Digital marketing requires careful planning and organisation to be effective. You can’t quickly post some ads on social media and call it a day. You need to plan  ̶  a solid game plan. Your digital marketing GAME plan will include goals, activities, measurement and evaluation.

Before we head into the GAME plan, let’s explore digital marketing.

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is simply marketing using digital media. According to HubSpot, digital marketing “encompasses all marketing efforts that use an electronic device or the internet. Businesses leverage digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and other websites to connect with current and prospective customers.”

The digital marketing funnel encompasses attracting people, engaging them, capturing their attention (and email addresses), nurturing those relationships, converting and measuring.

Digital marketing includes radio and TV ads, website content, blog posts and social media posts, etc.

Having a GAME plan ensures that you will work smartly. So, what is the GAME plan all about? Goals, Activities, Measurement and Evaluation.

Goals

The business’s broader goals will inform the digital marketing goals. The two must be in alignment. There must be a clear path and plan for the company to work with the marketers in plotting the way forward.

According to Smart Insights, there are 5Ss that should be considered when setting these marketing goals. These are:

• Sell – grow sales.
• Speak – get closer to customers through dialogue and participation.
• Serve – add value.
• Save – save costs.
• Sizzle – extending your brand online.

Your company’s communication objectives are intertwined with the goals of the organisation. A diligent digital marketer will create a plan to distribute messages and ads for the company.

Activities

Your plan must include measurable actions to work. These activities include radio and TV spots, blog posts, website updates, landing pages, social media posts, promotions and ads.

What is your advertising message? Now is the time to share those messages.

Well-positioned messages will attract potential customers to your business.

Measurement

All the activities must be measurable for reach and success. You can use tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Pixels, and Facebook Insights, to track your reach, what your rate of success was, to find out what is working and what is not working.

Evaluation

Metrics are essential in evaluating how well your digital marketing campaigns are doing. These metrics include the overall traffic on the website, channel-specific traffic, total conversions, bounce rates, search trends, new vs returning visitors, and queries.  Use the correct metrics to gauge how well the activities are doing on a macro and micro scale.

Your GAME plan will plot the way forward and define your marketing strategy. With careful planning, your digital marketing efforts will be successful.

Sources: Iven Digital, HubSpot, Convince and Convert, Mike Gingerich, Smart Insights, and Neil Patel.