How to create a digital marketing strategy example: Winning 4-Step

Why Your Business Needs a Strategic Approach to Digital Marketing

How to create a digital marketing strategy example is one of the most searched questions in business today. Research shows that 47% of companies don’t have a planned digital marketing strategy, yet the average US adult spends about eight hours with digital media every day. That’s a massive opportunity waiting to be captured—or lost.

Here’s the quick answer you’re looking for:

To create a digital marketing strategy:

1. Research – Know your audience, analyze competitors, and conduct a SWOT analysis
2. Plan – Set SMART goals, choose channels, and allocate budget
3. Execute – Build campaigns, create content, and manage resources
4. Measure – Track KPIs, optimize performance, and scale what works

A digital marketing strategy is a detailed plan that specifies how your business will use digital channels to achieve its marketing objectives. It’s your roadmap for reaching prospects online, guiding them from awareness to loyalty. Without a strategy, you’re spending resources without direction, hoping something sticks.

Why does this matter? Because businesses using content marketing see 30% higher growth rates than those that don’t, and targeted email campaigns see 30% higher open rates. Strategic digital marketing offers an exceptional return on investment, but only when it’s planned, not random.

Your customers move through stages: awareness, engagement, consideration, conversion, and loyalty. Your job is to guide them through this journey intentionally, using the right message on the right channel at the right time.

As Steve Taormino, President & CEO of CC&A Strategic Media and an expert in marketing psychology and human behavior, I’ve spent over 25 years helping organizations worldwide build digital marketing strategies that drive real growth. This guide will walk you through how to create a digital marketing strategy example using proven frameworks that work for businesses of any size.

For businesses of all sizes, a well-defined digital marketing strategy is crucial for several reasons:

• Your customers are online: The average US adult spends about eight hours with digital media daily. The first rule of marketing is to meet your customers where they are, and today, that’s online. You can find more insights in this digital media usage report.
• Direction and Focus: A strategy provides necessary direction amid countless digital options (ads, content, SEO, social media). Without it, you risk spending resources on activities that don’t align with your business goals.
• Cost-Effectiveness and ROI: When executed correctly, digital marketing can be significantly more cost-effective than traditional marketing. This is why we focus on increasing Digital Marketing ROI.
• Data-Driven Insights: Digital marketing provides invaluable data on customer behavior, allowing for continuous refinement and improvement of your approach.
• Competitive Advantage: In a landscape where many businesses lack a clear plan, having a well-defined strategy gives you a significant edge to proactively engage your audience and drive conversions.

For more in-depth information, explore our Digital Marketing Strategies Ultimate Guide.

How to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy Example: A 4-Step Process

Creating an effective digital marketing strategy doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We’ve distilled it into a clear, four-step process that applies whether you’re building from scratch or refining an existing plan. This framework helps businesses of all sizes, including small businesses with limited resources.

For small businesses, the key is focus. Instead of trying to do everything, identify the most impactful channels and tactics for your specific audience and goals. Prioritize initiatives and start with “quick wins” to build momentum. Creating a strategy from scratch is achievable by following these steps and adapting them to your budget.

Step 1: Research & Analysis (The Foundation)

Before building anything, you need a strong foundation of understanding your market, customers, and your own business.

• Developing Buyer Personas: Who are you trying to reach? Buyer personas are fictional profiles of your ideal customers, based on real data about their demographics, behaviors, and goals. For instance, a tech company might create a persona called ‘Tech Savvy Tony’ to represent a typical customer.
• Identifying Your Target Audience: You need to know who your audience is, where they spend time online, and what they need. Gather this information through surveys, social media analytics, and by observing conversations in relevant online communities.
• Market Segmentation: To tailor your marketing effectively, divide your target market into smaller groups based on:
  • Demographic: Age, education, gender, geography.
  • Firmographic (for B2B): Revenue, industry, location.
  • Psychographic: Personality, goals, lifestyle.
  • Behavioral: Purchasing history, brand loyalty.
• Competitor Analysis: What are your rivals doing well, and what are they missing? Use analytics tools to see how competitors acquire visitors and which channels they use. This analysis can reveal untapped opportunities.
• SWOT Analysis: A cornerstone of strategy, SWOT helps identify your Strengths, Weaknesses (internal), Opportunities, and Threats (external). This provides a comprehensive view of your current position. Learn more about using SWOT for your business.
• Defining Your Value Proposition: What makes you unique? Clearly articulating the specific problem you solve better than anyone else is vital for all marketing efforts.

This foundational work is critical for building robust B2B Marketing Strategies and B2C approaches alike.

Step 2: Planning & Goal Setting (The Blueprint)

With research in hand, it’s time to transform insights into actionable objectives.

• Setting SMART Goals: Your goals must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Instead of “increase sales,” a SMART goal is “increase online sales by 15% within the next six months.” This framework ensures your strategy moves in a positive direction. Find more insights on setting SMART goals.
• Identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): How will you measure success? KPIs are the metrics that track progress toward your SMART goals. For a brand awareness goal, KPIs might include website traffic and social media reach. It’s crucial to distinguish vanity metrics (likes, followers) from true KPIs that affect business goals.
• Budget Allocation: Know how much you can realistically spend. Identifying budget constraints helps determine which marketing tactics are achievable and affordable, ensuring your strategy is supported by adequate cash flow.
• Selecting the Right Marketing Channels: Choose channels where your target audience is most active and that align with your goals and budget. For instance, LinkedIn is often best for B2B, while TikTok and Instagram excel for B2C.
• Mapping the Marketing Funnel: Structure the customer’s journey from initial awareness to loyal advocacy. Each stage requires different content and channel strategies to guide them effectively.
• Crafting a Content Strategy: Content is vital at every stage of the customer journey. Your strategy should define what content (blogs, videos, ebooks) you’ll create, for whom, and where it will be distributed. Businesses using content marketing see 30% higher growth rates.

This planning phase is essential for any leader looking to drive Business Growth Through Marketing and for those in Marketing Leadership roles.

Step 3: Implementation & Management (The Action)

Now it’s time to bring your blueprint to life by executing your plans efficiently.

• Resource Planning: Assign team roles, identify necessary tools (like analytics software or social media management platforms), and allocate your budget. Determine who is responsible for each task.
• Utilizing Project Management Tools: For smooth coordination, leverage apps like Asana or Trello. These tools help teams coordinate tasks, track progress, and manage deadlines.
• Team Collaboration: A successful strategy requires collaboration. Involve all relevant teams: marketing, design, IT, sales, and legal. Sales teams provide invaluable customer insights, while designers ensure creative assets are on-brand.
• Ensuring Consistent Execution: Establish clear processes and guidelines for all marketing activities. Regular team updates help track progress, address issues, and adjust plans as needed.
• Campaign Development: Each campaign needs a clear call to action and a defined traffic source. The purpose is to intentionally move prospects from one stage of the customer journey to the next.

Effective Sales Strategy Optimization is deeply intertwined with how you manage and implement your digital marketing efforts.

Step 4: Measurement & Optimization (The Growth Engine)

Your work isn’t done after launch. This final step is about monitoring, learning, and continuously improving.

• Leveraging Analytics and Reporting: Use tools like Google Analytics to monitor website traffic, user behavior, and conversions. Connect your analytics to your CRM for a holistic view of the customer journey. Use reports to spot areas for improvement.
• Conducting A/B Testing: To refine your creative assets, regularly conduct split testing. Create two versions of an asset (like an ad or landing page) with one key difference, compare their performance, and implement the winner.
• Scaling Your Strategy: Once you identify what works, scale those initiatives across channels. Maintain a clear brand voice and consistent messaging as you expand your reach.
• Continuous Improvement: The digital landscape is always changing. Build a growth framework through regular reviews, learning from results, and adapting to new trends and customer behaviors.
• Identifying New Opportunities: Constantly audit your performance and the marketplace to spot new channels or areas where customers might be “dropping off.” If customers mention slow page loads, prioritize fixing those technical issues.

By focusing on these steps, you can significantly Increase Digital Marketing ROI and make informed decisions using Marketing ROI Measurement Tools.

Core Components of a Winning Digital Marketing Strategy

A comprehensive digital marketing strategy integrates various channels, each playing a unique role. These channels can be categorized as Paid, Owned, and Earned media.

• Owned Media: Channels you control, like your website, blog, and social media profiles.
• Paid Media: Advertising you pay for, such as PPC ads and sponsored content.
• Earned Media: Exposure gained through word-of-mouth, reviews, and PR.

An integrated strategy ensures these components work together to create a cohesive marketing presence. Here are the core components we leverage:

Search Engine Marketing (SEO & SEM)

This is about making your business visible when potential customers are actively searching for solutions.

• Driving Organic Traffic (SEO): Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves enhancing your website’s content and technical structure to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). This drives organic (unpaid) traffic. Key activities include keyword research, on-page SEO (optimizing content and titles), and off-page SEO (building quality backlinks).
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Fundamentals (SEM): Search Engine Marketing (SEM) often includes PPC advertising, where you pay a fee each time an ad is clicked. These ads typically appear at the top of SERPs. You bid on keywords, and when someone searches for those terms, your ad might appear. Google Ads is a primary platform for this, and even smaller businesses can use targeted PPC to drive qualified traffic.

For businesses looking to dominate search results, explore our Las Vegas PPC Company insights.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is the art of creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.

• Examples: This includes blog posts, videos, ebooks, infographics, and case studies.
  • Airbnb: Their “neighborhood guides” are a brilliant form of content marketing, providing valuable information about local landmarks while subtly directing users to their platform. They also equip hosts with resources to create quality listings, leveraging user-generated content.
• Impact: Research shows that businesses using content marketing see 30% higher growth rates than those that don’t. It establishes your expertise, builds trust, and nurtures leads through the customer journey. This is key to building Authority in Marketing.

Social Media Marketing

Leveraging social media effectively means more than just posting; it’s about building communities and engaging with your audience.

• Choosing the Right Platforms: Select platforms where your target audience is most active. For B2C, that might be Instagram or TikTok, while B2B often finds success on LinkedIn.
• Community Engagement: Consistently post relevant material, participate in conversations, respond to comments, and use branded hashtags to build trust and a positive online reputation.
• Influencer and User-Generated Content (UGC):
  • Glossier: This beauty brand built an impressive Instagram following by featuring real people using their products, rather than overly stylized ads. They also engage superfans by gifting products for authentic promotion.
  • Apple: Their #ShotoniPhone campaign encourages users to submit photos taken with their iPhones, showcasing the product’s capabilities through authentic, user-generated content.

Effective Social Media Management Las Vegas can transform your brand’s online presence.

Email Marketing & Automation

Often underestimated, email marketing remains one of the most powerful and cost-effective digital channels.

• Importance: In an age where tracking cookies are becoming obsolete, email allows you to collect valuable first-party data and communicate directly with your audience. Targeted email campaigns see 30% higher open rates and 50% better click-throughs.
• Lead Nurturing: Use email to nurture leads, providing valuable content and guiding them towards conversion.
• Segmentation and Personalization:
  • BuzzFeed: They achieve email marketing success through extreme personalization, offering dozens of different newsletters that subscribers can opt into, ensuring highly relevant content.
  • Adobe: Their newsletters often include two calls to action, allowing subscribers to choose their path and helping Adobe learn about individual interests for more personalized future communications.
• Drip Campaigns: Automated email sequences help onboard new subscribers, educate them about your products, or re-engage inactive customers.

To truly boost your email efforts, learn how to Boost Email Marketing ROI.

Putting It All Together: Frameworks and a Digital Marketing Strategy Example

The sheer volume of digital marketing activities can be daunting. That’s why we rely on established frameworks to structure our approach and ensure we cover all essential bases. These frameworks help organize thoughts into a concise, actionable plan, often summarized in a one-page document.

Structuring Your Plan with the RACE Framework

The RACE Planning Framework (Plan, Reach, Act, Convert, Engage) is a powerful model for structuring activities around the customer lifecycle.

• Plan: This initial phase involves setting your overall strategy, conducting a SWOT analysis, and defining SMART objectives, as discussed in our 4-step process.
• Reach: Build awareness and drive traffic using SEO, PPC, social media, and content marketing.
• Act (Interact): Encourage audience interaction with your content, such as shares, comments, or resource downloads.
• Convert: Turn prospects into customers through optimized landing pages, lead nurturing, and clear calls to action.
• Engage: Build customer loyalty and advocacy through post-purchase support, community building, and encouraging repeat business.

The RACE framework, coupled with the OSA (Opportunity, Strategy, Action) process, provides a structured approach to strategy creation. You can access toolkits and resources to help you implement RACE effectively. For a broader perspective on adapting to digital shifts, explore our Digital Marketing Transformation Framework.

A B2B Digital Marketing Strategy Example: The ‘Authority Builder’ Model

Let’s look at a concrete digital marketing strategy example for a B2B SaaS company aiming to establish thought leadership and generate high-quality leads.

• Industry: B2B SaaS (e.g., project management software)
• Goal: Generate 50 Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) per month and convert 10% to Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) within six months.
• Target Audience: Mid-market business owners and team leads (250-1000 employees) in tech and creative industries frustrated with current project management inefficiencies.
• Channels:
  • LinkedIn: Targeted ads, organic content sharing, and participation in relevant groups.
  • SEO: Keyword research around “project management software” and long-tail keywords addressing specific pain points. Focus on educational blog content.
  • Content Marketing (Whitepapers/Webinars): In-depth whitepapers and monthly webinars promoted via LinkedIn and email.
  • Email Marketing: Nurture sequences for downloads, registrants, and demo requests.
• KPIs:
  • MQLs & SQLs
  • Cost Per Lead (CPL)
  • Organic Website Traffic
  • LinkedIn Engagement
  • Email Open/Click-Through Rates

This ‘Authority Builder’ model focuses on providing immense value through content to attract and educate a specific, high-value audience. This is a powerful approach for B2B Marketing Strategies to Optimize Sales Conversions.

A Small Business Digital Marketing Strategy Example: The ‘Local Dominator’ Model

For small businesses with a physical location, the strategy often revolves around local visibility and driving immediate action.

• Industry: Local Restaurant (e.g., a family-owned Italian bistro)
• Goal: Increase dine-in customers by 20% and online orders by 15% within three months.
• Target Audience: Local residents, families, and young professionals within a 5-mile radius.
• Channels:
  • Local SEO: Optimize Google Business Profile (accurate info, photos, reviews) and ensure consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) across online directories.
  • Google Business Profile: Use posts for daily specials and events. Respond to all reviews.
  • Instagram: High-quality food photography, behind-the-scenes content, and local hashtags.
  • Email Marketing: Build a list via website or in-store sign-ups. Send weekly newsletters with specials and loyalty updates.
• KPIs:
  • Online Table Bookings & Orders
  • Phone Calls from Google Business Profile
  • Google Business Profile Views/Clicks
  • Instagram Engagement Rate
  • Coupon Redemptions
  • Number and Rating of Customer Reviews

This ‘Local Dominator’ model uses a focused approach to capture local demand and build community loyalty, which is essential for Internet Marketing Las Vegas Guide businesses and beyond.

The Future of Strategy: AI, Trends, and Continuous Growth

The digital marketing landscape is dynamic, constantly evolving with new technologies and consumer behaviors. To stay ahead, we must accept innovation and adapt our strategies.

• AI in Strategy Generation: Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini are rapidly changing how we approach marketing. These tools now assist in creating entire digital marketing strategies, from research synthesis to channel prioritization.
• Digital Marketing Trends: We’re seeing continued growth in mobile messaging, targeted email campaigns, and the rise of Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming ads as consumers shift away from traditional television. Recent industry benchmark reports highlight the growing importance of optimizing digital experiences across all touchpoints.
• Embracing Marketing Innovation: As Steve Taormino often emphasizes, success in marketing comes from leveraging human behavior and staying attuned to emerging trends. This means being open to testing new tactics responsibly, using A/B testing and pilot programs to validate ideas before full-scale implementation.
• Digital Change: The pace of digital change is accelerating. Our strategies must be flexible and built for continuous growth, with regular review processes and a commitment to learning from both our successes and failures.

For deeper insights into what’s next, explore our perspectives on Digital Marketing Innovation.

Conclusion

We’ve covered a lot of ground on how to create a digital marketing strategy example, from defining its crucial role to breaking down the step-by-step process of research, planning, implementation, and measurement. We’ve explored the core components like SEO, content, social media, and email marketing, and seen how frameworks like RACE can provide invaluable structure. Finally, we peeked into the future, acknowledging the transformative role of AI and the necessity of continuous adaptation.

The path to mastering your strategy starts with a single, well-defined framework. By understanding your audience, setting clear goals, and consistently measuring your results, you can transform your marketing from a cost center into a powerful growth engine.

As Steve Taormino’s work in marketing psychology and digital change demonstrates, success lies in understanding how people think, connect, and act. An effective digital marketing strategy harnesses this understanding to build confidence, foster meaningful relationships with customers, and open up the full potential of your business.

To dive deeper into building a robust plan for your business, explore our Digital Marketing Transformation Framework.