A step-by-step guide to building your 2021 digital marketing plan

Learn what to include in your digital marketing plan to see success this new year and beyond

Today, digital marketing is without doubt one of the best ways to reach your customers.
Why? Because more and more consumers are doing more and more things online.

With a comprehensive digital marketing plan, you can connect with people in their preferred channels to:

• Increase brand awareness
• Reach more potential customers
• Retain your existing customers, and
• Increase overall sales.

The right digital marketing plan will also help you define what you want to accomplish within a given time frame, so you can meet your objectives and keep your efforts on track throughout the year.

First, check your digital marketing basics

Before you get started building your 2021 digital marketing plan, we strongly recommend you use the following resources:

• Learn where your marketing stands today with our Marketing Audit Checklist
• Identify your areas of improvement and opportunity by learning how to conduct a SWOT analysis for your business
• Craft a strategy for success by learning how to write a Marketing Strategy in 6 simple steps

All set with the basics? Let’s get started!

What to include in your 2021 digital marketing plan

With so many digital marketing options available, where should you focus? Join us as we break down the essential components of a successful digital marketing plan.

• Website assessment

Your website is the hub of your business’s digital marketing efforts. That’s why we always recommend starting the year with a website assessment.

Open up your website and put yourself in the shoes of your target customer. Does your website clearly communicate the benefits of your products or services? Does it show how you could solve your potential customer’s challenges? Does it explain why they should choose you over your competitors?

If not, create an action plan of the things you need to improve. During your website assessment, you should also check for outdated content, broken links, and any images that need to be updated.

• Search engine optimization

The purpose of search engine optimization (SEO for short) is to increase the organic traffic to your website by improving your visibility on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Comprehensive SEO involves numerous technical and creative methods of gaining traction online. These include keyword research, competitor analysis, backlink monitoring, and the ongoing creation of quality content.

• Content marketing

Content marketing should be an essential part of your 2021 digital marketing plan because it’s a key way to attract, educate, and persuade your customers.

Content marketing is all about providing value to your target audience—your focus should be on creating high-quality content that’s relevant to them and their needs. Think SEO-optimized blog posts, case studies, downloadable resources, whitepapers, and so on.

• Email marketing

Email marketing is an excellent way to keep your business top of mind.

By consistently sending newsletters, promotions, new announcements, and event invitations you’ll maximize your relationships with your existing customers and build a stronger connection with your new subscribers.

• Social media marketing

Your target audience probably spends a good deal of their time on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

By including social media marketing in your 2021 digital marketing plan, you’ll establish brand authority by joining the conversation and will enrich your customer relationships by offering consistent, relevant, and highly useful content.

• Paid search

If you’re in a highly competitive industry, paid search campaigns (also known as pay-per-click campaigns, or PPC for short) are a great way to improve your online visibility and help potential customers find you.
With a paid search campaign, you bid to show your ads to users in search engine results when they search for specific words or phrases that are relevant to your business.

• Reputation management

Online reviews are one of the most important factors for consumers when they’re deciding whether or not to choose you. By making reputation management part of your digital marketing plan, you’ll help your business stand head and shoulders above the competition.

Reputation management can come in many forms, but often includes targeted email campaigns or dedicated platforms that help you generate genuine customer reviews where you need them most.

• Web analytics

Once you’ve put in all the hard work, your web analytics can show you how your digital marketing and SEO efforts are paying off. Not only will you see how different digital channels are performing, you’ll also gain valuable insights into the online behavior and preferences of your customers.

As the most widely used web analytics service in the world, Google Analytics is the best place to get started. Want to learn more? Check out our Google Analytics guide to understand what your website data is telling you.

Next steps

Now that you’ve built your 2021 digital marketing plan, all that’s left to do is to define your budget, decide how you’ll measure success, and get started!

Need help with your 2021 digital marketing plan?

If you need help bringing all of the pieces together, a digital marketing agency can help. They’ll guide you through creating the right strategy, executing your plan, and reporting on your successes.

At Different Perspective, we help businesses in several industries establish brand authority, enrich customer relationships, and attract new leads with a comprehensive digital marketing plan.

Ready to get started?

Contact us today to learn more

More resources for you

Back to basics: How to claim (or reclaim) your Google My Business listing
Marketing insight: Why brands must create value for customers (and how to do it)
Must-read resource: How to: Step up your social strategy by engaging your employees