The starting point when creating a digital marketing plan

When it comes to forming your digital marketing plan, an expert suggests starting with the question “Why?”

Speaking before students of the Certified Digital Marketer Acceleration Program by the International Institute of Digital Marketing at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City, Albet Buddahim, digital group director of IPG Mediarands, said that once you have answered this question everything will fall into place.

“You would have answered your business objectives and you’d be able to set your marketing campaign goals and form your campaign strategies,” Albet told the audience who came from various industries.

When forming strategies Albet advised that the digital marketer should focus on this: How will you differentiate yourself from your competitor?

“You must be able to clearly define what your Brand Purpose is.” Albet said. “You must be able to identify your point of differentiation (POD)–what makes your brand; and point of parity (POP)–what’s your brand’s category or perceived differentiation. The moment this aspect of your brand is copied, you lose to parity.”

While POPs may usually not be the reason to choose a brand, their absence can certainly be a reason to drop a brand. Next, comes determining the “who” or your target audience. “You have to strategize for your target audience,” Albet claimed. “You need to find a focus point–because you can’t convert everybody.”

To determine the digital “who” Albet recommends knowing your target’s consumer purchase data, their share of wallets. You should be able to know their psychographic segmentation–how they think and what are their aspirations.

“You need to know this so you can tailor-fit your communication to them.” said Albet. “This will also help you identify their influencers whom they would possibly engage with.”

“Traditional marketing alone will not work anymore for brand,” claimed Albet. “It’s time you rethink your approach. It’s no longer just a single point of communication.”

Sharpen your digital strategy. Learn how to effectively create a digital marketing plan guided by industry experts from Google, McCann Worldgroup, MRM Worldwide, Spiralytics, Havas Media Ortega and more in the Certified Digital Marketer Program.

To join, register at imadigitalmarketer.com