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Digital Marketing Strategy: Examples and How to Get Started

Shae Henrie

Sr. Content Marketing Manager @ AdRoll

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Having a carefully crafted digital marketing strategy is crucial for all businesses, no matter the size. Understanding different digital marketing strategies and how to implement them can be the key to your brand’s success. Let’s explore various digital marketing strategies and templates, delve into the intricacies of digital advertising strategies, and offer guidance on tailoring the right digital marketing strategy for your brand. Additionally, we’ll share specific insights into B2B digital marketing strategies and digital marketing strategies for small businesses.

What Are Digital Marketing Strategies?

Digital marketing strategies are detailed plans that specify how a company will use digital platforms and channels to meet its marketing objectives. These methods cover a wide range of activities, including email marketing, social media advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), and content marketing.

Examples of Digital Marketing Strategies

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach that involves creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content. This content, which includes blog posts, infographics, and videos, is designed to attract and engage your target audience. The primary goal of content marketing is to provide information, entertainment, or solutions that align with the interests and needs of a specific group of people, ultimately leading to them taking desired actions, such as making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, or sharing the content with others. An example of a content marketing tactic would be an automotive supply company starting a company blog that provides industry insights, how-to guides, and customer success stories.  

Another example of a digital marketing strategy is social media advertising. This example involves placing paid ads on social media platforms to reach a specific target audience. These platforms, such as Instagram, Twitter (X), Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, provide advertisers with tools to promote their products, services, or content to a highly segmented and engaged user base for running targeted ads.

Social media advertising has become a critical component of many businesses’ digital marketing strategies due to its ability to reach a large and highly segmented audience while offering robust tracking and measurement capabilities. For instance, a fitness app could partner with popular fitness influencers on TikTok to promote their app. This allows them to leverage the influencer’s reach and engage with their target demographic of people interested in fitness and wellness, all while tracking the effectiveness of the campaign.

Email marketing, a highly effective digital marketing strategy, involves sending personalized emails to subscribers. For instance, consider a small business that uses email marketing to reward its loyal customers. They create and send tailored emails to their loyal customer base, providing them with exclusive access to special discounts and promotions. This approach fosters customer loyalty and encourages repeat purchases and engagement with the brand.

Enhancing your website's content to boost its ranking on search engine results pages is crucial for increasing visibility and driving organic traffic to your site. For example, a neighborhood coffee shop might leverage search engine optimization (SEO) to optimize its website for best coffee in [city], allowing them to appear higher in search results when potential customers in their area search for coffee shops. This increased visibility can lead to more website visits, foot traffic to the shop and, ultimately, higher sales. 

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a digital advertising model in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked by a user. It’s a way to buy visits to a website rather than attempting to “earn” those visits organically through methods like SEO. PPC ads can appear on various online platforms, but they are most commonly associated with search engine advertising, particularly platforms like Google and Bing. 


In a PPC campaign, advertisers bid on specific keywords or phrases that are relevant to their target audience. When users conduct searches using those keywords, the search engine displays the advertiser’s ad in the sponsored results section. If a user clicks on the ad, the advertiser is charged a certain amount, which is determined through the bidding process. For instance, an online cosmetic brand looking to promote its best-selling blushes and mascaras might bid on keywords like “top blushes” or “best mascara,” ensuring that their products are prominently featured when potential customers search for those terms.

How to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy

​​Let’s walk through the steps needed to create a digital marketing strategy.

Step 1: Establish specific goals

Start by defining your goals. What do you want to achieve with your digital marketing efforts? These goals might include boosting sales, raising brand awareness, or increasing website traffic. 

Step 2: Know your target audience

Understanding your target audience is essential to your brand’s success. Investigate the demographics of those most likely to purchase your goods or services, then customize your strategies to address their needs and preferences.

Step 3: Select the right digital channels

Choose the digital platforms and channels that are compatible with your objectives and target audience. LinkedIn may be the best option for B2B companies. Meanwhile, B2C companies may be more likely to find success on TikTok and Instagram. 

Step 4: Curate engaging content

Produce compelling, relevant material that appeals to your audience. This might include blogs, email newsletters, or updates on social media (keep in mind that content is king)!

Step 5: Determine your budget

Establish an appropriate budget for each campaign and digital marketing channel. To maximize your ROI, you must allocate your resources carefully.

Step 6: Monitor and adjust

Launch your campaigns and monitor their success. Key performance indicators (KPIs) should be measured using analytics tools, and adjustments should be made as needed. 

Step 7: Maintain and continually improve

A digital marketing strategy is dynamic; it changes over time. Review your strategy frequently, evaluate the results, and make appropriate improvements to reflect shifting consumer trends and behavior.

B2B Digital Marketing Strategy 

For B2B businesses, a successful digital marketing strategy involves a deep understanding of the needs and unique challenges of other businesses. Several key approaches include:

Email marketing — Nurture leads with tailored email campaigns that provide insightful information and helpful solutions.

Content marketing — Create in-depth case studies, industry reports, and whitepapers to help demonstrate your expertise.

LinkedIn advertising — Target professionals and executive decision-makers in your industry through LinkedIn ads and sponsored content.

Example Digital Marketing Strategy for Small Businesses

Small businesses frequently have constrained resources, but that doesn't mean they can't compete in the digital space. Here are several helpful tips to create a digital marketing plan for a small business.

SEO

Start off by focusing on local SEO. You can do so by investigating and incorporating relevant search terms that local residents are likely to use when looking for goods or services that are similar to yours. Make sure that all online directories and listings for your brand use consistent and accurate contact information (name, address, phone number). As many local searches are done on mobile devices, harness the power of mobile optimization by making sure your website is mobile-friendly.

Social media

Next, you’re going to want to increase engagement on social media. Several ways to achieve this involve consistently posting relevant and interesting material to your social media profiles, such as updates about your brand, ongoing sales, and local events. Your brand should be participating in local conversations and trends on social media to establish your presence in the area. Respond promptly to comments, messages, and reviews to build trust and maintain a positive online reputation. By using branded hashtags or running contests, you can encourage customers to share their interactions with your company on social media.

Reviews

Finally, work on your customer reviews. Start asking satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Yelp or industry-specific review websites. Your responses to all reviews, positive and negative, should always convey professionalism and an intention to resolve any issues. To increase credibility, highlight positive comments on your website or social media. Utilize the constructive criticism left by negative reviews to enhance both your goods and services for customers. 

Together, these strategies will improve your online visibility, boost your business's visibility with local clients, and promote a reliable and positive reputation for your business. Keep in mind that the success of these strategies depends on consistency and sincere engagement.

Get started with AdRoll today to put these strategies into action!

The Digital Age’s Key to Success

Understanding digital marketing strategies and how to implement them is essential for any business’s success in the digital age. Whether your brand is big or small, implementing the right approach can help you successfully accomplish your marketing objectives.

Start your digital marketing journey today, and watch your business thrive!

Explore AdRoll’s comprehensive suite of digital marketing tools and learn more here.

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