In this part of the Marketing Plan, you will create a digital and social media marketing strategy and content for your project business. You will consider your target market and think about areas of opportunity for reaching them outside of the traditional print, tv, and radio formats.
Digital marketing is an umbrella term that refers to the marketing of goods or services using digital media, such as e-mail, websites, search engines, and social media platforms. Social media specifically refers to Internet-based applications that enable users to create their own content and share it with others who access these sites.
How Marketers Capitalize on the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT)
According to your textbook, the ZMOT is the "moment when a customer uses a digital device to begin learning about a potential purchase. It happens online, typically starting with a search on Google..." This moment is emotional because the consumer has a need he wants to satisfy and an emotional investment in finding the best solution.
In today's digital marketing environment, how do companies make sure their websites and other online content are the first ones found when consumers reach a ZMOT? A big part of that answer is through the use of search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM).
- Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of getting more traffic based on higher rankings of free or “organic” search results on search engines.
- Search engine marketing (SEM) is the process of generating website traffic by purchasing advertisements on search engines.
Social media marketing uses combinations of digital tools such as websites, online videos, e-mail, blogs, social media, mobile ads, mobile apps, and other digital platforms. It seeks to engage consumers anywhere, anytime via their computers, smartphones, tablets, Internet-enabled TVs, and other digital devices. Marketing organizations are committing increasing percentages of their resources to social media marketing for one simple reason: More and more people are spending more and more of their time on these platforms. Whether we are looking at Facebook to see what a friend is up to, checking a celebrity’s Twitter to keep up with pop culture news, or contemplating which Instagram filter makes us look better, social and mobile technology have become natural parts of our everyday lives.
How can—or better yet, how should—marketers use social media to achieve business-related goals? Generally speaking, nearly all social media marketing strategies and tactics can be grouped according to their main purpose:
- Increase brand visibility through search marketing techniques (See SEO and SEM above!)
- Apply content marketing strategies to grow customer engagement.
- Utilize social media to promote brand–customer and customer–customer conversation about your brand.
- Incorporate location-based marketing techniques to provide context to social interactions.
- Activate customer advocacy by incorporating social media into CSR and loyalty programs.
- Employ social media monitoring to listen to the voice of the customer
- This week, you will submit Part D of your Marketing Plan.Add this portion of your marketing plan to the project submitted last week, so your marketing plan becomes a running document with additional sections added each week (be sure to continue the formatting provided in the template). This section of your plan should be approximately two (2) pages long with properly cited resources with in-text citations.Use these headings in bold font in your plan and cover the points beneath each heading.
Digital Marketing Activities
Spend a few minutes thinking about your project business. What types of ZMOTs will your target customer have? In other words, what need will your product fulfill for them? For example, if your business is a mechanics shop, what situations would require your services? If a potential customer goes out to start their car in the morning and has a dead battery, that could be a ZMOT. What would help connect this customer to you?
Assume that your business already has a very basic website but needs your advice on how to improve its digital and social media presence.
In this first section of your paper, discuss how SEO and SEM can help improve traffic to the website. Then make three suggestions for improving website traffic. Be sure to include Keyword suggestions and SEM and content ideas.
Social Media Marketing and Content Creation
In this part of your paper, discuss how you feel social media marketing can improve the success of this business. Using the concept of "Content PillarsLinks to an external site." (select "CC" for closed captions), come up with 3-5 categories of content that you feel would be appropriate for this business. Then, underneath each pillar, add one or two ideas for specific content, how you would format that content, and the specific social media outlet where you feel that it will be best received.
For example, if the business is a mechanics shop, a content pillar, content idea, content format, and outlet location might be:
- Content Pillar: Simple Car Repair How-Tos.
- Content Idea: How to jump-start a car battery
- Content Format and Outlet: 1-minute Instagram video short
- Content Idea: How to jump-start a car battery