marketing goals. They can include things like:
- Writing and publishing a blog
- Social media advertising
- SEO optimization
- Webinars
- Contests and giveaways
- Producing a podcast
- Email marketing
It's important to understand the difference between strategies and the tactics that support them. Now let's break down a few different types of marketing strategies that can help you grow your business in 2022.
Download the free 1-page marketing plan now to guide you through the process!
Digital Marketing Strategy
Digital marketing should be an essential piece of your overall marketing strategy. Digital marketing is any marketing that exists online, which is where a majority of your customers spend their time. It can include:
- Social media campaigns
- Search engine optimization
- Email marketing
- Digital ads
- Sponsored content
With a digital marketing strategy, you can reach a much larger and more specific audience than traditional media, like print or television. You can also target a very specific message to a very specific audience, one that is more likely to buy your service or product (another reason those customer personas are so important). A great benefit of digital marketing is that it's easy to track results, so you know whether or not your efforts are working.
Inbound Marketing Strategy
Telemarketing, TV commercials, and pop-up ads are all examples of outbound marketing. It interrupts you with content you're not necessarily interested in. In contrast, an Inbound marketing strategy attracts potential customers with helpful, useful information. It can establish your business as a trusted advisor, provide help or support, and give potential customers solutions to their problems.
Inbound marketing is tied to content creation, which can include:
- Blog posts
- How-to guides
- Ebooks
- Social media posts
- Special offers or promotions
You don't have to be intrusive to catch the attention of potential customers. Content that is helpful, entertaining, or informative generates more qualified leads by attracting potential customers to your business in a natural, organic way.
Search Engine Marketing Strategy
Search engine marketing (SEM) uses paid advertising to make your business, products, and services visible on the results page of search engines. It's one of the quickest ways to increase the number of visitors to your website.
SEM tactics can include:
- Search engine optimization (SEO) — Optimizing your website so that it appears higher in the search results
- Pay per click (PPC) — A paid advertising strategy that allows you to pay only when people interact with your ad
When creating your SEM strategy, you'll need to choose keywords to use in your campaign. Your keywords are words or phrases that relate to your business, products, and services. When someone types in one of your keywords, they'll see your ad. You can also target your SEM by location, time of day or day of the week, demographic, and devices.
Content Marketing Strategy
The right content marketing strategy can increase conversions, engagement, and revenue, promote brand awareness and customer loyalty, and establish your business as an authority in your field. Content marketing can include:
- Blog posts
- Social media marketing
- Infographics
- Case studies or customer testimonials
- Videos
- Podcasts
When creating a content marketing strategy, ask yourself these questions: Who is your target audience? What makes you different from and better than your competition? What is your goal? Based on your answers, you can then decide what platforms and formats to focus on.
Social Media Marketing
With more than 4.2 billion active social media users worldwide, social media is a powerful marketing tool for your business. Studies show that 54% of people use social media to research products, so if your business isn't actively using sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you're missing out on a huge amount of potential customers. Social media will improve brand awareness, drive engagement, generate leads, and connect and build relationships with customers.
According to the Pew Research Center, Facebook and YouTube are the most popular social media sites, followed by Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Your target audience will determine which platform will be most effective for your business. A huge benefit of social media marketing is that most platforms have built-in analytic tools, which allow you to track engagement, reach, followers, impressions, views, page visits, mentions, tags, shares, and reposts.
Don't procrastinate!
Don't wait to create your 2022 marketing strategy! Start the new year off on the right foot, with a clear approach and well-defined goals. Get started by downloading our free marketing strategy template or contacting us today.
