With 2023 wrapping up, we want to ask all you marketers out there: how well did your digital marketing campaign perform this year?
As the saying goes, “new year, new me,” so if you didn’t achieve all of your marketing objectives, here are some goals to focus on in 2024!
For those just getting started with their digital marketing program…
Embarking on a new digital marketing journey can be exciting — and daunting! However, before you get too excited about coming up with different fun and engaging campaigns to capture your audience’s attention, it’s a good idea to start with the basics. This provides you with a strong foundation on which to build your ongoing digital marketing campaign.
While most in-house marketers often partner with specialized digital marketing agencies when they are in the early stages of their marketing program, it never hurts to build that relationship even earlier since agencies can provide support in a number of different ways at this stage as well.
For marketers who are more familiar with traditional marketing, outside agencies can help develop an appropriate scope, focusing first on the major aspects of a digital marketing program while leaving room for growth and program expansions later on.
Some companies may not even have an online presence at this stage, so digital marketing agencies can step in and help to establish your online presence before moving to the more strategic aspects of the digital marketing program.
Here are some digital marketing goals for this stage:
- Define your target audience and understand where they are online (e.g. which devices do they use, which platforms are they on, etc.)
- Determine an appropriate starting digital marketing budget and program scope (read more in our article, How Many Social Media Platforms Should Your Brand Be On?)
- Establish your online presence, such as your website and social media properties
For those in the early stages of their digital marketing program…
After the initial legwork is complete, the next six to 12 months are often dedicated to getting your digital marketing program off the ground and running smoothly, while engaging in continuous optimizations to improve ROI and conversion rates. In other words, the focus shifts from more tactical activities to more strategic endeavors.
This includes mapping out the different stages that your customer takes from first interacting with your brand, to further down the marketing funnel where they’re ready to make a purchase. For example, if you’re launching social media ads, the first six months may focus more on brand awareness and building company credibility and trust, while the following six months may be more focused on launching lead generation ads that emphasize conversion.
For companies that have an established digital presence and know where their customers are online, this is often the most common stage at which in-house marketers engage a social media marketing agency. Marketers know the business objectives they want to achieve, but they’re not sure about the role digital marketing can play.
Here are some digital marketing goals for this stage:
- Develop strategic digital marketing funnels and customer journey maps
- Maintain a strategic digital presence with organic and paid ad content on social media
- Optimize conversion rates
For those managing an established digital marketing program…
As time goes on, your business objectives will shift. What was once your goal in Q1 might be different in Q4.
It’s also at this stage that many marketers look to scale their digital marketing programs. For example, if they’ve only built out an online presence on Instagram, they may consider establishing their company on other social media platforms if it makes sense to do so.
Or, they may consider other programs that complement their core digital marketing activities, such as influencer marketing, search engine marketing, or executive social media.
Here are some digital marketing goals for this stage:
- Scale up digital marketing programs to better achieve business objectives
- Enhance customer retention and experience
- Optimize performance across the board
Planning for 2024 starts now!
While we divided these goals into different stages, there is a lot of overlap and you may be working towards several of these goals in parallel. Some goals, such as optimization for example, fit into all of the stages of a marketing program, whether you’re just launching a new social media ad campaign or you’re managing a program that’s been running for several years.
Also, keep in mind that many different factors contribute to the success of a digital marketing program. Here are just a few of them:
- Developing a unique and engaging marketing strategy
- Having clear and realistic goals
- Working with a team of experts who know the ins and outs of digital marketing
There are also factors that contribute to a less-than-successful marketing program. Read our previous article, 3 Reasons Your Digital Marketing Strategy Failed, to learn more.
With all that said, many marketers focused on traditional marketing at their company may find it difficult to get their digital marketing program off the ground. Where do you start? What should you include? How much should it cost? What’s the ROI (return on investment)? How do you effectively and strategically make the leap from TV, radio, and print to social media, email, and search engine marketing?
Whether you need help getting your digital marketing program off the ground or you want to take your existing marketing campaign to the next level, we can help! Click below to speak to one of our marketing experts.
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