We talk a lot about Marketing (and Social Media Marketing) Plans… which all sounds great on paper. But what are we actually doing with these…

Your marketing strategy is what the company wants to do to achieve the desired states and outcomes for their business. A complete marketing strategy includes the company’s value proposition, brand messaging, agreed-upon strategic approach, and business objectives. Each strategic action item should align with top-level goals and ultimately fulfill the company’s vision statement.

Your marketing plan documents how your company will execute the marketing strategy to achieve the desired states and outcomes. A well-planned marketing strategy can help companies achieve their marketing goals, enhance their brand image, and increase revenue.

Having a marketing plan can help you to:

• Identify your target market and how your product or service can benefit it
• Identify how you might attract new customers
• Encourage your existing customers to continue purchasing your product or service
• Creating a unified employee experience

We know marketing is critical, but it’s also complex... Involving strategies across different channels like email, social media, ads, web content, and more.

Leaders need a way to visualize and organize all this work, so they can ensure every strategy drives pipeline and revenue. 

In other words—they need a well-crafted marketing plan.

It is important to note that the marketing planning process is not linear, and each step is interconnected. The best way to build a marketing plan will vary depending on your organization’s needs. In any case, you’ll need to define your goals, conduct market research, follow a marketing strategy, create efficient campaigns, and keep track of your achievements. Then you’ve got yourself a marketing plan!

Let’s say you’ve already laid the ground work of your marketing plan, what now?

You’re going to use your BIG PICTURE marketing plan to develop your TARGETED MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.

✔️ Strategize: Developing a strategic plan. This involves identifying opportunities and options, brainstorming and prioritizing ideas, and determining the best action to achieve your marketing objectives.

✔️ Plan: Developing a comprehensive plan for your marketing campaign. This includes creating a creative/project brief, defining expectations against which you may hold contributors accountable, establishing campaign and project timelines, and gaining stakeholder awareness, opinions, and approval.

✔️ Write: Develop written content for the campaign. This is a critical step, as the written content serves as the backbone of any marketing campaign. Without compelling messaging and copy, the design and visuals of the campaign are unlikely to have the desired impact on the target audience.

✔️ Design/Record: Create the design elements of the campaign, such as graphics, videos, and other visual content. This step involves collaborating with designers, videographers, and other creative professionals to bring the campaign to life.

✔️ Edit: Revising all campaign elements, including text and visual content, such as graphics, videos, animations, and so on. It is essential in creating an impactful campaign, as your campaign elements will catch the target audience’s attention and convey the intended message.

✔️ Stage: Preparing the campaign for launch. This could include setting up social media accounts, submitting final deliverables, scheduling email campaigns, and designing other promotional materials.

✔️ Quality Assurance: A critical step in the marketing planning process. This involves testing the campaign to ensure that all elements function correctly and that the messaging is clear and effective. 

✔️ Implement: Launching the campaign and making it available to the target audience. This phase is critical to the success of the campaign. It marks the culmination of all the planning and execution efforts of the marketing team and is the point at which the campaign is launched and made available to the target audience.

✔️ Engagement Matters: Connect with your audience. Respond to comments, messages, and feedback. Building relationships is as vital as the content you produce. Be proud of the work you have done – and share it!

✔️ Data Tracking & Analytics: Keep a close eye on metrics. Track what’s working and what needs adjustment. Data-driven insights are your compass to navigate the marketing landscape.

✔️ Stay Flexible & Adapt: Markets evolve, trends change. Be ready to adapt. A successful plan is dynamic and responsive to the ever-shifting business terrain.

✔️ Retrospective Analysis: After the campaign is complete, the team should conduct a retrospective analysis to identify what went well, what didn’t, and what could be done differently in the future. Acknowledge victories, big or small. Reflect on challenges – they’re lessons in disguise. Every step is progress!

✔️ Iterate: The final step in the marketing planning process is to use the knowledge gained from the retrospective analysis and feedback to iterate on future campaigns. This could involve refining the marketing strategy, adjusting messaging, or changing tactics to reach the target audience.

A marketing plan is a detailed roadmap that outlines the different strategies your team will use to achieve organizational objectives. Rather than focusing solely on the end goal, a marketing plan maps every step you need to reach your destination—whether that’s driving pipeline for sales, nurturing your existing customer base, or something in-between. 

But it may feel overwhelming.

Pathfinder is here to help you THRIVE!