In today’s ever-expanding digital age, it’s no surprise that you need a prominent digital presence in order to compete for and win the attention of your audience. But do you know the best way to do just that? A digital marketing plan.

It might sound frivolous to invest time and resources into creating a digital marketing plan, but just as you wouldn’t attempt a cross-country road trip without a GPS, so too it’s futile to attempt digital marketing without a thorough and strategic plan. But we’ll let the facts speak for themselves. Here are three distinct ways that a digital marketing plan sets you up for success.

1. IT HELPS YOU IDENTIFY KEY OPPORTUNITIES AND DEFINE A SCOPE OF WORK

The first and most important step of a digital marketing plan is to identify key opportunities. Because digital marketing provides so many different opportunities for engagement, some organizations fall prey to the temptation to do it all. However, unless you have a huge marketing team, doing it all and doing it well isn’t going to work. A strategic digital marketing plan’s role then is to identify the key opportunities that present easy wins for your organization while also being doable for both your team and budget. That’s why every plan looks different.

After establishing key opportunities, your digital marketing plan should outline which of those to accomplish in year one and which to tackle in year two. You can also use your plan to dream big and identify long-term opportunities to accomplish by the end of year five with the understanding that you’ll revisit opportunities at the end of year two and solidify updated goals, depending on outcomes and results achieved in the first two years.

2. IT PUTS A PLAN IN PLACE TO STAND APART FROM THE COMPETITION

The second step of the digital marketing plan process includes completing a competitive review to take stock of your main competitors, their current efforts, and their success. By dissecting your competitors, you can figure out ways to differentiate yourself and present both a unique and strong message.

3. IT HOLDS YOU ACCOUNTABLE TO TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

One of the biggest mistakes that organizations make with their digital marketing plans is that they don’t put a process in place for tracking progress. As you outline strategies for growth, attach a measurable goal to each opportunity with industry benchmarks and timelines of when to measure ongoing work. Keep in mind that some strategies will need to be measured weekly (like social media statistics), some monthly (like website traffic), and some quarterly (like sales won and lost), along with an annual review.

Lastly, once your digital marketing plan is launched, book dates on your calendar to conduct all of your reviews so analytics don’t get lost in the rush of implementation. The only way to know if your plan is working or making an impact is to take regular stock of ongoing work.

Here at imavex, we start almost every project with a digital marketing plan to ensure a clear roadmap forward toward success. We understand the value that it provides and we love working with people like you to figure out the best way forward into the digital landscape. If you need help in figuring out the best options for your organization, our team of experts would be happy to help.