Online Marketing Plan

What is An Online Marketing Plan?

I believe that an online marketing plan is the way you intend to use the web, mobile, and other digital resources to support your business’s overall marketing plan. In that sense, it’s just one piece of the pie that may also include non-online slices like radio, print, television, and publicity.

This post briefly describes the pieces of a marketing plan as I see it.

Setting Your Online Marketing Objectives

The objective addresses the “big picture”.

How will I overcome my main marketing challenge(s)?

If your company’s main site-related challenge is figuring out how to use your website to help build client business, for example, an objective for your online marketing plan could be, “To enhance online client service as well as build site awareness and interest with clients.”

Set Your Online Marketing Strategy

A marketing strategy supports your objective.

The strategy defines general approaches you will take to meet your objective. These are determined by understanding your business and your customers (research, SWOT, competitive analysis, market analysis, etc).

For example, strategies to support the above objective could include

1. improve online communication, information, and education
2. build awareness of and interest in your company on the Internet
3. communicate the Website’s existence and advantages to existing clients.

 Select Your Online Marketing Tactics

A marketing tactic is where the action takes place.

Also called marketing programs or action plans, they are the things you will do to bring each marketing strategy to life.

Tactics for strategy 2 in the above example (improve online communication, information, and education) could include

1. sharing experience and observations in your industry through participation in discussion boards
2. offering an email newsletter
3. listing/submitting your site to targeted search engines and directories

Online Marketing Tactics to Consider

Online lead-generation program