So you want to launch a marketing campaign but you don’t know where to start? That’s okay, many business owners find themselves overwhelmed when it comes to creating a marketing plan that will help them achieve business goals and objectives. Perhaps you want to share content about NFL odds, for instance, on social media but you’d also like to do the same via email marketing.
Choosing the right strategies and marketing channels is part of your plan, so before you go about launching any campaigns, take the time to think things over and devise a plan that will actually be of use to you. With that in mind, let’s have a look at a few crucial aspects that make a great marketing plan.
Difference between marketing strategy and marketing plan
Most business owners make the mistake of believing that a marketing strategy is the same as a marketing plan. They’re compatible but not the same in any way. A marketing strategy defines how a business will attempt to reach a specific goal using various marketing tactics, different channels, and so on.
A marketing plan, on the other hand, encompasses multiple marketing strategies. It’s basically a framework that will help you create marketing strategies now or in the future. So for example, let’s assume your marketing plan is to launch a new product or a service and you want to boost sales after launch.
You then devise let’s say three marketing strategies that will help you do so. These strategies are social media promotion, content marketing campaign,s and email newsletters. Therefore, you’re executing your plan and your strategies to reach a certain milestone and achieve a specific goal.
What Should You Include in Your Marketing Plan?
A marketing plan can be in the form of a document where you’ll write down everything that’s necessary to reach an objective, as well as what’s required to put that plan into motion. That said, here are some of the crucial aspects you should include in your marketing plan.
- Market research analysis.
- Define your business mission.
- Determine KPIs and metrics for this plan.
- Identify buyer’s personas.
- Determine your budget and write a financial analysis.
- Conduct a competitive analysis.
- Determine your content marketing and other strategies.
Different Types of Marketing Plans
Marketing plans come in different forms and shapes for different purposes, of course. As you may already know, there isn’t a magic bullet that will help you overcome every obstacle you run into so you’ll have to make dozens of marketing plans during your company’s lifetime. That’s why it’s important to understand the different types of marketing plans you might have to create based on the situation. Therefore, here are a few examples of different marketing plans that you should keep in mind.
- Annual marketing plans – These plans usually define your marketing strategies for a specific time period like a year, for example.
- Content marketing plans – These plans revolve around product or service promotion using content to educate and inform your audience.
- New product/service launch plans – These plans are the framework that will prepare you for a new product or service launch once they’re ready for the market.
- Social media plans – As you may already know, social media is a bit different environment from other marketing channels so you need a plan on how your company will build its presence on different social media platforms.
- Paid marketing plans – Should you decide to leverage paid advertisement on social media or search engines by leveraging strategies like PPC, for instance, you’ll need a plan on how to prepare a budget and which keywords to bid for, among other things, of course.
Creating a great marketing plan comes down to determining your business goals and using different marketing strategies to achieve those goals.