Yes, it’s that time of year when attention turns to the new year on the horizon. Summer has passed, the rain is falling, and the ‘C’ word is being mentioned, which can only mean one thing - we’ve hit Q4 already!
Many of you will be assessing what you want to achieve in 2025, how you plan to do it, and what might be required to get you there. Are you looking to double your turnover, increase the number of employees, or expand to bigger premises? You may be looking to maintain the growth you’ve established in 2024, but none of it can be achieved without customers, whatever your industry.
That’s what I want to talk about today – your clients, your customers, your audience; however you refer to them, knowing who they are and where they are is key to your strategy.
Here are just a few questions to ask yourself:
- What do they look like?
- Take this as literally as you can. What colour is their hair? Give them a name. What would they be interested in? Where would they likely sit politically? How old are they? Imagine a typical day for your ideal client, and once you have a clear picture, make sure the rest of your staff know too.
- Where can you find them?
- Now that you know what they like to read, where they like to go, and the hobbies they have, you can start to work out where they hang out! Would they go to face-to-face networking, or would time only allow them to connect online? Maybe they would be found at markets on a Saturday morning or at large conference events.
- How can you connect with them?
- So you know who they are and where they might be found, how do you connect with them? You might want to consider sponsorship of events they attend or having an exhibition stand at a conference, but don’t forget about your digital marketing strategy!
Digital Marketing Strategy
Meeting your target audience face-to-face can be both time-consuming and costly, and it doesn’t always reach as many as you’d like. A well-structured digital marketing strategy can take away the pain of all three. Some examples you should consider include:
- LinkedIn Marketing
- Facebook Marketing
- Video Promotions - ever heard of TikTok?
- Email Marketing - Yes, this is still a thing in the 21st century and shouldn’t be forgotten about!
- Webinars / Podcasts
Your strategy is coming together nicely now!
What we haven’t discussed is your brand, however! All of this strategy building is fantastic, but there has to be something that links them all together, brings them back to you, and tells a consistent story about who you are and what you do. That’s your brand!
The colours you use, the fonts you use, and the language you use must be consistent. Whether you’re speaking to a room of 100 people or targeting an email at a select few, make sure your brand shines through so every marketing action you take reinforces each other.
I see you on LinkedIn, I see you pop up on Facebook, I see you in person, and I already know what to expect.
What role does your website play in all this?
It’s the first and last piece of the puzzle!
Start with your website. Does it reinforce your brand? Does it talk to your audience? Does it answer the questions they want to know? Build your brand from your website, but make sure you research what currently works and what doesn’t. If you’re creating your first website, ensure you know what keywords you want to be found by. This is step 1 & 2 of our 4-step process for a website project.
It’s also the last piece of your digital marketing strategy, as it’s the place you want people to end up. Emails, adverts, and posts all encourage a click back to a relevant page on your website that gives your future customer a decision to make. The decision will vary but commonly it’ll be to purchase online, make an enquiry, or download some information on offer. Whatever decision you want that customer to make, ensure your website provides an easy route to do so.
Use your website to track your strategy. Adding analytics tools, such as Google Analytics and MS Clarity allow you to monitor how well your marketing is performing. What’s captured the imagination and what fell flat? Does it teach you something new about your audience that allows you to refine your future strategy? Your website can provide so much useful data, if it’s set up the right way.
Costing the Strategy
I can’t tell you how much to spend on this, everyone’s different, everyone’s budget is different but we can break it down to how your budget could be split. I would suggest these is valid for budgets of £10k or more. Any less and you would drop some of the elements and just focus on what really matters to you.
Website Design & Development: 20%
- Includes creation and development of an engaging website, with the tools that you need.
Content Marketing: 25%
- Includes blogging, videos, and other content creation efforts.
SEO: 15%
- Investment in on-page and technical SEO to improve organic search rankings.
Social Media Marketing: 15%
- Costs for managing social media accounts, creating posts, and running ads.
Email Marketing: 10%
- Tools for email campaigns and list management, including automation software.
PPC Advertising: 10%
- Budget for Google Ads, social media ads, and other paid campaigns.
Analytics & Tracking: 5%
- Costs for tools to record and report on the progress of your strategy
If you’re about to embark on your 2025 strategy planning and would like to discuss how digital marketing can play a role in your growth, then book a consultation or send a quick WhatsApp, and let’s start the conversation.