How to Develop a Solid Foundation for your Digital Media Plan
By Graeme Sanderson A web page might be your shop window for your brand, but if no one can find the shop, no one will buy the brand. No one will talk about it or share it or talk to you about it. These basic activities will help you reach out in a crowded marketplace and they apply to, not just commerce, but your own web presence as well.
Brand Message
Your brand, and what it stands for, should be understood by you and your customers and it should be clearly aligned with your target audience. It must be instantly recognisable and consistent and be identifiable from keywords and phrases that you will use for search engine optimisation. Your brand identity needs to work across all platforms for your digital media plan to be effective.
Search Results
Nearly everyone buying new products, researches them on-line before committing. Getting your product in the search results of page 1 in Google should be your goal. To do this you can buy advertising with pay-per-click taking customers to your “shop window”.
Content optimisation
Google will look for original and frequent content as it decides where to place your search result. Content needs to be consistent across different browsers and particularly in the developing market of mobile devices and tablets. Attention grabbing content is much more likely to be shared and linked to your brand, which will push you further up the search rankings
Social Media
Choosing which platform is right for your brand is important. Which one’s suit your customer profile? This is where your customers will discuss your business and products and will be an opportunity for you to engage with them and invite them to receive more information and offers through newsletters and email alerts. Facebook is the biggest platform with Google+ making good ground as it interacts with other platforms. These two platforms are good for image content and video.
Goals, conversions and leads
All marketing activity should be based on data capture and it takes consistency and persistence to achieve this. Regular updates, newsletters and “likes” all play a part in growing your community. It takes time and dedication to succeed. Invite your followers to “sign up free” on your site. Google analytics is a great way to monitor your traffic. Activity can be watched in real-time and will show you which browsers are being used, the source location of your visitors and their behavior on your site once they get there. It will also show you peak times allowing you to plan your posts and email marketing time slots and much more. It’s free to use and an indispensable tool that will allow you make minor adjustments to your activity as you progress and develop your brand.
Imagination 