Digital Marketing Strategy
Digital Marketing GSOT for the ROI Win
Jul 12 2022
In digital marketing, in order to clearly define what you want to achieve, it is helpful to think in terms of Goal, Strategy, Objective, and Tactic. This isn’t a framework that I invented; it’s a common framework used in business and marketing to provide clarity around what you want to achieve and how you will achieve it.
GOAL – WHAT
The starting point is your goal – the goal is what you want to achieve. Typically this will be sales, but it could be different for a non-profit or government organization. The goal is ultimately what you want to achieve.
Example: Grow Sales 5%
The strategy is HOW you will achieve the goal; what is the approach that you will take to drive sales? We know that choosing your business isn’t as simple as action-based messaging (buy now!!) so the strategy is the approach that you will use to achieve the goal.
Example: Increase awareness with marketing professionals.
What are the specific measurable steps that you will take to achieve the goal based on the strategy? It’s best if these are specific, but don’t get too caught up in the numbers if you don’t have a good benchmark. Focus on the result that you want to get.
Example: Reach 50K digital marketers on our site and 500K off-site through advertising
What are the actions that you will take to achieve the objectives? This is where you get into the execution. You can also tie KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to your tactics or actions to know what your target is. This is helpful to determine if you have an appropriate budget or plan to achieve the objectives that you set.
Example: Blog posts – KPI 1K users/week; Facebook Ads – Reach 1K @$3CPM, etc.
Working within the GSOT framework is vital if you want success. Most businesses are clear on their goal and their tactics, but often the strategy and objectives become muddled or unclear, which may limit your success.
I had been promoting myself as an expert and speaker for many years online. If you had asked my strategy I would have said that by building awareness about myself as a subject matter expert I would gain more speaking engagements over time. The reality was I didn’t have a well thought-out strategy.
That being said, after teaching a class on strategy I decided to get serious about my own. Who were the people who booked speakers and how could I get in front of them? I came up with the strategy (approach) to target meeting and event planners online. My objective was to gain visibility with them as a social media expert. I used my blog and LinkedIn very deliberately to reach this group. As a result, I booked paid gigs and landed webinars with the biggest meeting and event planner organization in the globe.
If you are really intentional about HOW you will achieve your goal you can create more focused efforts. By using only two digital marketing tools strategically I gained more results faster than in my five years of using them with a vague strategy.
Remember: This is a process. You may not have all the answers exactly right immediately. Most businesses create and revise their strategies annually or periodically throughout the year. Come up with your best ideas for now and move forward. You can revisit and refine over time, but don’t let not having the answers hold you back from acting.
This is an excerpt of Krista Neher’s best-selling book, “Digital Marketing That Actually Works”. You can find this and more books at Boot Camp Digital
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