The world we live in has become increasingly digital. What started as a few social media platforms and a handful of websites has now turned into a vast digital landscape.
Businesses that want to stay relevant have to thrive in this digital space by adopting effective marketing strategies. Putting a billboard on the side of the road or running a TV commercial is no longer going to cut it.
You have to be where your customers are — online.
Let’s look at the common digital marketing strategies and how you can leverage them for your business.
What Is a Digital Marketing Strategy?
A digital marketing strategy is a plan of action specifying how a business will use different online channels to achieve its marketing goals. These channels could be websites, social media platforms, email, search engines, and affiliate platforms.
The term ”strategy” is often used interchangeably with ”tactic” in the marketing world. However, there is a distinct difference between the two.
A tactic refers to the specific actions you take to implement your strategy. For example, writing a blog post is a tactic. Similarly, sending emails is another one.
A strategy is a more comprehensive plan that outlines how these tactics will work together to achieve a common goal.
In other words, tactics are the building blocks of strategy.
Why Create a Digital Marketing Strategy
Digital marketing strategies serve different purposes for different businesses. You might want to increase brand awareness or generate leads and sales.
For example, the next iteration of the Grand Theft Auto 6 will launch in 2025. Rockstar Games, the publisher, had devised a marketing strategy for this release.
One of the first tactics they used was to release a YouTube teaser at the end of 2023. The trailer has over 187 million views at the time of writing.
In this example, the marketers’ aim was to create hype around the game’s release and eventually increase sales.
On the other hand, Tinder’s ”It Starts With a Swipe” campaign encouraged GenZ to use the app for more meaningful connections rather than just hookups. The strategy behind this campaign was to build a stronger brand image and reposition Tinder as a platform for real relationships.
Without a proper digital marketing strategy, it wouldn’t be possible for these companies to achieve their desired outcomes.
A well-planned digital marketing strategy also helps you reach your target audience. You can choose the channel where your audience is more likely to be found.
Dr. Jessica Rogers, the Senior Associate Dean of Business at the Southern New Hampshire University, says, ”Traditional media is a great way to reach a broad consumer base, whereas digital media has the ability to reach very specific audiences.”
A digital marketing strategy helps achieve this through techniques such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, social media marketing, etc. It keeps you focused on a specific audience rather than targeting everyone and wasting resources.
Your strategy also increases accountability. Since you know the goals, budget, timeline, and channels beforehand, it’s easier to measure the results and track the return on investment (ROI).
6 Types of Digital Marketing Strategies for Businesses
It’s up to you to decide how many digital marketing strategies you want to develop. Your budget and target audience will play the main role in this decision.
But to give you an overview, here are some of the common types of digital marketing strategies.
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Let’s go to Google and search for ”AI email marketing platforms.” What will you see?
If there are any ads for this keyword, they will appear at the top of the search results page. The organic (unpaid) results will be in the middle.
For this search query, one of our articles ‘’Top 15 AI Email Marketing Platforms to Grow Your Business’’ is the second result.
This is what SEO does for a website — optimizing it to appear in the top search results organically. It involves both on-page and off-page techniques.
On-page SEO involves:
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Keyword optimization
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Creating high-quality content
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Optimizing meta tags, titles, and descriptions
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Including proper internal linking
The main steps in off-page SEO are:
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Building backlinks from other reputable websites
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Social media shares
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Directory listings and business citations
Besides these two types of SEO, technical SEO also matters. It has to do with the technical aspects of a website, such as site speed, mobile-friendliness, schema markup, etc.
SEO is imperative because it makes your website more visible on search engines, particularly on the first page where all the action happens.
Backlinko’s research found that only 0.63% of searchers go to the second page on Google. So, if you’re not on the first page, you’ve pretty much lost all your traffic.
SEO helps prevent that from happening.
SEO Tactics to Implement
The first step to doing SEO is to conduct keyword research. Use a tool like Ahrefs to find keywords relevant to your content.
Let’s say you want to write an article about digital marketing tools. Search for it on Ahrefs.
You’ll see all the related keywords people are searching for on the web. The higher the volume and lower the keyword difficulty, the better.
Incorporate these keywords into your content naturally. Don’t forget to add them in meta titles, descriptions, and tags.
Speaking of content, your website content should be written with Google’s ”people-first” approach in mind. Make your content super-valuable for readers, as that’s what Google loves.
Also, link to other content on your website internally. Internal linking helps Google understand the structure of your website better.
Build a backlink profile, too. A backlink is another website linking to your website. Google sees backlinks as a vote of confidence for your website and rewards it with higher rankings.
For example, we have a backlink to one of our studies from The Guardian.
Finally, work on technical SEO. Make sure your website works well on all devices and has fast loading speeds. Add schema markup to your website to make it more readable for search engines.
2. Content Marketing
If you’ve been in the digital space long enough, you’d know content is king. Rightfully so.
Content is what drives your social media and SEO strategies. It also seeps into email marketing and sometimes, even paid advertising.
Content is not limited to articles and blog posts. It also includes:
Let’s say you’re a business that sells organic skincare. Your content marketing strategy can include the following:
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Articles/Blogs: To educate your audience about the benefits of organic skincare and how to incorporate it into their routine.
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Videos: To show behind-the-scenes of your products, ingredient sourcing, skincare routines, or customer testimonials.
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Infographics: To visually explain the differences between organic and conventional skincare or to show the benefits of specific ingredients.
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Graphics: To create shareable social media posts.
For a B2B business, content may also include ebooks and whitepapers. In some cases, they may even have a podcast where they discuss industry trends and product updates.
Content Marketing Tactics to Implement
The main rule of content marketing is to create valuable content that helps your target audience in one way or another.
You want to create something that informs, entertains, educates, or solves a problem for your audience. More importantly, make the content easy to grasp.
For example, we understand that The State of Influencer Marketing 2024: Benchmark Report we released is a hefty document to go through. That’s why we also created a Notable Highlights section for the TL/DR audience.
We also created infographics and graphs to summarize the key findings. This helps in two ways. 
Another tactic to use in content marketing is to employ multiple formats and platforms. Instead of limiting yourself to just your website or blog, use a blend of social media, email marketing, and guest posting.
Also, use visuals, audio, video, and text.
The Washington Post does a good job of it. You can find the written articles on their website, but they also have a TikTok account where they share news with a comedic touch in a video format.
This way, they cater to each platform’s visitors per their preferences.
3. Email Marketing
Email marketing gives you a direct line of communication with your audience. So, you can use it to stay in touch with them.
In 2023, email marketing generated a revenue of $10.89 billion worldwide. By 2027, this figure is expected to increase to $17.9.
So, don’t overlook email marketing, thinking that it won’t be relevant in the age of social media.
An email marketing strategy encompasses sending newsletters, product updates, promotional emails, and personalized emails to your subscribers.
Personalized emails, in particular, can be highly effective as they cater to the individual interests of the recipient. For example, Seeking Alpha sends personalized emails to subscribers who show interest in earning reports of companies.
Since there’s a wide selection of email marketing tools, you don’t have to do everything manually. Most of these tools, such as Constant Contact and ConvertKit, offer templates that you can customize to fit your brand.
They also provide analytics to track the performance of your email campaigns. You can also automate several tasks, such as sending personalized emails based on trigger actions like website visits or purchases.
Email Marketing Tactics to Implement
Like content marketing, the key to mastering email marketing is to send different types of emails. The most obvious type is informational emails.
In these emails, you inform your subscribers about your products and industry news. For example, this is an informational email from AutoTrader, letting subscribers know about the website’s new preferences center.
Then, there are promotional emails. Let’s say you’re running a sale or offering a promotion on one of your products. These emails update your subscribers about the deal and prompt them to take action. Here’s how Uncommon Goods does it.
Some emails are also situational.
For example, someone signs up for your newsletter or abandons their cart on your e-commerce website. In these scenarios, it’s a good opportunity to send a welcome email or a cart abandonment email, respectively.
For example, Medium sends a membership email to welcome new subscribers on board.
Similarly, Cuisinart uses a very creative way to re-engage its subscribers through email by giving them a chance to unsubscribe.
You can also send birthday emails to your subscribers. Maybe add a discount in there to make them feel special.
4. Paid Advertising
Paid advertising means paying for ad space on a platform, such as social media sites or search engines.
Google Ads is the most common form of paid advertising. However, social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest are just as popular.
In the search engine, ads have a ”Sponsored” tag. They appear as search results based on the keywords you bid for.
For example, when we search for ”accounting tools for small businesses,” Quickbooks has an ad that appears first.
This is a paid search ad.
Similarly, when we search for this keyword on YouTube, Quickbooks has an ad there, too. It has a ”Sponsored” tag on it.
Apart from search ads, you can also run display ads. These are the banner ads that appear on websites you visit.
For example, here’s a display ad for a perfume on Spruce’s article about making homemade dishwasher detergent.
A paid advertisement strategy is handy if you want to reach a larger audience quickly. You don’t have to wait for your organic SEO efforts to kick in; the top spot is yours as soon as you pay.
Paid Advertisement Tactics to Implement
First off, know your target audience well. Which platform do they use the most?
Run ads on that platform.
Choose the right demographics for your ads. On Google Ads, you can even select the age range, income level, and location of your target audience.
The same applies to Facebook and Instagram.
Your ad’s copy also contributes to its success. A good ad copy entices the audience and has a call to action. For example, look at this ad from Baby Ark for its car seat for babies.
The copy is on point, telling the reader that they’ll get free shipping and a 100-day free trial. Plus, it lists the product’s features, such as fool-proof installation and forgotten baby alerts. The ad copy tells the readers all the highlighting features of the product even before they click on the link.
Include visuals like images or videos to make your social media ads more appealing. Take this ad as an example.
It has a captivating visual that will make someone want to read the copy. Plus, the pun (get a ‘’leg up’’) is hard to miss, and makes the ad even more engaging.
A/B testing can be helpful here. Test different copies and images to see which one performs better.
Facebook lets you A/B test your ads before settling on the best option.
If you don’t want to do this manually, run Responsive Search Ads on Google. These ads automatically test different headlines and descriptions to find the best combination.
5. Social Media Marketing
A social media marketing strategy is a must-have for your digital marketing efforts. Simply put, you use social media platforms to promote your products and engage with your audience.
The common platforms to use are:
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Facebook
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Instagram
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X
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Pinterest
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LinkedIn
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YouTube
Facebook is still the most used social media platform, followed by YouTube. So, you should focus on these two platforms first.
If your audience is mostly teens and young adults, Instagram should be your go-to platform. TikTok is also an excellent platform for reaching millennials and GenZ since both these groups dominate the app.
You can use social media platforms to:
Social Media Marketing Tactics to Implement
The key is to be present on social media platforms where your audience is present. For example, Duolingo has a massive following on TikTok, where the brand engages its mostly young audience.
Why?
Duolingo’s research shows that 60% of all language learners in the US are under the age of 30. So, it makes sense for the brand to have a strong presence on TikTok.
Another tip is to use a variety of content types on social media. Video content, especially short-form video content, is undoubtedly the most popular, but don’t underestimate the power of images and written content.
Interactive content like polls can also be engaging. You can also run live streams or interact with your audience in real time on TikTok or Instagram.
Also, don’t sleep on AI use. HubSpot reports that 71% of social media marketers use AI tools. For example, you can use an image generation tool like Midjourney for social media posts. Or, you can use Hootsuite’s Caption Generator to write captions for your Instagram posts. The options are endless.
6. Influencer Marketing
In an influencer marketing strategy, you collaborate with popular individuals on social media platforms to promote your brand.
Since influencers are widely trusted by their followers, their recommendations can have a significant impact on your brand’s reach and engagement.
Some use cases for influencer marketing are:
Influencer Marketing Tactics to Implement
Don’t simply partner with influencers for the sake of it. Instead, look for individuals whom your audience is likely following on social media.
For example, Charlotte Tilbury, a cosmetic brand, partners with beauty influencers to promote its new products.
Also, collaborate with micro-influencers since their audiences are usually more engaged. They also charge less. So, they’re a good option for small businesses or companies with niche markets.
Measure your influencer marketing campaigns’ performance periodically. Then, decide if you want to continue working with the same influencer or not.
Just because someone has a large following on social media doesn’t mean they’ll catapult your sales. Engagement matters more.
That’s why constant monitoring is a must-do in influencer marketing.
How to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy?
Here are the steps to create an effective digital marketing strategy.
Step 1: Identify Your Audience
Who are you targeting in your marketing strategy? Know your audience’s age, gender, interests, income level, location, and other important demographics.
The more you know about your audience, the better. It will help you select the right messaging and channels to reach them.
Step 2: Define Your Goals
What do you want to achieve with your digital marketing efforts?
Your goals should be measurable and achievable. For example, if your objective for the email marketing campaign is to increase click-through rates, specify by when and how much.
For example: “Increase click-through rates by 25% within the next six months.”
Step 3: Set the Budget
The budget will cover:
Your budget should be realistic and flexible so that you can make adjustments throughout the year if needed.
Step 4: Choose the Right Channels
In the first step, you had to learn about your audience. If you do that part well, you’ll know which channels to market on.
There are three main types of channels:
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Paid: These are channels that require you to pay for advertising, such as Google Ads or social media ads.
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Owned: Your website is a good example. You own these channels and have full control over the content and messaging.
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Earned/Shared: A third-party owns these channels. But you can earn media coverage through PR efforts or your social media following.
Step 5: Execute and Monitor
Set your marketing strategy in motion based on your goals. Then, decide how often you want to monitor the results.
For example, you could monitor weekly or monthly, depending on how quickly your campaigns are expected to produce results.
Conclusion
Digital marketing strategies come in different shapes and scopes. You don’t necessarily have to use all of the channels mentioned above, but the ones you select should be based on your marketing goals and target audience.
The best way to maintain relevance is to evolve with the trends. Conduct competitor analysis to see what’s going on in your industry. Also, read industry reports and keep up with new trends. Adopt relevant tools and strategies to stay ahead of the game.
