5 Secrets of a Powerful Digital Marketing Strategy

Effective digital marketing isn’t exactly magic or wizardry—but many brands are still unaware of basic digital strategies that can elevate their efforts, so it feels like that when you see them in action.

Mastering the following marketing "secrets" will position you as a leader, and help drive big results for your brand. Whether you're just starting out or looking to enhance your existing strategy, these insights from our team of marketing experts will help you unlock the full potential of your next digital marketing campaign.

1. Tracking is the Cornerstone of All Marketing Efforts
2. Cover Every Stage of the Sales Funnel
3. Budget for Experimentation and Growth
4. Capitalize on Seasonal Trends
5. Micro-Influencers Can Bring Big Results

1. Tracking is the Cornerstone of All Marketing Efforts

Real talk: Nothing you do matters if you aren't tracking, analyzing, and reporting on your outcomes. You could be running the most successful Google Ad campaign or sending brilliant e-newsletters, but that is all utterly irrelevant if you’re not capitalizing on those outcomes through solid data analysis.

Free tools that will enhance your tracking include Google Analytics (GA4), Google Looker Studio, and Google Tag Manager.

Google Analytics is so popular that almost every business has it set up on their website. (If you don't, stop what you're doing and add it now!)

Learn more: 4 must-know features in Google’s GA4

However, this tool and others can generate so much data about your website and digital marketing efforts that it sometimes feels overwhelming. That is where Google Looker Studio comes in. This customizable reporting dashboard allows you to pull in exactly what you want to see from Google Analytics, as well as hundreds of other platforms via integrations.

None of this would be complete without tracking through Google Tag Manager (GTM). This tool streamlines tracking, gathers vital data, and enhances your marketing efforts without the hassle of coding—but it does take some thoughtful design and setup to get the most out of it. Our data experts have put together a free “Complete Guide to GTM” to get you started if you’re not already using tags to track user activity on your website.

Just as the tree falls in the forest, if you run a campaign without tracking, did it even perform?

2. Cover Every Stage of the Marketing Funnel

The marketing funnel is a continuous cycle, and attention must be paid to customers at every stage of their journey. Regardless of the stage a customer enters (or re-enters) the funnel, it's essential to track their progress to optimize your marketing efforts.

Why is your funnel and its stages so important? Think about it:

• You don’t want to be sending brand awareness messaging to customers who are already familiar with your brand.
• You don’t want to share case studies or testimonials with a customer who is still trying to figure out their exact problem.
• You don’t want to be sending product comparison or how-to content to customers who have already decided to buy.

Learn more: Don’t neglect the top of your marketing funnel.

In many ways, the marketing funnel is 101-level stuff, but many companies still ignore it completely when deciding on their marketing strategies and campaign-level tactics. It’s easier and more fun to just pick out marketing tactics you want to use (“let’s do a video!”) instead of thinking strategically about how they will influence a customer to move through the sales process.

More real talk: Building a well-rounded marketing strategy that addresses each stage of the funnel, you’ll have more success attracting, engaging, and converting potential customers into loyal advocates for your brand.

Note that there are many ways of defining the steps that go into the marketing funnel—you'll see examples online of funnels with three steps, four steps, or many more—but the general idea is the same: We're introducing our brand, showing you our solutions, getting you to consider them and (ideally) pushing you to purchase ours.

Four Stages of the Marketing Funnel

Awareness Stage

Goal: Introduce your brand to a wide audience and plant the seeds for further research.

Marketing tactics:

• Paid advertising: Facebook and Instagram ads, display ads on relevant websites.
• Content marketing: Blog posts, articles, videos, infographics on industry topics.
• Public relations: Press releases, media coverage, influencer partnerships.
• Social media: Consistent posting, engaging content, and community building.

Interest Stage

Goal: Nurture leads and build relationships by providing valuable content that helps customers understand the nature of their specific problem.

Marketing tactics:

• Content marketing: E-books, whitepapers, webinars, and how-to guides.
• Email marketing: Targeted email campaigns with valuable, actionable content.
• Social media engagement: Respond to comments, messages, and participate in discussions.
• Lead magnets: Offer free resources like checklists, templates, or assessments in exchange for email addresses.

Consideration Stage

Goal: Position your product or service as the best solution to the customer's problem.

Marketing tactics:

• Content marketing: Case studies, customer testimonials, product demos, and comparisons.
• SEO: Optimize website content for relevant long-tail keywords to improve search visibility.
• Paid advertising: Google Search ads, remarketing campaigns to target previous website visitors.
• Lead nurturing: Personalized email campaigns based on lead behavior and interests.

Purchase Stage

Goal: Convert leads into customers and drive sales.

Marketing tactics:

• Website optimization: Clear calls-to-action, easy checkout process, and mobile-friendly design.
• Sales promotions: Discounts, free trials, limited-time offers.
• Customer support: Excellent customer service to build trust and loyalty.
• Sales enablement: Provide the sales team with the necessary tools and resources to close deals.

3. Budget for Experimentation and Growth

Interactive content (quizzes, polls, calculators): Create engaging content formats to capture audience attention and collect valuable data.

Personalized email marketing: Use data to deliver highly targeted and personalized email campaigns.

Read our entire list of marketing suggestions for 2024 here.  By embracing these emerging trends and allocating resources for experimentation, your small business can gain a competitive edge in the digital marketplace.

4. Capitalize On Seasonal Trends

It may seem counterintuitive to run a Facebook ad on Thanksgiving—after all, isn’t everyone celebrating with family? But according to the 2020 Sprout Social Index, Edition XVI, 42% of respondents say they’re most likely to be on social media during the holidays.

Holidays are the perfect time to run paid ads, as people are off work and scrolling Facebook, shopping online, and visiting their favorite websites. Consider whether or not your products and services align with any of these peak shopping seasons and events:

• Christmas
• Easter
• Thanksgiving
• Back-to-School
• Super Bowl
• World Cup
• Olympics
• Oscars
• Grammys
• Black Friday
• Cyber Monday
• Giving Tuesday

By carefully considering these factors and leveraging the power of seasonal and special events, you can enhance the impact of your social media advertising efforts. Note that this approach takes a lot of forethought and planning to execute correctly—don’t just assume you can get in on it a week or two ahead of the big day.

5. Micro-Influencers Can Bring Big Results

You are likely familiar with the concept of a social media influencer, but it’s not just about big time names like Kylie Jenner, Addison Rae, or Loren Gray. Micro-influencers are a much more scaled-down (and affordable) version of this concept, and can be used to grow your brand among niche communities.

According to SocialLadder, influencers can be broken into categories based on their follower counts.

• Nano-influencers: 1,000 – 10,000
• Micro-influencers: 10,000 – 50,000
• Mid-tier influencers: 50,000 – 500,000
• Macro-influencers: 500,000 – 1 million
• Mega-influencers: 1 million – 5 million
• Celebrity influencers: Over 5 million

Where a macro-level or celebrity influencer is involved in a clearly transactional relationship—usually resulting in an expensive one-off piece of content—a micro-influencer can be more cost-effective, target a more specific audience, and the relationship may last longer.

Micro-influencers’ power can also be derived from their relatability. And here’s an internet marketing secret: micro-influencers aren't just for retail brands. A nonprofit could partner with a local radio personality to share personal stories on why they give back. Or a bank could team up with a college student to promote savings tips. This is where you can get creative! (We work with Pip, Informatics' own doggie influencer.)

Now that our marketing secrets have been revealed, it is time for you to execute! If you need assistance with your digital marketing strategy or implementing any of the above services, contact us today. Our knowledgeable team is ready to help.

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